English Features through Timeline Flashcards
Old English Writing System & Pronunciation
Old English used the Roman alphabet, replaced runic system. Many obsolete letters, along with letters which simply used at the time, such as j, k, q, v, and z.
OE also had no silent letters, meaning all vowels were pronounced- all written phonetically, no standardization. Long and short vowels were also distinguished between.
Old English Grammar and Syntax
Relationships between words determined by inflections at the end of words, as opposed to grammar like PDE. Inflections changed according to case(morphology of nouns, pronouns, determiners, and adjectives, and the part they play in a given clause), agreement(way the word forms corresponding to how it ‘agrees’ with other words), number, and gender.
Verbs were also quite different, allowing levels of strength, and three different ‘moods’ (which referred to different levels of possibility)
The Normal Invasion
William of Normandy challenged the current king’s claim to the throne, leading to the Normal invasion of Britain in 1066. William the Conquer was later crowned the first Norman King of England. Anglo-Norman, similar to French, became used more and more in the high courts, influencing English forever. English= lower class.
Diglossia in Middle English
Sociolinguistic event where a language of ‘high’ class and a language of ‘low’ class, in Middle English where this was evident through French/Latin and English. However unlike most cases of diglossia, English survived.
The Rise of Middle English
English nationalism rose, as in the 100 Year’s War, French was seen as ‘the enemy.’ Along with this, a lessened peasant population through the Black Death demanded more rights. By the end of the 14th century, English was the chosen language for in classrooms, and work was being done to translate the Bible into English.
Written System and Pronunciation of Middle English
Spelling not standardized, high level of variation. OE letters fell out of usage, long F sound changing, writing-spelling system remained phonetic, long vowel sound written in double vowel.
Lexicon of Middle English
High level of borrowings from Latin and French due to the Normal Conquest. Large amount of nouns from French, formal words from Latin. Suffixes and prefixes began to be used more from Latin also.
Grammar of Middle English
Loss of many inflections, gender became less attached directly to nouns, adjectives, and determiners. Verbs also reduced in variety. Case endings disappeared, removing the more free nature of Old English. English word order of Subject-Verb-Object established. However through all of this, pronouns retained their gender, number, person, and case distinctions.
Early Modern English Events
Printing Technology in 1476, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary in 1755. Both of these largely changed English, and standardization began to become evident. Literary rates also increased, triggering a huge social change. British international trade also increased during this time, meaning borrowing from all over the world. Beginnings of a dominant language.
Early Modern English Literature
Literature written in English as opposed to French or Latin was a huge change. English’s social status increased also, vocab size also increasing. Estimated that Shakespeare introduced hundreds of words, idioms, and phrases still used today. All this also helped to standardize the language.
Early Modern English Printing, dictionaries and grammar
William Caxton’s Printing Press in 1476 changed English forever. English began to be standardized through the mass of texts produced. 1755, Samuel Johnson published one of first dictionaries, and in 1760s, multiple grammar books were published. Prescriptivism was on the rise. English was beginning to be refined, perfected, and protected.
The Great Vowel Shift
Sounds of long vowels changed place of articulation, causing a chain change to many vowel pronunciations. Linguistic and regional identity, along with the Black Death, and other factors, likely lead to hypercorrection of English, leading to this massive shift in the language during Early Modern English. Now words are often not spelt how we pronounce them as a result.
Late Modern English Industry
Industrial Revolution from 1760-1840, new inventions meant new lexicon and semantic fields. Urbanization also increased language contact through population density.
Late Modern English Colonialism and Empire
English established in colonies as the ‘superior language,’ along with borrowing new words from around the world. Forced spread of the language, making it more of the international superlanguage for trade it is today.
