Intro to Language Change

Question 1

What’s the oldest (ish) language that English is related to?

Answer 1

Proto-Indo-European (PIE)

Question 2

What did the first settlers of Britain speak?

Answer 2

various dialects of Celtic

Question 3

What did slightly later but still pre-Roman settlers of Britain speak?

Answer 3

They brought over dialects from “proto-germanic” which itself was a dialect from Celtic.

Question 4

Where did English originate? (3)

Answer 4

1. The ancestor of modern English is “Proto-Indo-European” (PIE) – a language thought to have been spoken in the Black Sea region of southern Russia.
2. Variants and eventually new languages formed when people were eventually able to move freely from their homeland, possibly following the invention of the wheel.
3. Once removed from its core users, over time, all languages change naturally and form new regional dialects and varieties.

Question 5

Which language did the ancient Britons speak? (3)

Answer 5

1. Tribes moving west into Europe first settled in warmer southern Europe and gave rise to an ancient tongue called ‘Celtic’; later, other tribes settled in northern Europe from which came a variant but related Celtic dialect called “Proto-Germanic”.
2. The first settlers to Britain arrived from southern Europe speaking various dialects of Celtic; they settled mainly in the West Country (where tin and copper were mined).
3. Later, settlers from northern Europe arrived in the east and north bringing their Germanic tongue.

Question 6

When did the Romans invade Britain?

Answer 6

55BC

Question 7

When did the Roman empire collapse?

Answer 7

the 5th C

Question 8

Rotten Romans (4)

Answer 8

1. In 55 BC, the Romans conquered Britain bringing: (2)
2. Latin became the official language of the Law and Church – important social institutions. (1)
3. The ordinary people continued to speak one of several regional Celtic or Germanic dialects.
4. In the 5th century, the Roman Empire collapsed.

Question 9

Rotten Romans (4)
1. In 55 BC, the Romans conquered Britain bringing: (2)

Answer 9

a. Their language - Latin
b. Their religion - Christianity.

Question 10

Rotten Romans (4)
2. Latin became the official language of the Law and Church – important social institutions. (1)

Answer 10

a. Latin is still used in some formal church services.

Question 11

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)

Answer 11

1. Gen and Those Saxy Saxy Folk. (4)
2. Old English Gen (2)
3. Old English More specific stuff (6)

Question 12

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)
1. Gen and Those Saxy Saxy Folk. (4)

Answer 12

a. Britain was invaded by a variety of north European Germanic dialect-speaking tribes we call the “Anglo-Saxons”.
b. Various Anglo-Saxon ‘Germanic’ dialects became the language of much of Britain.
c. Like the Celts, the Anglo-Saxon settlers seemed to have written little and when they did, they used a ‘pictographic’ language based on runes or runic characters.
d. The early Christian monks transcribed important Anglo-Saxon documents using equivalent sounding letters from the Roman “a-b-c” alphabet. (1)

Question 13

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)
1. Gen and Those Saxy Saxy Folk. (4)
d. The early Christian monks transcribed important Anglo-Saxon documents using equivalent sounding letters from the Roman “a-b-c” alphabet. (1)

Answer 13

i. This allowed many ancient stories and historic records previously only passed down through the oral tradition to be recorded and preserved for posterity.

Question 14

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)
2. Old English Gen (2)

Answer 14

a. The Anglo-Saxon language is now referred to as “Old English” (OE for short).
b. Regional dialects of Anglo-Saxon were far more pronounced because transport and communication were so very poor. People from the south would not be able to communicate at all easily with people from the west or north, for example.

Question 15

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)
3. Old English More specific stuff (6)

Answer 15

a. OE is the basis for about a fifth of our present vocabulary – including many everyday words.
b. The words that have survived are the common ones. Most of the structural words of the Modern English lexicon are still Anglo-Saxon.
c. OE derived words are our everyday words, not the more prestigious and formal lexis needed for sophistication, law, science, medicine, and religion.
d. To the modern ear, OE words often sound more “gritty” and expressive of meaning.
e. They are increasingly popular in our own day.
f. Old English relied heavily on the use of inflexions (word-endings). (3)

Question 16

The Anglo-Saxons and Old English (3)
3. Old English More specific stuff (6)
f. Old English relied heavily on the use of inflexions (word-endings). (3)

Answer 16

i. Inflexions indicated who was doing what to whom (as well as showing gender, plural, possession, past, present, future, etc.).
ii. Only a few inflexions remain today – to show plural (-s), to show possession (-’s) and to show third person singular verb form (e.g. She lets me go)
iii. As a result, word order (syntax) was far less important than it is today.

Question 17

around when were the Vikings invading?

Answer 17

8th –11th

Question 18

Which language did Vikings bring with them?

Answer 18

Old Norse

Question 19

What was the name and geography of the norse controlled areas of England?

Answer 19

The northern and eastern areas- “Danelaw”.

Question 20

Vikings (4)

Answer 20

1. From the 8th –11th centuries, the Viking invaders from Scandinavia brought various dialects of “Old Norse” to northern Britain.
2. England became a divided nation: (2)
3. Many Norse words might sound quite “gritty” or rough to people. (3)
4. Can you think why we might have held onto them – and why we seem to be choosing them more than ever today?

Question 21

Vikings (4)
2. England became a divided nation: (2)

Answer 21

a. The northern and eastern areas becoming Norse-controlled “Danelaw”. (1)
b. And the south Anglo-Saxon region remaining “Angle Land”.

Question 22

Vikings (4)
2. England became a divided nation: (2)
a. The northern and eastern areas becoming Norse-controlled “Danelaw”. (1)

Answer 22

i. The north of England still has – and is still proud of – its regional dialects which it sees as prestigious in the right contexts.

Question 23

Vikings (4)
3. Many Norse words might sound quite “gritty” or rough to people. (3)

Answer 23

a. Arse
b. Ragged
c. Snag

Question 24

When was the Norman Conquest?

Answer 24

1066

Question 25

Around how many french words have eventually entered the English Language?

Answer 25

10,000

Question 26

French Fuckers French it the Fuck Up. (7)

Answer 26

1. The Norman Conquest: 1066 - the Battle of Hastings
2. French became the official language of the court and aristocracy.
3. Tri-lingualism became the norm among the wealthy and powerful ruled (Old English/Latin/French)!
4. The ordinary people – with no hope of formal education – retained their use of Old English but felt the social pressure to learn French for prestige or employment reasons.
5. Around 10,000 words from French eventually entered English.
6. As England’s political relationship with France withered, there grew an increasing dislike of the “flowery” French language and Old English came back into vogue, now much altered but still down to earth” and expressive.
7. We still use many words that were originally French borrowings (and which themselves were always derived from Latin – the two languages being quite close) (3)

Question 27

French Fuckers French it the Fuck Up. (7)
7. We still use many words that were originally French borrowings (and which themselves were always derived from Latin – the two languages being quite close) (3)

Answer 27

a. French words are often polysyllabic and can often be pronounced with a French accent.
b. It’s important to be able to recognise words of French (i.e. Latinate) origin as they produce a particular and important stylistic quality to a text.
c. Affixes (10) (non-complete)

Question 28

French Fuckers French it the Fuck Up. (7)
7. We still use many words that were originally French borrowings (and which themselves were always derived from Latin – the two languages being quite close) (3)
c. Affixes (10) (non-complete)

Answer 28

i. pre-
ii. -ous
iii. -ity
iv. -tion
v. -ture
vi. -ment
vii. -ive
viii. -able
ix. -ance
x. -ence

Question 29

Roughly speaking, when was the printing press invented?

Answer 29

15th C

Question 30

Middle English (6)

Answer 30

1. The languages went into a melting pot and a “new” dialect slowly emerged – now called “Middle English”.
2. Grammar (2)
3. The influence of Latin (very close to French and the official language of the Church) remained, thus ensuring that many Latin words continued to enter the language. (2)
4. The language took on the possibility of being very sophisticated in style and thus became a significant marker of personal prestige.
5. The 15th century invention of the printing press eventually transformed people’s chances of learning to read (and write); this brought slow but increasing pressure for standardisation.
6. Great Vowel Shift. (5)

Question 31

Middle English (6)
2. Grammar (2)

Answer 31

a. Grammar simplified with a loss of most inflexions.
b. Syntax became central to English sentence construction.

Question 32

Middle English (6)
3. The influence of Latin (very close to French and the official language of the Church) remained, thus ensuring that many Latin words continued to enter the language. (2)

Answer 32

a. English became a rich mixture of borrowings from French, Latin, Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse – becoming a very flexible language with many synonyms, e.g. “kingly” , “royal” & “regal”.
b. Speakers could now express many fine nuances of meaning in ways not possible in other European languages.

Question 33

Middle English (6)
6. Great Vowel Shift. (5)

Answer 33

a. During the ‘Middle English’ period a poorly understood change occurred in the pronunciation of English words.
b. This is the first known instance of major phonological change.
c. Many “long” vowels (as in ‘far’) “shorten” (as in ‘fat’)
d. This is the “Great Vowel Shift”. It has led to many spelling and pronunciation oddities, e.g. clean / cleanliness, bit / bite.
e. Social prestige is a powerful reason for language to change - perhaps it became prestigious to speak with shortened vowels – possibly the way the educated classes preferred to speak?

Question 34

Early Modern English (2)

Answer 34

1. Gen (4)
2. The “Renaissance” (2)

Question 35

Early Modern English (2)
1. Gen (4)

Answer 35

a. Now a growing world power the English language began to grow in global importance. Language became a symbol of national pride and developed in sophistication, becoming a powerful marker of social prestige.
b. Both printing and trade brought strong pressure for a standardised language. Printed materials helped raise levels of literacy, bringing further pressure for standardisation.
c. Latin remains highly prestigious – the language of law, medicine, science and the Church.
d. Exploration and trade brought many new words and ‘borrowings’, e.g. tobacco, coffee.

Question 36

Early Modern English (2)
2. The “Renaissance” (2)

Answer 36

a. The spread of printed literature led to a slowly lessening grip of religion on thought and allowed science, society and human thought to flourish in the West like never before.
b. Many words needed to be coined for use in the rapidly developing areas of medicine, science and culture. (2)

Question 37

Early Modern English (2)
2. The “Renaissance” (2)
b. Many words needed to be coined for use in the rapidly developing areas of medicine, science and culture. (2)

Answer 37

i. Latin remained the preferred source for these new words.
ii. Microscope, astronomy, external

Question 38

Who and When famous dictionary?

Answer 38

Samuel Johnson in 1755

Question 39

What year was the education Act?

Answer 39

1867

Question 40

The Development of Modern English (6)

Answer 40

1. Gen (2)
2. 18th century (5)
3. 19th C (5)
4. Early 20th Century. (5)
5. Later 20th Century (5)
6. 21st Century (5)

Question 41

The Development of Modern English (6)
1. Gen (2)

Answer 41

a. A “Standard English” dialect (i.e. lexicon) slowly developed based on the language variety used in London, Cambridge, Oxford and the East Midlands area (which were important for trade).
b. A prestige accent also – but far more slowly – took root. It came to be called “Received Pronunciation” or RP.

Question 42

The Development of Modern English (6)
2. 18th century (5)

Answer 42

a. The wealthy middle-classes – the merchants and traders – came to view language as the major means to express their social standing. (2)
b. Great efforts were made to standardise or “fix” grammar and spelling based upon the grammatical rules of what was seen as the “gold standard” – the ancient and dead Latin language. (1)
c. The idea of a standard prestige dialect (standard English) and a standardised accent (Received Pronunciation) slowly came into vogue – bringing the written and spoken forms much more closely together.
d. The beginnings of “World English” occurred as the British Empire spread across the globe. (1)
e. Literature and publishing grew as people sought to show off their language abilities.

Question 43

The Development of Modern English (6)
2. 18th century (5)
a. The wealthy middle-classes – the merchants and traders – came to view language as the major means to express their social standing. (2)

Answer 43

i. Complex, witty, and subtle language became a marker of social prestige.
ii. The middle classes paid to educate themselves and their children to speak “properly”. Linguistic prescriptivism took root and absolutely flourished.

Question 44

The Development of Modern English (6)
2. 18th century (5)
b. Great efforts were made to standardise or “fix” grammar and spelling based upon the grammatical rules of what was seen as the “gold standard” – the ancient and dead Latin language. (1)

Answer 44

i. Dictionaries and grammar books became a commonplace – the most famous dictionary being published by Samuel Johnson in 1755.

Question 45

The Development of Modern English (6)
2. 18th century (5)
d. The beginnings of “World English” occurred as the British Empire spread across the globe. (1)

Answer 45

i. Many new words entered the lexicon, borrowed from this growing overseas empire.

Question 46

The Development of Modern English (6)
3. 19th C (5)

Answer 46

a. The 1867 Education Act led to near universal literacy and an unprecedented interest in reading and writing.
b. People aspired to speak “properly” to show off their educated status and to reflect their personal prestige.
c. Dictionaries and grammar books flourished trying hard to fix and prescribe usage – “Standard English” developed. “RP” became the prestige way to pronounce words.
d. Novels and newspapers become cheaply available and popular as the first “mass media” forms.
e. America grew to become a major world power and its unstoppable influence on the English language began.

Question 47

The Development of Modern English (6)
4. Early 20th Century. (5)

Answer 47

a. Increasing influence of the mass-media: newspapers and radio.
b. The BBC decided to broadcast only in “standard English” and RP to help educate the nation.
c. Regional accents and dialects lost prestige to RP and standard English.
d. Standard English and Received Pronunciation were taught in schools as a prestige, educated variety of English.
e. Hollywood celebrities made US English seem “cool and prestigious”.

Question 48

The Development of Modern English (6)
5. Later 20th Century (5)
b. “Youth culture” becomes important and some non-standard youth varieties develop a sense of “covert prestige”. (1)

Answer 48

i. Certain dialects and accents become prestigious among young people (Black American Vernacular (BAV) especially).

Question 49

The Development of Modern English (6)
5. Later 20th Century (5)

Answer 49

a. Influence of American English increases. The American-type ‘mid-Atlantic’ accent becomes prestigious.
b. “Youth culture” becomes important and some non-standard youth varieties develop a sense of “covert prestige”. (1)
c. Mass migration of peoples mean many ‘world English’ varieties develop and bring many new words into English.
d. Changes in accents, e.g ‘Estuary English’ grow and become prestigious within certain social groups and contexts.
e. There is increasing use of regional accents in the media and less emphasis on “prescriptive grammar”; language remains a marker of education and prestige, however.

Question 50

The Development of Modern English (6)
6. 21st Century (5)

Answer 50

a. Stigma remains attached to certain “less prestigious” varieties.
b. Language is still to a reducing extent used “prescriptively” to judge an individual’s level of education and social prestige.
c. Greater social equality results in changes to RP – a more neutral RP accent develops.
d. Some mockery of traditional “plummy” R.P. accent occurs.
e. American influence continues via the mass media:
TV, cinema, music and the internet.