Language Change Flashcards
What is Old English?
Language of the Anglo-Saxons who first came to Britain in 5th century-11th century
How does Old English compare to Roman’s language from before? Why was it like this?
Anglo Saxon vocab was more useful than roman’s Latin because all function-based
People were not educated so language purely used for communication
What were the four tribes in England in Old English times?
Angles
Frisians
Saxons
Jutes
What were the four kingdoms in England in Old English times?
Northumbria
East Anglia
Wessex
Mercia
How did Old English differ in the four kingdoms?
Regional dialects- differences in the use of ‘in’ and ‘on’
Different accents
Give four examples of modern english words that are derived from Old English
Numbers, days of the week, place names, question words
What was used to write Old English?
Runic alphabet
Define kennings. Give an example of an Old English manuscript that contains kennings
Combination of two words to create an evocative and imaginative word
Beowulf
What event caused old English to start to change to middle English?
Battle of Hastings 1066 but old English was still used until 1100s
What three languages were spoken in England in Middle English times?
French- language of power and officialdom
Latin- language of education and church
English
How did French become a part of Middle English?
William appointed French speaking supporters to all key positions of power
Name three ways grammar developed as old English developed into middle English
Word order increasingly important in conveying meaning rather than word endings
Clever, new constructions e.g. auxiliary verbs ‘had’ and ‘shall’ to denote tense
Spelling/punctuation shift because Norman scribes use own conventions e.g. Qu- not cw
Who made the first step to standardising English? How did they do this?
King Henry V
Wrote letters in English rather than French, and then declared all court documents should be written in English
Why wasn’t English standardised?
English used Latin traditionally and French for over 300 years as written languages, no need to agree on a common linguistic standard
How did the influence of French on English change throughout the 1100s?
Hundred year war between England and France- influence of French decreased because they are the enemy
English usurps French when used in opening parliament in 1362, French continues as the language of law
Who and when was the printing press invented?
Caxton
1476
What influence did the printing press have on the production of books?
Books could be manufactured in large numbers so now more affordable and makes profitable business, able to produce 100s of books in weeks, 20000 titles appear
How did Caxton ensure books printed by the printing press could be understood by all?
Used dialects of the south-east because most socially and economically developed region
What was the great vowel shift? When was it?
Major development in pronunciation where many long vowels were shortened
1500s
What happened to spellings during the great vowel shift?
Many spelling oddities Spelling more standardised
How did dialects develop during the great vowel shift? Which new dialects emerged?
Dialect of the east midlands established itself as a form of standard English- most populous, important social, administrative and educational centres
More dialects emerge:
west Saxon= southern, Northumbrian= northern, Mercian= west and east midlands
Kentish= south east
Who wrote the Canterbury Tales? What was their significance?
Chaucer in 1380s/90s
Chose to write in English rather than Latin/French
Made English a language fit for cultivated readers
Describe three things that contributed to language change in 1500-1650?
Momentus developments in certain studies so borrowed terms to name developments from 50 languages
Great religious and political upheaval
Expansion of known boundaries
How were new words invented in 1500-1650?
Addition of prefixes, suffixes and cobbling together compounds
What did the union of the English and Scottish crown lead to?
First English translation of the bible
1611
What were the opinions on the new words added to early modern English?
Controversy over new words- some think new Greek and Latin terms as enrichment, others think they are ‘inkhorn terms’
What was the first English dictionary called? When was it written and who by?
A Table Alphabeticall
1604
Cawdrey
Who was the first English dictionary’s target audience? What significance did it have to the development of English?
For gentlefolk and intellectually ambitious people
Recognition of new status of English language
How did English develop from the 1700s onwards?
Knowledge continues to stretch
Scholars believe its chaotic and in need of rules
What was established in 1712 and who established it? What was its main aim and two aims the creator had?
Language Academy Swift Regulate language usage Ban new absurd rules Hated fashion of not pronouncing -ed
Name three books, their authors and the year they were published which contributed to creating language rules?
Samuel Johnson, dictionary-1755
Lowth- guide to Grammar-1762
Murray- pronunciation guide-1794
What happened to dialects as the rules of English were established?
Standing of regional dialects and accents serious decline
How was Jane Austen affected by the new language rules? What was she aware of and how did she incorperate this into her work?
Taught Lowths Grammar at school
Aware grammar usage reflected social position Her educated characters used correct grammatical forms and uneducated ones have identifiable grammar and lexis of their own
What did Webster write? What did it include? What was the significance?
American Dictionary of the English Language 1828
Covered more scientific/technical terms as well as American culture terms
Defined identity of a new nation
Taught children how to write, speak and say things
changed spelling edition by edition
What was the most significant thing that contributed to language development in the 1800s? Why was it so significant?
Education Act of 1867
Significant rise in literacy levels
Interest in reading and writing
What two reasons did people have to want to speak properly?
Show off educated status
Reflect personal prestige
What became more popular during the 1800s and why? Who was credited with writing the first kind?
Novel reading
Cheaply avaible
Daniel Defoe
Describe the original aims of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary. How did these change?
Sought to regulate and control language but realised its ever-changing and his job was to document this
Describe the key features of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary
40000 words- many incomprehensible and some made up, some not good enough
Quotations reflected right-wing views, if he didn’t like it, he removed it
More extensive and complex than previous ones
Why was Samuel Johnson’s dictionary criticised?
Imposing his personality too much
What were Lowth’s aims when publishing his book a Guide to Grammar?
Set out to fix mistakes made by established writers
Mistakes were common idioms, colloquial expressions or vulgar language
How does David Crystal summarise the concept of politeness in the 1700s?
In 1700s, when by themselves, polite people didn’t speak or write properly so grammars dictionaries etc needed to instruct polite society in correct ways
No one was exempt even great writers, which shows the need for guidance as people not as good as Shakespeare are more likely to do the same
Give six examples of the differences in grammar to modern English in the late 1700s-early 1800s
Expressing negation Use of auxiliary verb- 'shall' 'To be'- double usage and ellipsis Verb phrases expressing tense and aspect 'of' rather than 'have' Noun phrases- definitive and indefinite article
What was the aim of the Oxford English Dictionary?
Gaps existed in other dictionaries, wanted the OED to include rejected words and those left unnoticed
When was the OED first published?
1884
Give two features of the OED
Traced history of words
Included word families, pronunciations and multiple meanings
Who was the editor of the OED? How did he find quotes to include?
James Murray
Hundreds of volunteers around the world
