Late Modern English Flashcards
What are 7 borrowings for objects or activities associated with another culture?
- fez
- kibbutz
- geisha
- samovar
- pickle
- chess
- skunk
What are 7 borrowings for concepts already existing but not previously distinguished by a name (with their origin)?
- boss (Dutch)
- ghetto (Italian)
- slogan (Scottish)
- creed (Latin)
- vigilante (Spanish)
- tycoon (Japanese)
- blarney (Irish)
In Late Modern English, what happened to traditional borrowings from Latin, Greek, French, Celtic, Scandinavian and Low German (Dutch)?
They were less important and while still common, they were less clearly assimilated.
What was retained from French borrowings during the Late Modern English period?
- The accented syllable (risqué…)
- The initial [ ʒ ] (genre, gendarme…)
What was retained from Celtic borrowings during the Late Modern English period?
Cultural items (whiskey, leprechaun, shamrock, brogue, clan).
What are 6 borrowings from Scandinavian retained during the Late Modern English period?
- saga
- ski
- geyser
- rune
- ombudsman
- smorgasbord
During Late Modern English, what kind of vocabulary still gets borrowed from Greek and Latin?
Technical language of science, medicine, etc.
What kind of lexicon is borrowed from Spanish via French during Late Modern English?
Landforms, food, flora and fauna of the New World (American Southwest).
What kind of vocabulary is borrowed from Italian during Late Modern English?
Music, architecture and food.
What are 8 words borrowed from High German during Late Modern English?
- kindergarten
- seminar
- nickel
- gestalt
- leitmotiv
- delicatessen
- strudel
- pretzel
What are 3 borrowings from Yiddish during the Late Modern English period?
- bagel
- lox
- pastrami
What are 5 borrowings from Slavic during the Late Modern English period?
- borsch
- vodka
- borzoi
- intelligentsia
- blitz
What is a national variety?
It’s a kind of large-scale regional dialect (geographical as opposed to social).
What is the difference in phonology between British English and American English?
Americans preserve features from the 18th century, more specifically from Northern England, Scotland and Ireland.
Which of British English and North American English is a rhotic dialect, and which one is not?
North American English is a rhotic dialect and British English is a non-rhotic dialect.
What is an example of rhotic vs non-rhotic dialects in words?
NAE far [far] versus BE far [fa].
What is the difference in the pronunciation of the vowel / a / in NAE and BE?
NAE staff [ stæf ] versus BE staff [ staf ].
Which of NAE or BE kept the difference in pronunciation between the [ w ] and the [ m ] as in “waer / where”?
North American English.
What happens to words like “legendary” and “territory” in NAE and BE?
In NAE, there is a primary and secondary stress on words of 4 syllables and more ending in -ary, -ory, -mony and -ery, as opposed to BE where there is only one stress, therefore the final affix is reduced to a schwa.
What are the 8 grammatical differences between BE and NAE?
- BE uses of modal auxiliaries with verbs like “insist, recommend, suggest”, etc, whereas NAE only uses the subjunctive form without any modal.
- BE uses “got” instead of “gotten” as past participle like NAE does.
- NAE uses “do” in certain constructions while BE uses old patterns with “have”.
- NAE uses singular verb form with collective nouns and BE uses plural.
- Difference in prepositions.
- NAE uses obligatory articles where BE does not always.
- BE is more consistent with “shall” than NAE.
- NAE uses “just” with simple past and BE uses “just” with perfect tense.
What are 2 examples of differences in lexicon between NAE and BE?
- sweets (BE) versus candy (NAE).
- pavement (BE) versus sidewalk (NAE).
What are 2 examples of differences in orthography between NAE and BE?
- our (NAE) / or (BE) suffix.
- ize (NAE) / ise (BE) suffix.
What are 7 other varieties of English apart from British and North American English?
- Canadian English
- Newfoundland English
- Australian English
- New Zealand English
- African English
- Liberian English
- Caribbean English
What is the phonological difference between American English and Canadian English?
- Canadian rising
What are 3 examples of lexical items that are particular to Canadian English? What dialect / variety do they influence?
- caplin
- anglophone
- hydro
- They influence Quebec English.
What do neologisms change in the language?
- Word formation
- Acquiring new words
What are 5 grammatical changes in the language that are still in progress today?
- Quotative constructions.
- Periphrastic more/most instead of the more correct inflected superlative/comparative forms.
- Conflation (mix) of past tense and past participle.
- Pronoun usage.
- “-s” usage.
