Model Exam

Question 1

List at least three typical characteristics that differentiate the Germanic
languages from the other Indo-European languages and b) give a concrete
example for each characteristic. (3 pts)

Answer 1

1. Grimm’s law PIE pater becomes English father (p → f).
2. simplify the noun inflection (Germanic languages only 4, Latin 8)
3. Germanic languages have many words that have no cognates in other Indo-European languages
   Hose & hose vs. pantaloni & pantalons

Question 2

Match the following list of languages and peoples and put them into the correct
chronological order:
a) Peoples: Romans, Normans, Celts, Danes, Angles/Saxons/Jutes, Beaker
People
b) Languages: Anglo-Saxon/Old English, Latin, Celtic, Norman French,

Answer 2

Beaker People (Language of the Beaker People) -> Celts (Celtic) -> Romans (Latin) -> Angles/Saxons/Jutes (Anglo-Saxon/Old English) -> Danes (Old Norse) -> Normans (French)

Question 3

Explain Lat. pulvinus, > proto-Germanic *pulwi (‘pülwi’) > OE pyle (‘püle’) >
ME pilwe > ModEngl. pillow by answering the following sub-questions:
a) Which sound-shift is responsible for proto-Germanic /u/ to OE /y/
(pronounced like German ‘ü’)? When did this sound-shift occur?
b) Which sound-shift is responsible for OE /y/ (pronounced like German ‘ü’) to
ME /i/?
c) Before which century did this loanword come into the (Old) English
language? (3 pts)

Answer 3

a) i-mutation, occurring in the 6th–7th centuries.
b) Middle English fronting of /y/, , occurring in the 12th–14th
c) if a word in Old English contains /y/ (a result of i-mutation), the loanword must have entered Old English before the 7th century when the i-mutation process occurred. Therefore, the loanword must have been borrowed before the 7th century CE..

Question 4

a) Why is the Scandinavian/Viking invasion of England believed to be of
relevance for the development of English from a synthetic to an analytic
language?
b) How many and what kind of Old Norse loanwords were adopted? Give some
typical examples.
c) Comment on OE hi drifen vs. ME thei drifen (3 pts

Answer 4

a) The Viking invasions contributed to the shift from synthetic to analytic English by promoting grammatical simplification and a fixed word order to enable communication between Old Norse and Old English speakers.
b) About 1,500 Old Norse loanwords were adopted, covering everyday vocabulary (sky, leg), pronouns (they, them), verbs (take, give), and place names (Langtoft, Grimsby).
c) OE hīe drifen reflects Old English’s synthetic structure and native pronouns, whereas ME thei drifen shows the adoption of Norse pronouns (thei) and the analytic shift relying on word order.

Question 5

Why is the introduction of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England of importance?
What are the linguistic effects? (2 pts)

Answer 5

The introduction of Christianity (597 AD) brought Latin influence to Old English, enriching its vocabulary with religious, scholarly, and cultural terms (e.g., angel, altar, priest). It also introduced the Latin alphabet, replacing runes, which helped standardize writing and promote literacy.

Question 6

Name the main Old English dialects. (2 pts)

Answer 6

Wessex, Northumbrian, Mercian and Kentish

Question 7

Who was William the Bastard (later: the Conqueror) and why is he important
for the history of English? (1 p

Answer 7

William the Bastard, won the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

introduced Norman French as the language of the ruling class, the court, and administration. This led to a massive influx of French vocabulary into English, particularly in areas like law, governance, and culture, profoundly shaping the development of Middle English.

Question 8

Why do we have the greatest influx of French-derived loanwords into English
between 1250 and 1380 (and not before)? (2 pts)

Question 9

Match the elements in a) with the corresponding element(s) in b) so that they
illustrate the linguistic situation in England ca. 1300: (2 pts)
a) Latin, English, Anglo-Norman French, French
b) royal court, administration, Church, majority of the population

Answer 9

Latin: Church
English: Majority of the population
Anglo-Norman French: Administration
French: Royal court

Question 10

a) In which contexts would you use to climb (< Old English climban) vs. French
to mount (< French monter) vs. to ascend (< Latin ascendere)?
b) Create a sentence with each verb so that the sentence makes sense and is
grammatically and semantically correct. Can you replace the verb used by any
of the other two verbs?
c) Can you deduce a rule for the survival of (near) synonyms? (3 pts

Answer 10

to climb a tree
to mount a horse
to ascend the throne
Synonyms survive when they develop distinctive uses in terms of formality, specificity, or context:

Anglo-Saxon (OE) words: Used in everyday, informal, or physical contexts (e.g., "to climb").
French-derived words: Adopted for formal, social, or specialized contexts (e.g., "to mount").
Latin-derived words: Retained for highly formal, abstract, or intellectual contexts (e.g., "to ascend").

Question 11

a) Determine the dialectal affiliation (North or South) of the following two
sentences and b) name the dialectal markers. (2 pts)
i) Heo meteth the cwene in the church. ii). She meets the queen in the kirk.
Both mean in Modern English: She meets the queen in the church.

Answer 11

i) Heo -> southern pronouns
meteth -> inflectional marker southern

ii) She -> derived from old Norse
meets -> inflectional marker of Scandi origin

Question 12

a) Name the dialects of Middle English.
b) Why do we have now one more than in Old English? (3 pts

Answer 12

a) Northumbrian, Kentish, Wessex, Mercian West and East&Midland
b) Due to the danelaw the influences of Old Norse were so strong that new dialect arose

Question 13

Why do Middle English scribes write monk even though the pronunciation is
with a short /u/ (munk)? (1 pt)

Answer 13

minim problem
only written in one stroke
u in front of m,n,v -> o

Question 14

a) Name and
b) explain the sound-shift that is responsible for the difference in pronunciation
between ModEngl. time (/taim/) vs. OE and ME tima/time (/ti:m/).
c) Which other sounds were affected by this change?
d) draw a diagram summarising the general development (3 pts

Answer 14

The Great Vowel Shift was a series of changes in the pronunciation of English vowels that occurred between the 14th and 18th centuries. During this shift:

The Middle English /iː/ (as in "time") underwent a change, moving from the earlier long /iː/ to the diphthong /ai/ (as in the Modern English pronunciation of "time" as /taim/).

Question 15

Name at least three events (and dates) that could be seen as marking the end of
the Middle English period? (3 pts)

Answer 15

The great Vowel shift (1400-1700)
1475: Caxton printing press
1485: the Battle of Bosworth Field -> standardization of English

Question 16

What are the major differences between Old English and Modern English in
a) lexicon/vocabulary,
b) syntax/sentence structure,
c) pronunciation/spelling? (3 pts

Answer 16

a) Lexicon/Vocabulary:

Old English (OE):
    Primarily Germanic with some Latin influence (mainly religious terms).
    Often used compound words (e.g., eorþanwudu = "forest").

Modern English (ModE):
    Extensive borrowings from Latin, French, and other languages.
    Vocabulary is much expanded (e.g., court, government).

b) Syntax/Sentence Structure:

Old English (OE):
    Flexible word order due to inflectional endings (could be SOV or SVO).
    Example: Se cyning lofode þone eorl ("The king praised the earl").

Modern English (ModE):
    Fixed word order (SVO) due to loss of inflections.
    Example: The king praised the earl.

c) Pronunciation/Spelling:

Old English (OE):
    More vowel sounds and complex consonants (e.g., "þ" for "th").
    Long and short vowels (e.g., tima vs. tīma).

Modern English (ModE):
    Simplified vowel system due to the Great Vowel Shift.
    Regularized spelling, though inconsistencies remain (e.g., though vs. through).