Old English Flashcards
When and how, generally, did the upper class learn English? 2
- In communication with the lower classes, labourers and tradesmen.
- While communicating with their English wives.
How far down in the social scale was a knowledge of French at all, in general? 3
- Upper classes; fluent = mother tongue or educated/bilingual (= child mixed marriage)
- Middle classes; bilingual (church/education/merchants) = need for communication with upper classes + lower classes). Knights = cultivated, Merchants/Trade was Norman, free tenants= sometimes
- Lower classes; hardly any
How would the English language be different if the Norman conquest had not occurred? 1
It would still be synthetic (or highly inflectional) = with cases because of the Germanic Anglo-Saxon language. Example in modern English = to whom.
How long did French remain the main language after 1066? 1
About 150 years. Until 1204 when they lost Normandy to France.
From what tribe does the tern “Norman” derive? 1
Northmen = Vikings who settled the North-Western part of France in the 9th and 10th century.
Who was Edward the Confessor? 1
King of England, son of Etherlred. Brought up in Normandy by Norman mother. Adviser was Godwin, Earl of Wessex => Edward was his puppet (Godwin made him marry his daughter). He killed Edward’s brother.
How many new words did the Normans bring to English? 1
10,000. The language passed on to the people in the street. The two peoples fused. Examples: hat – bonnet; cow – beef; king – monarch; to demand – to ask
