Subtest II - Language History

Question 1

What branch and family of languages is the English language part of?

Answer 1

The Germanic branch of the Indo-European family (includes Danish, Dutch, German, and others).

Question 2

What are the 3 periods of English’s historical development?

Answer 2

Old English (including Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English (split into Early Modern English and Late Modern English).

Question 3

Most scholars see the origins of English in what now-lost language?

Answer 3

Indo-European: originated probably in northeastern Europe or around the Black Sea between 3000 and 2000 BCE.

Question 4

Describe the history of Old English.

Answer 4

A.k.a. Anglo-Saxon, developed from Germanic dialects spoken by tribes from northern Europe about 500 CE. The West Saxon dialect became the literary standard. When Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity their scribes began writing in a Latin alphabet that combined runes and Latin letters. Viking invasion of the 9th century led to development between Old Norse and Old English.

Question 5

Describe the history of Middle English.

Answer 5

The advent of Middle English is dated from the Norman Conquest of 1066 when William the Conqueror brought in French influence. By 1400 English had been changed from a Germanic-based language to a combination Germanic-Romance language hybrid.

Question 6

Describe the history of Modern English.

Answer 6

Early Modern English = 1500-1800, beginning with Renaissance which brought in Greek and Latin words. The Great Vowel Shift also changed phonology (sound patterns) so that common spellings of words now no longer correspond to their sounds. Influence also from printed books.
Late Modern English = 1800-present, influenced by Industrial Revolution (scientific terminology), military and global trade.

Question 7

Dialect

Answer 7

A variation of a language that is spoken by inhabitants of a particular geographical area. Can have its own grammar and vocabulary. (English dialects: Spanglish, African American English, Hawaiian English, Southern American, Appalachian English)

Question 8

Pidgin

Answer 8

Another name for a contact language made up of two or more languages. Originally employed by traders and Europeans in their contact with various indigenous peoples.

Question 9

Creolization

Answer 9

When a simple code like pidgin continues to develop over time and acquires native speakers. New vocabulary is added to the code and adopts new, more complicated linguistic principles until finally it has a complexity similar to other languages. (Ex: Creole of French and African languages in Louisiana)

Question 10

Linguistics

Answer 10

The systematic study of language in order to find general principles and structures that link human languages.

Question 11

Morphology

Answer 11

The study of the composition of words

Question 12

Syntax

Answer 12

The composition of sentences

Question 13

Phonology

Answer 13

The sound patterns of words and phrases

Question 14

Phonetics

Answer 14

The actual properties of speech sounds and non-speech sounds

Question 15

Semantics

Answer 15

The meaning of words

Question 16

Pragmatics

Answer 16

Language usage in context

Question 17

Sociolinguistics

Answer 17

Language and society

Question 18

What three things are part of the grammar of a language?

Answer 18

Morphology, syntax, and phonology

Question 19

Atomistic view of language

Answer 19

Language is a collection of speech sounds, words, and grammatical endings

Question 20

Structuralist view of language

Answer 20

Language is a system in which each element of sound and meaning is mainly defined by how it relates to other elements

Question 21

Noam Chomsky’s theory of generative grammar

Answer 21

Emphasizes that people share an innate and universal set of linguistic structures, which accounts for why children can lean a new language so easily. Chomsky insisted that people have a genetic predisposition to language.

Question 22

Chomsky’s Universal Grammar

Answer 22

A set of principles that apply to all languages and are unconsciously accessible to every human language user. Includes the fundamental qualities shared by all languages. Similarities between languages may be due to a common aspect of human experience (such as need for water and therefore a word that means water). Similarities may also be due to common patterns of descent, and from contact between cultures and the borrowing of words and sentence sructures.

Question 23

Chomsky’s transformational grammar

Answer 23

Languages have a shared deep structure and a variable surface structure.