Week 11

Question 1

What distinguished English colonisers from others (Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French)?

Answer 1

English colonisers were more trade-focused and segregationist; they used language as a tool of colonialism.

Question 2

What phrase describes the expanse of the British Empire?

Answer 2

The sun never sets on the British Empire.

Question 3

What were key drivers of migration influencing the spread of English?

Answer 3

1. Voluntary migration: seeking better opportunities (Highland clearances, Irish famine).
2. Involuntary migration: penal colonies (Australia), slave trade.

Question 4

Why did English become a lingua franca?

Answer 4

Large global population spoke English; rulers used it for unifying regions with many native languages.

Question 5

How did globalisation and technology aid the spread of English?

Answer 5

The USA’s dominance post-WW2 and the Internet (largely developed English) solidified its status.

Question 6

What are the effects of English on non-English-speaking populations?

Answer 6

1. Marginalisation (a group being treated insignificantly) of non-English speakers (like US Hispanics).
2. English-speaking elite in India, Nigeria, Kenya.

Question 7

What languages have faced extinction or decline due to English?

Answer 7

Gaelic, Maori, Native American languages.

Question 8

What might the future of English as a global language look like?

Answer 8

Emergence of varieties like Chinglish, Spanglish; debates about ownership of the language.

Question 9

How was English spread within the British Isles?

Answer 9

1. Policies like English-medium teaching in Scotland (after Jacobite rebellion).
2. Highland clearances and Irish colonisation discouraged native languages.
3. Wales and Cornwall remained largely Celtic-speaking until the 18th-19th centuries.

Question 10

What is structural transfer?

Answer 10

Borrowing syntax/phonetics between languages (e.g., Irish “Tá sé tréis imeacht” → “He’s after going”).

Question 11

What was the first permanent English settlement in America?

Answer 11

Jamestown, Virginia (1607).

Question 12

How did Dutch influence American English?

Answer 12

Dutch words (e.g., boss, cookie) and place names (e.g., Brooklyn, Harlem) entered the language.

Question 13

What Native American contributions exist in English?

Answer 13

Place names (e.g., Manhattan) and words (e.g., moccasin, skunk).

Question 14

What differentiates pidgins from creoles?

Answer 14

Pidgin: Simplified, no native speakers.
Creole: Fully developed, native speakers.

Question 15

What are common features of creoles and pidgins?

Answer 15

1. Simplified grammar, fewer sounds.
2. Lexifier language contributes most vocabulary.
3. Reduplication for clarity or emphasis (e.g., tok → toktok).

Question 16

What is substrate vs. superstrate?

Answer 16

Substrate: Lower-prestige language influencing structure.

Superstrate: Dominant language providing vocabulary.

Question 17

What vocabulary examples are retained in American English?

Answer 17

Fall (autumn in BrE).
Mad (angry).
Sick (unwell).

Question 18

How does American English differ syntactically?

Answer 18

Present perfect less common (e.g., “Did you book yet?”).

Use of “gotten” vs “got.”

Question 19

How does American English pronunciation differ?

Answer 19

Rhoticity: Pronunciation of postvocalic “r” (e.g., “work”).

Different vowel pronunciations (e.g., “path” vs. “pahth”).

Question 20

What factors contributed to the faster spread of linguistic forms in the modern era?

Answer 20

Universal education, improved transportation (e.g., 18th-century speed services, 19th-century steam trains).

Question 21

What has replaced traditional rural dialects in many areas?

Answer 21

Modern dialects originating in urban settings, such as Estuary English.

Question 22

What is supra-localisation in language?

Answer 22

Forms previously bound to specific regions spreading far and wide, like glottal stops and /l/ vocalisation.

Question 23

How does the wave model describe linguistic change?

Answer 23

Linguistic forms spread evenly from a central region through sustained contact (not realistic).

Question 24

How does the city-hopping model differ from the wave model?

Answer 24

Innovations spread between cities without appearing in intervening rural areas, eventually reaching smaller cities and rural areas (modern way).

Question 25

What is dialect levelling?

Answer 25

The mixing and reduction of distinct dialect features due to increased mobility and communication.

Question 26

Give an example of new dialect formation.

Answer 26

Milton Keynes in the UK, where dialects mixed to form a blend of RP, London English, and Estuary English

Question 27

Why is geographical distance no longer a major obstacle to communication?

Answer 27

Increased mobility and technology allow for easy communication across distances.

Question 28

How do social classes interact linguistically in cities?

Answer 28

Upper-class uses RP, middle-class adopts Estuary English, and working-class uses Cockney or MLE.