week 6

Question 1

Old English VS Middle English

Answer 1

changes in ME: grammar
- OE synthetic language
–> relies on inflections to indicate the grammatical function of words
- ModE analytic language
–> relies on word order, prepositions and auxiliaries to indicate the grammatical function on words
middle english = synthetic –> analytic

Question 2

the English language: timeline

Answer 2

Old English (EO) (600 - 1100)
- Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians (5th century)
Middle English (ME) (1100 - 1500)
- 1066: battle of hastings (northern conquerors)
- 1476: printing press in England
modern English (ModE) (1500 - present)
- 1500 - 1700: early modern English (EModE)
- 1700 - 1900: late modern English (LModE)
- present: present day English (PDE)

Question 3

trilingual England (1100 - 1400): French

Answer 3

• used in administrative, legal documents
• spoken at court
• prestige language
• people working at court would learn French too
• used by the ruling classes and court

Question 4

trilingual England (1100 - 1400): English

Answer 4

• language of the majority
• language of the low classes
• language of the native people of England

Question 5

trilingual England (1100 - 1400): Latin

Answer 5

• language of the church
• language of learning and scholarships
• used in official documents
• lingua franca across Europe