Transcript History of the English Language

Middle English
Cnut’s Danish-English Empire 1014-1035
Harold Godwin
Earl of Wessex
William of Normandy
The
Norman
Invasion
1066
Battle of Hastings
• Harold Godwin dies
• Normans pillage southern England
• Christmas 1066: Enthronement of William of Normandy
After the Norman Conquest
1066-1204
William replaces the old English nobility by a
new Norman nobility.
Soon, every important position in government,
church and at universities was held by a
Norman.
Norman
property in
England
and France
1204 Loss of
Normandy
English in the 13th century
After loss of Normandy:
French remains the
dominant language of
the upper classes.
At the end of the 13th
century, English is used
more commonly by the
upper classes.
King Henry III
1216-1272
The growing importance of English
1. Upper classes need to communicate with their
people.
2. After the loss of the Normandy, French was no
longer needed.
3. Speaking French was fashionable in the 13th
century, but Norman French had much lower
prestige than the French spoken in Paris.
Early French loan words (1066-1250)
baron
noble
servant
messenger
feast
French loan words: nouns
action
age
bucket
carpenter
coast
cost
courage
adventure
air
calendar
city
comfort
country
coward
number
pair
person
powder
river
sign
opinion
French loan words: nouns
ease
error
noise
flower
Honor
manner
damage
envy
face
fault
force
hour
task
debt
poverty
reason
season
sound
use
honor
people
French loan words: verbs
advise
approach
betray
serve
conceal
count
declare
desire
aim
arrange
change
comfort
consider
deceive
defeat
enjoy
allow
arrive
chase
complain
continue
destroy
delay
enter
French loan words: verbs
force
form
increase
inform
join
suppose
marry
obey
observe
pay
wait
please
praise
prefer
propose
prove
push
receive
refuse
relieve
remember
waste
satisfy
save
French loan words: adjectives
able
active
actual
brief
calm
certain
clear
common
contrary
courageous
cruel
curious
eager
easy
faint
fierce
final
firm
foreign
gentle
hasty
French loan words: adjectives
honest
horrible
innocent
large
natural
nice
original
perfect
poor
precious
pure
real
rude
safe
scarce
second
simple
single
special
stable
usual
Government and administration
government
crown
state
empire
realm
authority
court
parliament
assembly
traitor
treason
exile
liberty
office
mayor
prince
baron
duke
sir
madam
mistress
Church and religion
religion
sermon
confess
prayer
lesson
passion
chant
sacrifice
chapter
abbey
cloister
virgin
saint
miracle
mystery
faith
mercy
pity
virtue
preach
pray
Law
justice
crime
bill
evidence
ransom
award
prison
blame
pledge
acquit
property
entail
equity
judge
petition
proof
verdict
fine
accuse
arrest
condemn
fraud
estate
just
judgment
attorney
complaint
bail
sentence
punishment
indict
seize
convict
perjury
heir
innocent
Army and navy
army
enemy
siege
retreat
spy
navy
battle
defense
soldier
captain
pace
combat
ambush
guard
besiege
Fashion
dress
habit
fashion
robe
coat
collar
veil
mitten
adorn
embellish
blue
brown
fur
jewel
ivory
Meals and food
dinner
taste
beef
sausage
cream
fruits
lemon
spice
supper
appetite
veal
bacon
sugar
orange
cherry
mustard
boil
salmon
pork
gravy
salad
roast
peach
vinegar
Furniture, social life
couch
chair
screen
lamp
blanket
wardrobe
recreation
leisure
dance
fool
music
chess
stable
retrieve
falcon
forest
park
tournament
Art, learning, medicine
art
color
tone
tower
column
rime
pen
geometry
clause
stomach
painting
figure
cathedral
porch
vase
story
study
grammar
copy
ointment
beauty
image
ceiling
bay
poet
paper
logic
noun
medicine
poison
Loss of Germanic words
French borrowing
Lost English word
poor
people
guilty
army
warrior
air
confess
praise
earm
leod
scyldig
here
cempa
lyft
andettan
hearian
Semantic differentiation
French loan
English word
judgment
judge
cordial
power
demand
desire
beef
pork
veal
mutton
doom
deem
hearty
might
ask
wish
ox
swine
calf
cheep
Old English verbal prefixes
for- (German ver-)
forget, forbear, forbid
with- (German mit-)
withdraw, withhold
to- (German zu-)
---
English derivational morphemes
-hood
childhood, likelihood, manhood
-ship
friendship, kinship, hardship
-dom
freedom, wisdom, kingdom
Romans verbal affixes
Verbal prefixes
inter–, counter–, re–, trans–, anti–, dis–,
Verbal suffixes
–able, –ible, –ent, –al, –ous, –ive
The 100 Year’s War 1337-1453
Rise of new middle class
Craftsmen
Merchants
Black Death 1349
Loan words from Latin
adjacent
conspiracy
contempt
custody
distract
frustrate
genius
gesture
history
homicide
include
incredible
individual
infancy
suppress
infinite
innate
intellect
Loan words from Latin
interrupt
legal
magnify
minor
moderate
private
necessary
nervous
picture
polite
popular
prevent
project
submit
prosody
reject
summary
substitute
Loan words from Flemish, Dutch, Low
German
deck
dock
freight
rover
booze
gin
easel
etching
landscape
Middle English Grammar
The structure of Middle English is radically
different from the structure of Old English.
Old English is a highly inflectional language.
Middle English has very little morphology.
Spelling
<þ> and <ð> were gradually replaced by <th>
<k> for [k]
<sh> for [S]
<ch> for [tS]
Old Engl.
Middle E.
Old Engl.
Middle E.
Old Engl.
Middle E.
cyssan
cneow
cene
kiss
knee
keen
scamu
scearp
shame
sharp
cild
ceap
cinn
child
cheap
chinn
Spelling
[u] <ou> or <ow>
[x] <gh>
OE
OE
þoht
riht
ME
thought
right
OE
hwæt
hwil
ME
what
while
hu
thu
hus
brun
ME
hour
round
how
thou
house
brown
Consonants
Bilabial Labiodental
Stop
Interdental
p b
Alveola Alveola Velar
r
-palatal
t d
Affricate
Fricative
Nasal
f v
m
Lateral
Retroflex
Glide
w
T D
s z
n
l
r
k g
tS dZ
S Z
y
h
Phonological changes
vine (Fr.)
fine (Fr.)
view (Fr.)
few (Engl.)
vile (Fr.)
file (Engl.)
Phonological changes
[hu:zian] > [hu:zia] >
[hu:z]
‘to house’ V
[hu:s]
[hu:s]
‘a house’ N
bath
breath
bathe
breathe
life
knife
live
knives
Vowels
Long vowels
i:
Short vowels
u:
e:
o:
a:
i
u
e
@
a
o
Diphthongs
[iu]
[Eu]
[au]
[Ou]
[ai]
[Ui]
[Oi]
trewe
fewe
clawe
bowe
dai
point
chois
‘true’
‘few’
‘claw’
‘bow’
‘day’
‘point’
‘choice’
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1340-1400)
Morphosyntactic changes
1. Simplification of inflection/morphology
2. Emergence of new grammatical devices:
a. analytical verb forms
b. rigid word order
Noun declension
Old English
SG
SG
NOM
stan
stan-as
GEN
stan-es
stan-a
DAT
stan-e
stan-um
ACC
stan
stan-as
Noun declension
Old English
Middle English
SG
SG
SG
PL
NOM
stan
stan-as
stan
stan-es
GEN
stan-es
stan-a
stan-es stan-es
DAT
stan-e
stan-um
stan
stan-es
ACC
stan
stan-as
stan
stan-es
Function of morphological case
markers
(1) Peter’s car
(2) Der Mann gibt dem Jungen den Stift.
Noun declension
Old English
Middle English
SG
SG
SG
PL
NOM
stan
stan-as
stan
stan-es
GEN
stan-es
stan-a
stan-es stan-es
DAT
stan-e
stan-um
stan
stan-es
ACC
stan
stan-as
stan
stan-es
Noun declension
South
Old English
Middle English
SG
SG
PL
SG
PL
NOM
eag-a
eag-an
eye
eye-n
GEN
eag-an
stan-ena
eye-s
eye-n
DAT
eag-an
stan-um
eye
eye-n
ACC
eag-an
stan-an
eye
eye-n
Relics of the -en plural in EME
EME
eyen
shoon
hosen
housen
peasen
PDE
‘eyes’
‘shoes’
‘hose’
‘houses’
‘peas’
Relics of the -en plural in ME
oxen
children
brethren
Gender
NEUT
Þæt scip
‘that.N ship’
MASC
se sta:n
‘that.M stone’
FEM
seo giefu
‘that.F gift’
Demonstratives
that/the
Masc
Neut
NOM
se
þæt
GEN
þæs
þæs
DAT
þæm
þæ:m
ACC
þone
þæt
INST
þy:
þy:
proximal
distal
SG
PL
this
that
these
those
Third person pronouns
Subj
Obj
Poss
3SG M
3SG F
3 SG N
3 PL
he
him
his
heo, sche
hit, it
he, hi, thei
hire, her
hit, it, him hem, them
hir(e), her(e) his
here, thair
First and second person pronouns
1. person
Subj
Obj
Poss
2. person
SG
PL
ich, I
me
mine, mi
we
us
ure, our
SG
þu, thou
þe, thee
þin(e), i
PL
ye, ye
you, eu, you
yur(e), your
Adjectives
OE
NOM
ACC
GEN
DAT
INSTR
SG
MASC
NEUT
FEM
til
til-ne
til-es
til-um
til-e
til
til
til-es
til-um
til-e
til-u
til-e
til-re
til-re
Verbal inflection
OE
Indicative
1. Sg
2. Sg
3. Sg
Pl.
Subjunctive
Sg.
Pl.
Present
Past
sing-e
sing-est
sing-eð
sing-að
sang
sang-e
sang
sung-on
sing-e
sing-en
sung-e
sung-en
Verbal inflection in Middle English
Person:
-s (3rd person)
Number
lost
Tense
-ed / Ablaut
Mood
lost
Grammatical innovations
Morphological cases were replaced by new
word order patterns.
Tense and mood affixes were replaced by
new analytical verb forms.
Word order in main clauses
(1)
(2)
Old English
Þa eode se biscop into þa oþaere cyrcan
then went the bishop into that other church
‘Then the bishop went into the other church.’
Middle English
In the contre of Ethyop they slen here
childeryn byforn here goddys.
‘In the country of Ethiopia they slay their
children in front of their gods.’
Word order in main clauses
Nowe haue ye herde þe vertues & þe significacouns.
‘Now have you heard the virtues and the meanings.’
(1)
(2)
(3)
Never has Peter talked to him.
Under no circumstance would she talk to him.
Only on the weekend does he have time to cook
dinner.
Word order in subordinate clauses
(1)
… þat ðu þis weork naht ne forlate.
‘… that you this work not (not) neglect.’
(2)
If a man will þe harme…
‘If a man wants (to) you harm… .’
Word order in questions
(1)
Woot ye not where ther stant a litel toun …
know you not where there stand a little town
‘Don’t you know where the little town is?
(2)
Why make ye youreself for to be lyk a fool?
Why make you yourself for to be like a fool
‘Why do you make a fool of yourself?’
Analytical verb forms
Future
Perfect
Passive
Progressive
Modal verbs
will catch
have caught
is caught
is catching
can / may / must catch
Future
and swiche wolle have the kyngdom of helle,
and not of hevene.
‘and such will have the kingdom of hell, and not
of heaven’
Perfect
(1)
Ic hæbbe [þo-ne fisc gefange-ne]
I have the-ACC fish caught-ACC
‘I have the fish caught’
(=I have the fish in a state of being caught)
Perfect
(1)
thin geleafa
hæfth
the gehæled.
your faith
has
you healed
‘Your faith has healed you.’
(2)
Ac hie hæfdon þa… hiora mete genotudne.
but they had then… their food used-up
‘But they had then used up their food.’
Perfect
(1)
a.
Peter has a fish caught.
(Peter has a caught fish)
b.
Peter has caught a fish.
Perfect
(1)
þou hauest don oure kunne wo
‘You have done our family woe.’
(2)
I am com to myne ende.
‘I have come to my end.’
Passive
Vorgangspassive:
Zustandspassive
wesen
weorthan
[men] that wol nat be governed by hir wyves.
‘[men] that will not be governed by their wives.’
Progressive
Participle
(1)
For now is gode Gawayn goande ryght here.
For now is good Gawain going right here.
Gerund
(2)
I am yn beldyng of a pore hous.
‘I am in (the process of) building a poor house.’
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Below you see a summary of Grimm’s law. What does
Grimm’s law describe?
*p t k
>
f D x/h
*b d g
>
ptk
*bh dh gh
>
bdg
Explain how Latin influenced English in the OE period.
Characterize the basic word order of OE.
Characterize the vocabulary that English borrowed from
Old Norse.
What is the historical source of the present perfect in
Modern English?
Characterize the major developmental changes in the
English grammar during the ME period.
Perfect
(1)
Ic hæbbe [þo-ne fisc gefange-ne]
I have the-ACC fish caught-ACC
‘I have the fish caught’
(=I have the fish in a state of being caught)
Grammatical innovations
Loss of inflectional morphology.
Development of rigid word order.
Development of analytical verb forms.
Word order in main clauses
(1)
(2)
Old English
Þa eode se biscop into þa oþaere cyrcan
then went the bishop into that other church
‘Then the bishop went into the other church.’
Middle English
In the contre of Ethyop they slen here
childeryn byforn here goddys.
‘In the country of Ethiopia they slay their
children in front of their gods.’
Word order in main clauses
Nowe haue ye herde þe vertues & þe significacouns.
‘Now have you heard the virtues and the meanings.’
(1)
(2)
(3)
Never has Peter talked to him.
Under no circumstance would she talk to him.
Only on the weekend does he have time to cook
dinner.
Future
and swiche wolle have the kyngdom of helle,
and not of hevene.
‘and such will have the kingdom of hell, and not
of heaven’
Passive
Vorgangspassive:
Zustandspassive
wesen
weorthan
[men] that wol nat be governed by hir wyves.
‘[men] that will not be governed by their wives.’
Modal verbs
(1)
þat y mowe riche be
‘that I may rich be’
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
*Do I may go home
*I do not may go home.
*I may to go.
*I am maying go home.
Was Middle English a creole?
(Baugh & Cable p.125)
Middle English was not a creole:
The development of Middle English was very different
from the development of a creole language.
Although Middle English has very little morphology, it
has complex syntactic structures and an intricate
phonological system.
The discussion about the creolization of
English demonstrates how radically English
changed in Middle English:
1. different vocabulary
2. different grammar
What led to the grammatical changes?
The Norman Conquest had a significant
effect on the English vocabulary, but did
it also affect the English grammar?
Why did English grammar change so
much?
• The stress pattern
• The contact with Old Norse
• The loss of an English standard
Middle
English
Dialects
And one of theym named Sheffelde, a mercer,
cam in-to an hows and axed for mete; and
specyaly he axyd after eggys. And the goode
wyf answered, that she coude speke no
frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he
also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde have
hadde egges, and she understode hym not.
And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he
wolde have eyren.
Middle English Dialects
South
North
eyr-en
egg-es
South
North
–eth
–es
loveth
loves
South
North
–inde
–ande
lovinde
lovande
South
North
hi, here, hem
they
Languages and Dialects
What distinguishes a language
from a dialect?
Scandinavian
languages
Chinese
Dialects
Dialects vs. Languages
The distinction between the terms language
and dialect is based on a variety of criteria: 1.
linguistic (mutual intelligibility), 2. political, 3.
social, 4. cultural.
Regional
transitions
are fluid