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Paper 1
From what time period does Early Modern English (EME) span?
1450-1700
From what time period does Modern English (ModE) span?
1700-1900
From what time period does Late Modern English (LME) span?
1900-present day
What causes language change?
Historical factors
Wars and invasions
Invaders brought with them words which English would eventually absorb
e.g Normans invaded in 1066 and brought French words
Technological changes
New inventions and ways of doing things
Cultural and social factors
Commerce and immigration/emigration
Trade and the British Empire
e.g âpyjamaâ is a Hindi word which entered English from the British Empireâs colonial presence in South Asia in the 1870s
From what time period does Old English (OE) span?
449-1100
What was the original language of England?
Celtic
Who invaded in 49AD and occupied England for 400 years?
The Romans
What language did the Romanâs speak?
Latin, as would any Celts working with them.
What year did the Romanâs leave Britain?
410CE
What was the result of the Romanâs leaving Britain in 410CE?
Native Britainâs were left defenceless against attacks from the Scots.
What did King Vortegern do to help defeat the Scots in 449AD?
Invited Germanic tribes
What did the Germanic tribes do when they released Britain was defenceless?
Took over Britain
With new invaders came a new language (Anglo-Saxon) which evolved into English as we know it
What were the 4 Anglo-Saxon dialects?
Northumbrian
Mercian
Kentish
West Saxon
What was the state of language at this stage?
Language had not undergone standardisation as the country had not reached social or political unity.
How does Anglo-Saxon English differ to English today?
Phonetic langauge with almost all sounds pronounced
No silent letters
What occured towards the end of the 8th century?
In 787AD, Vikings from Scandinavia invaded
After 100 years they were defeated by the English but King Alfred let them remain
Where did the Vikings eventually settle?
A large area of the North
Named it âDanelawâ
Spoke their own language (Old Norse)
How did Old Norse impact the English langauge?
Both languages were spoken side by side (as they were in some ways similar so speakers could communicate with each other to an extent) but eventually Old Norse was absorbed by English.
Old English relied heavily on inflections to determine the function of words but since the Vikings often mispronounced or omitted these in conversation, they eventually become grammatically redundant. This paved the way towards a reliance on word order.
What major event served as the catalyst for the next major change in English language?
Norman invasion (the battle of Hastings) in 1066
What did William the Conqueror do after the Battle of Hastings in 1066?
Remove all ruling class, clergy and nobility of their land and titles and replace them with Normans.
How many words were introduced to the English language by the Normans?
10,000
What language did the Normans speak?
French and Latin
Why was French the chosen form of communication during this period?
The French language was seen as prestigious.
How did French dominating speech affect the English language?
Written English decreased rapidly
English didnât emerge in writing again until 1150
Who still spoke English?
Common people
Remained in a phonetic sense
Each dialect developed their own writing systems
Where were the first literary representations of English dialectal variations?
In Chaucerâs texts
What event led to the decline of speaking French in England?
King John lost a war to France in 1250 and thus England and France became enemies
Hundred Yearsâ War was a conflict between England and France
When did the Black death occur? What were its implications?
1348
It diminished the rural population
Why did peasants move to Urban areas? How did this impact the English language?
Better working conditions
Brought their language (English) to areas where they mainly spoke French = decline of French speakers
What are some examples of English gaining status and being used in official domains?
1362- English was the language of the law courts
1384- Wycliffeâs Bible was written in English
1385- English was used in schools
By the end of the century, literature was written in both English and French (notably Chaucer wrote in English)
During Middle English what categories were French borrowings in English linked to?
Goverment
Religion
Law
Food
Clothing
What did Latin borrowings introduce?
Tended to be more formal lexis
Introduced new affixes, e.g âableâ, âibleâ, âentâ
Describe Middle English orthography (<v> and <u>)
<v> and <u> had no fixed value, they were interchangeable
General rule: <v> was used for an initial letter and <u> was used for an internal letter
Describe Middle English orthography (<y> and <i>)
<y> and <i> were interhchangeable for the sake of legibility to minimse confusion.
What Latin form replaced the Old English form <cw>?
<qu>
e.g cwean â queen
Describe Middle English morphology
Thorn (Ăž) and ash (ĂŚ) fell out of use
Yogh (Č) replaced by <g>
<sc> replaced by <sh>
<hw> replaced by <wh>
Initial <h> was gradually deleted
What factors in EME had significant effects on English?
Printing press and standardisation
Great Vowel Shift
King James I Bible
Renaissance
Who introduced the printing press and when?
William Caxton, a merchant, in 1476.
What was the first book to be printed in English?
âThe Recuyell of the histories of Troyeâ
What were the impacts of the printing press?
More texts could be produced
Written language reached a much larger audience
People became more aware of differences in written language in different parts of the country (no standard forms)
How did the printing press cause civil unrest?
Made poor people more aware of their situation.
For commerical reasons, what dialect did Caxton decide to use for printing?
London/East Midlands
Where did Caxton establish the printing press?
Westminster
Note 
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