CHAPTER 2

Development of English:

Indo-European —> Germanic —> West Germanic —> Prehistoric English —> Old English —> Middle English —> Modern English

4 major periods of English (& time periods):

• Prehistoric English (400-700 AD)

• Old English (700-1100 AD)

• Middle English (1100-1500 AD)

• Modern English (1500 AD - present)

What happened during the Prehistoric English period?

• Anglo-Saxon invasions & West Germanic dialects

• Written in runic script (Anglo-Saxon runes)

• Missionaries supported England’s conversion to Christianity (which came with Latin and writing system)

• OG inhabitants: Celtic peoples

What happened during the Old English period?

• Religious & creative texts (Beowulf - the first epic poem)

• Norse vikings invaded between 800-1000 AD

• Alfred the Great fended them off, establishing English as reputable

What happened during the Middle English period?

• William (Duke of Normandy) the Conqueror claimed right to throne; defeated Harold (1066) “Norman Conquest” they brought French to English society = French is high social status

• Middle English = language of peasants

• Borrowings from French (to supplement for class when English began to be used widely again) = Anglo-Norman French dialect

What happened during the Modern English period?

• Great Vowel Shift: series of changes in pronunciation of English vowels

• Printing press (invented 1400s) led to led to language standardization

• Renaissance (rapid developments in art & science; English borrowed heavily from Latin & Greek during)

Great Vowel Shift:

Linguists classify languages using:

• Genetic classification

• The comparative method

Genetic classification:

relations based on similarities & differences

The comparative method:

method of comparing languages to discover their prehistory

Synchronic linguistics:

studying language as it is spoken today

Diachronic linguistics:

studying language & language changes over time

Sound correspondences

Sound changes