English Language 422: Class Noted

The second half of Dr Lewis's English 422-001 class notes.

The Great Vowel Shift

“The defining moment in the history of English pronunciation” - Lerer

The large scale pronunciation change that occured from about mid-15th to 17th century [Chaucer-Shakespeare]. It was the systematic raising and fronting of the long, stressed monophthongs of ME. Separated English from other European languages.

A.A.V.E Word/ text examples

• Banjo

• Ocra

• Jazz

• Rap. Brown

• Yam

• Bad-mouth

Evidence for Creole Hypothesis

• “uh-huh”

• verb forms are used to establish not only a place and time but a expression of duration of time

• omissions of parts of speech in vocalization

What is an example of a change during The Great Vowel Shift?

The OE long /e/ sound in words like “sheep” that caused it to sound like “shape”, changed to the modern sound used in “sheep” and “meet”.

Gullah english variation example

• A loss of plural so “two dog” instead of “two dogs”

What was Chancery?

A standard of written English developed by Chaucer that valued speed, clarity, directness, and flow.

Why was Caxton important?

He spread Chancery through his print shop in both official documents and literary works, this in turn spread a standard form of English literacy to a broader audience of English speakers.

What is the best example of Middle English English?

Agnes Paston’s letters

Why are Agnes Paston’s letters important to the HOEL?

They are written in a spoken English style and portray the passing of time which reflects the English used during the Middle English period and it’s change.

What linguistic innovations arose during the Renaissance?

• The change of “do”.

• A rise in verb forms of -ing.

• A change in the system of pronouns.

• Idiom forms become more prevalent.

How did “do” change during the Renaissance?

became used:

• as a stand in for a full verb

• for emphasis

• as a question/ in questions

• for confirmation

• as a placeholder

What does the rise of -ing verb forms during the Renaissance refer to?

• -ing verb forms becoming standard

• progressive tense using -ing verb forms

• progressive verbs

What are some things that might have led to The Great Vowel Shift?

• The disappearance of French from the South

• Migrations from northern England &

  the midlands into London

• Subtle pressure to choose a pronunciation

• Distinctions b/t ability to do something & the will to do something

When did Shakespeare die?

1616

When did Queen Elizabeth I die?

1603

When did English become extremley idiomatic?

after 1600

What was Shakespeare’s influence on the English language?

Created a ton of words which expanded the English vocabulary a ton. Gave us more vocab then the King James Bible.

Language of Ritual

The language used in religious practices/traditions such as a wedding.

What is an example of Language of Ritual?

“To love, to honor, to cherish” as wedding vows which encapsulate & reflect the remains of a trilingual culture in English

What are “To love, to honor, to cherish”?

An example of language of ritual.

What can strong verbs be considered in the HOEL?

Linguistic fossils

What is an example of the System of Pronouns in use during the Renaissance?

Richard III, Anne and Richard [Act 1.2.118-133]

Regionalism

a feature of a language that exists in a particular part of a country, and is not part of the standard language.

Colloquialism

an expression that can’t or shouldn’t be used in formal speech

Examples of Colloquialisms

“y’all” or “gonna”

Double Negatives

slang with a nonstandard grammatical construction that contains two negatives and has a negative meaning

Eye-Dialect

a written evocation of a sound, typically done through spelling

Slang

informal words or expressions that often refer to taboo things or topics

A.A.V.E

African American Vernacular English: A historically documented vernacular, subsystem of English, not racially bound but primarily black with distinct phonological and syntactic rules now closely aligned with rules of other dialects

Standard English

the form of English that is widely recognised and accepted as 'correct'; prescriptive

Gullah

a creole of English and West African languages emerged in small settlements off the coast of South Carolina, has Portugal influences

Spoor

Originally an Old English word it reached South Africa, dying out in the rest of the world before South African English returned it to American English, means an animal dropping trail.

Trek

Originally a Dutch term that went into South African English before coming into American English, means walking.

Veldt

A South African word borrowed from Portuguese, mean “open country; entered American English as a Spanish loan word

What are spoor, trek, and veldt examples of?

South African words that became a part of American English vocabulary

Chunder

An Australian word meaning “watch under” established by the original British prisoners brought over to Australia on a boat.

Propriety

the quality or state of being proper or suitable// appropriateness, especially in relation to grammar

Hobson-Jobson

A dictionary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and expressions; created by Colonel Henry Yule and A.C. Burnell

When was Hobson-Jobson put together?

1880s

You/your

• Respect

• Plural

• Acknowledgement of Superiority

Thee/Thy/Thou/Thine

• Subordinate

• Inferior

• Intimacy

• Scorn

What is important about the word Assassination in HOEL?

It was a new word established in Shakespeare’s Macbeth for the first time in any writing; it opened the door for verbal strangeness

Inkhorn Terms

now accepted exaggerative latin loanwords, once seen as strange and pompous

Received Pronunciation (RP)

A historical pronunciation of South England public school attendees that became the most prestigious accent in England for a time; not used much now. Is similar to the now general educated accent of south-eastern England.

Discourse Community

A group of people sharing a common and distinct mode of communication within a particular domain of intellectual or social activity.

D.A.R.E

Dictionary of American Regional English

Colonialism

the domination of a people or area by a foreign state or nation

English Language: Colonialism Changes

• different countries and people forced to learn the languages of their colonizers

• caused the erasure of some languages

Nationalism

a dominant use of language to make the associated culture alive

English Language: Nationalism Changes

• The product is a language without many loan or borrowed words, a more pure language

• creates new words strictly from that language as the need develops

Caxton’s Preface to the Eneydos (Lerer 112)

A short excerpt that comments on the way common English changed and varied in the 15th century using a short story about a merchant ordering eggs.

What is the historical relevance of Caxton’s Preface to the Eneydos?

It reflects semantic, morphological, and phonetic change in 15th century English language. Largely due to the Great Vowel Shift.

What are some notable linguistic changes shown in Caxton’s Preface to the Eneydos?

• Eggys vs. Eyren (early modern)

• Axed vs. Ask (early modern)

• Wyf vs. Wife (early modern)

John of Trevisa’s Polychronian (Lerer 88)

An excerpt that addresses multiple changes in English. It references the origins of English. It comments on the integration and influence of French on English. It recognizes speech variation between different countries and variations within a single country.

What is the historical relevance of John of Trevisa’s Polychronian?

• Commented on different spoken English forms during the Middle English period.

• It suggests that English dialects reflect it’s Anglo-Saxon origins.

• It suggests the prestige speech will remain consistent across dialect boundaries.

• It acknowledges that dialects from regions separate from politics and nearer to other languages are unique.

Shakespeare’s Henry IV (Lerer 130)

Lerer’s brief summary of a section from one of Shakespeare’s historical plays. The section is an exchange between a young prince and his old friend, Prince Hal and Falstaff, who take turns play acting as each other.

What is the historical relevance of Shakespeare’s Henry IV?

It reflects the 16th century change toward the usage of “do” and “will” to ask questions or answer questions.

Shakespeare’s Henry V Excerpt (Lerer 140)

It is a 4 line excerpt from a Shakespeare play. In those lines Alice is translating what Princess Katherine is saying from French to English and interpreting it to King Henry. For context King Henry has just confessed his love for Katherine. The translation Alice expresses for Katherine in this excerpt is that men’s tongues are full of deceit.

What is the historical relevance of Shakespeare’s Henry V?

• Basically shows eye-dialect: Different spelling can reflect an accent of a character

• Reflects deceit within language, that one person could say one thing but mean another similar to how meaning changes with time

Shakespeare’s Richard III Excerpt (Lerer 132)

It is a sample of an exchange between Shakespeare characters, Richard and Anne. Prior to this exchange Richard had killed Henry VI and Anne’s husband. In the exchange their feeling for each other are expressed, Richard obsessively loves Anne, but she hates him.

What is the historical relevance of Shakespeare’s Richard III?

It reflects the use of the pronouns thee/thou and you/your to establish the relationships and feelings toward people or characters.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Excerpt

It is a tragic work by Shakespeare about forbidden lovers. It plays out the story of their love blossoming to how it ultimately ends in the death of them both.

What is the historical relevance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

It reflects the use of the pronouns thee/thou and you/your to reflect the development of relationships and feelings between people or characters.

King James Bible (Lerer 175-176)

It is a “common” English bible grounded in the Bishop’s Bible but with Old and New Testament languages. Aimed to heal religious divisions through collabs. Deliberately preserves forms of English that were deemed old fashioned in their old time.

King James Bible linguistic historical impacts.

• old verbs “hath” and “doth” even though they were abandoned by that point.

• marked influence on literary style and was generally excepted as the standard English bible until the early 20th century

When was the King James Bible published?

1611

What is the historical relevance of King James Bible?

• Brought some new words into the English language.

• It mainly brought new idioms and a beautiful flow of metaphors to English.

Johnson’s Dictionary

It was the first official and widely spread dictionary and had many different editions. It also brought a literary history to our culture and became one of the three tools for social advancement in England.

What is the historical relevance of Johnson’s Dictionary?

• Regularized spelling

• Codified [establishing correct grammatical form] and sanctioned [establishes proper method of saying aloud] pronunciation 

• Broadens the vocabulary of everyday word usage

• Established the basis of using literature as a guide for correct speech

• EMD  Ardent= Literal heat/fire → Ardent= passionate in love

When was Johnson’s Dictionary published?

c.1755

Webster’s Dictionary

It was an American dictionary that became one of the three tools for social advancement in America. The American version of a popular English(England) Dictionary.

What is the historical relevance of Webster’s Dictionary?

• Respelling and simplifying words, to reflect American pronunciation;eliminating silent letters

• Records new American pronunciation 

When was Webster’s Dictionary published?

c. 1828

The OED Dictionary

It is a dictionary built out of Victorian speaking, reading, and writing practices. It is a record of of English prose and poetry. Was called The New English Dictionary in contrast to Johnson’s Dictionary. It is also the dictionary we have used most in this class.

What is the historical relevance of The OED Dictionary?

• It is the most influential and collaborative project in the history of they English language.

• It is still used today.

When was The OED Dictionary published?

1928

The Dictionary of American Regional English

It is a dictionary that is a record of American English as it is spoken in the United States. It keys itself for lexical variation. Does not document the standard language of the country.

What is the historical relevance of The Dictionary of American Regional English?

• It is record of spoken American English from the beginning to present.

• It has maps that show the distribution/weight of regionalisms.

When was The Dictionary of Regional English published?

1889

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas

An autobiography about the life of a slave boy.

Fredrick Douglas

An African American abolitionist that wrote books about his life as a slave. He learned to spell from Webster’s dictionary. Many believe he did not write his most famous book because of how well written it was.

When was Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas published?

1845

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

A novel by an American, about a 19th century trouble-making boy recounting his adventures down the Mississippi with an escaped slave.

When was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published?

1885

Mark Twain

The best known of American writers who engaged with dialect vernaculars. Used large range of eye-dialect that had a large comedic effect. He saw himself as a linguistic innovator and is a brilliant evoker of dialects.

The “I Have a Dream” Speech

A public speech that was delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It may be the best known and one of the most important addresses in American history. It included pulpit oratory, King James Bible rhetoric patterns, and Old English illiteration. It also had white patriotism usages.

When was the “I Have a Dream” speech ?

1968

Martin Luther King Jr.

An African American Christian minister, activist, and political philosopher. He wrote one of the most well known and vital public speeches in American history.

Midnight’s Children excerpt (Canvas week 9)

A short excerpt from a bigger work, that we did a recent assignment on in class. It was a narrator discussing their deterioration in an extremely dramatic way. Had distinct tonal rhythms, durative verbs, elaborate detailed terms, and hyperboles/ strings of clichés.

When was Midnight’s Children published?

1981

Salman Rushdie

Is an Indian-born British-American novelist that examine historical and philosophical issues. Had a very visual, descriptive, and rhythmic excerpt we read in class.

“Politics and the English Language”

A famous essay written about how 20th century wars and armed conflict has devalued linguistics and developed political language. Specifically refers to political language consisting of euphemisms, question-begging, and vagueness.

When was “Politics and the English Language” published?

1946

George Orwell

An English novelist, essayist who’s work consisted of lucid prose and was filled with social criticism.

Borderlands/La Frontera: the New Mestiza Excerpt (Canvas: World Englishes quotes)

A quote in which the narrator of a longer text discusses their illegitimate linguistic identity because of their code-switching between primarily English and Spanish. The narrator can not except this linguistic identity as legitimate until they accept all languages, including the combinations, they speak as legitimate. At the end they do accept this linguistic identity and how it reflects the narrator themself a a woman and an poet.

When was Borderlands/La Frontera: the New Mestiza published?

1987

Gloria Anzaldua

A woman of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. She is an American scholar of Chicana feminism, cultural theory, and queer theory.

When was The American Scholar published?

1972

Creole Hypothesis

The theory that Gulllah is an early version of the early A.A.V.E, developed from a creolized english spoken by africans.

Aphorisms

something said, such as an expression like “skin the cat”