HISTORY OF LANGUAGE FINAL

Norman Conquest

1066 - The event that began the transition from Old English to Middle English. when William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy and, later, William I of England) invaded the island of Britain from his home base in northern France, and settled in his new acquisition along with his nobles and court. - norman french took over and definitely influenced and made english sort of a peasant language

1244

1244 decree that nobles could only hold land from and be loyal to one king.

rise of the merchant / middle class

1250-1350—English begins to return to use among aristocracy and rise of middle class paves way for patronage and production of English language literature - after 100 years war when French was seen as the enemy language.

Black Death

1346 - 1353 In the 14th century a plague hit Europe killing millions. It was known as the "Black Death". It is possible anything between a third or even a half of the population of England died. This led to the death of possibly one million people in England and literally decimated the country. Many of the elite including the Latin-speaking clergy and French-speaking aristocracy died. More of the peasantry who were naturally more resilient to disease given the hard agricultural work they used to do survived. With a lot of the French-speaking class literally wiped out, English became more important. The English peasantry were required to work the land and were now in a more powerful position to make more demands. This also increased the prestige and status of their language.

1362

1362 Statute of Pleading—all court cases to be brought in English and Parliament is opened in English

1485/1489

1485 Proceedings of Parliament (in which laws are made) mandated in Latin, French and English; 1489 mandated in Latin and English

John Cheke

1560 - was a classicist - proposed doubling letters for long vowels and dropping silent 'e'. also only use "y" when a semi-consonant, now a vowel - for example spelled 'day' as 'dai' - during the standardization wars

Richard Mulcaster

1582 - his book Elementarie proposed a solution: consistency of spelling not consistency of system, treating each word as an individual artifact. - he wanted a book that would provide each English word with: Right writing, natural force, proper use. Basically he wanted a dictionary, but didn't actually make a dictionary.

Noah Webster

1828 title was An American Dictionary of the English Language.he regarded its contributions to standardized language usage and spelling as integral to building a new nation.

AAVE

African American Vernacular English

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. Taking the throne after the death of his brother Æthelred of Wessex, Alfred spent several years dealing with Viking invasions. - He died in 899, and his English remained Standard English until it received a blow in 1066. However, one of the things Alfred did was to have much of the "Common Law" written down and as a result although our law-words our French, our system is not.

ebonics

American black English regarded as a language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.

1828

An American Dictionary of the English Language - Noah Webster

BEV

Black English Vernacular

London Standard

By the end of the 15th century, for writing purposes one of these dialects, the East Midlands, especially London, dialect was becoming the dominant dialect As the mid-point between the North and South it was intelligible to all and could be understood by most. It was used in the place where the greatest number of literate people lived (London—1/3-1/2 of population of London was at least marginally literate by 1500) Contained within the boundaries of this dialect were the two major universities as well as the center of the law courts, the royal court, the church, parliament, and many wealthy merchants London was a city people from other parts of London passed through, where both extreme aspects of their regional speech had to be left behind to communicate (leveling) but where some regional variants that were deemed useful (pronouns for example) were adopted. Returning home, visitors sometimes brought with them "new speech"—similar to how jive slang spread in the US later on. When the printing press was introduced, the center of printing was London. It is from this written dialect that the first modern standardized form of English would begin to emerge in the 16th century.

Descriptive Grammar

Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses on describing the language as it is used, not saying how it should be used. For example, think about a prescriptive rule like Don't split infinitives. A descriptive grammarian would see a sentence like "To boldly go where no man has gone before" and would try to describe how the mental grammar can cause that ordering of words, rather than saying that the surface form is faulty due to prescriptive rules (which would require the sentence "To go boldly where no man has gone before"). Linguistics takes this approach to language.

rule/doctrine of usage

Despite the popularity of the prescriptive/proscriptive approach (among grammarians at least) the approach of one "dissenter" won out in the long run: Joseph Priestley, chemist, theologian, and free thinker. 1761 published The Rudiments of English Grammar in which he asserts that custom and usage should (indeed will whether we like it or not) be the guiding principle of language. Of his own approach he says "The best and the most numerous authorities have been carefully followed. Where they have been contradictory, recourse hath been to analogy, as the last resource. If this should decide for neither of the two contrary practices, the thing must remain undecided, till all-governing custom shall declare in favour of the one or the other." [Cable & Baugh 277] emphasis mine Note also the name of his word: "rudiments" rather than "institute" In this he was not arguing for anything goes but rather that one should study how the language at this point in time is used, especially by those recognized as its greatest users--its great writers and speakers. This is actually the foundation (intentional or not) behind Johnson's innovative practice in his dictionary (1755) of validating his definitions by quotations rather than by creating illustrative examples of usage himself.

Loss of Normandy

Following King John's loss of Normandy to King Philip Augustus in 1204, the familial ties that bound the Anglo-French nobility across the Channel spreading into Scotland gradually dissipated.

academy

In Late 17th and early 18th Century many writers and scholars alike advocated for the establishment of a body of experts (an "academy" to fix (in both senses) the language both to correct is flaws and prevent it from changing. Wished to follow the example of other countries. Italy 1582 Accademia dell Crusca—1612 published first Italian dictionary L'Academie Francaise—in France still has the power of law 1918 Arni Magnusson Institute for Icelandic Studies after Iceland no longer under Danish rule Most vigorous proponent: Jonathan Swift, who was concerned about common practices such as clipping (shortening words, such as reputation to rep) and sland

Early Modern English

In grammar and syntax, despite some residual inflections (mainly useful—such as plural markers for nouns) English employed an analytic grammar system and the modern VO word order [subject/verb/object; preposition/noun] In vocabulary, most words used by Malory (1470s) have survived into Modern English and so are recognizable, even if specific meaning may have changed a bit Still becoming modern with: Pronoun usage and Lack of the emphatic tense in negation and question

1204

John's loss of Normandy to France in 1204

1204

Loss of Normandy

The American Spelling Book

Noah Webster dictionary

1066

Norman Conquest - The event that began the transition from Old English to Middle English

Vikings

Old Norse, brought to these shores by the Vikings, whose attacks on England started in AD 793. They came from the East and settled in Northern England. Probably related to scandinavian words

progressive passive

Present progressive passive tense. The present progressive tense shows an action that is temporary or an ongoing activity. The passive form of this verb tense is created by using "am being," "is being" or "are being" followed by the past participle form of the verb.

British vs. American English

Pronunciation Vocabulary Grammar Intonation Degree of Uniformity and Tolerance for Variation within the Standard Of these trends, two are familiar forces we have seen at work shaping English; two are new, though they may not have remained uniquely American The Familiar Trends: Rapid Assimilation of New Vocabulary The Impact of Patriotism (though in American English this has been more deliberate than accidental) The New Trends: The Leveling of Dialects The Impact of "pidgin" Forms of English on Mainstream English

Robert Lowth

Robert Lowth A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762) a Normative/rule-based approach—influence in US on Noah Webster. Lacking an Academy, many set themselves up as authorities, publishing the first handbooks of English grammar designed for teaching proper use of the language by : codifying rules for usage; settling cases of divided usage (following the purpose of the Italian Academy—to deal with cruxes); correcting common "errors" to "improve" the language Most influential was robert lowth's book - he believed in a proscriptive/prescriptive grammar

anglo-saxon chronicles

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great

printing press

The Consequence: the Printing Press in England radically prompts English to become more uniform and simultaneously slows down the subsequent process of change, especially in the written language, resulting in a growing distinction between the spoken and written form of the language a difference between the representation of vowel sounds in English relative to other European languages which use the same alphabet. The printing press, which challenged all vernacular languages to adopt standards for published writing, could not have come to English at a worse time, as the language was undergoing its last great change, a shift in the pronunciation of all long vowels.

Danelaw

The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons - place where vikings settled in 789

Gullah

The Gullah are the descendants of enslaved Africans of various ethnic groups who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. - ethnic group last surviving creole.

Middle English Dialects

The divisions were similar to the 4 Old English dialect areas—see p. 2 and 53 in course pack—note especially difference between Chaucer and Gawain poet regarding matters of intelligibility. In general, Northern dialect experienced grammar changes most rapidly but retained more Germanic vocabulary (with Scandinavian influence) and runic orthographic elements; elements of this speech survive especially in dialects today in the North and especially Broad Scots. Midlands and Kentish more rapidly adopted French vocabulary and orthography Southern changed most slowly grammatically and certain sounds developed in a direction akin to modern German, in which all "f" sounds became "v"s and "s" sounds became "v"s, a feature still heard in rural Modern Southern English dialects, the area least directly impacted by Viking or French influence.

ascertainment

The goal: Ascertainment—the word contains both the process and the product Ascertain—the process of discovering the patterns and systems at work in the language Certain—using the uncovered patterns to FIX the language, as in repair points of error and divided usage and make the language stable, fix it in place, not so much to prevent change as to manage it in written forms and thereby slow the rate of inevitable change and avoid having the language fragment into mutually unintelligible variants as seen in the late Middle English period. Problem: how to achieve this goal—many people trained in the study of Classical Greek and Latin but no science of Linguistics and no real study of vernacular languages in which challenge was greater because languages were complex living, evolving organisms

emphatic verb forms

The present emphatic tense is formed by adding the basic present form of the verb to the present tense of the verb to do (do or does). The past emphatic tense is formed by adding the basic present form of the verb to the past tense of the verb to do (did). example -Present emphatic: Does he run fast? He does run fast. He does not run slowly.

progressive form

The progressive form is a verb tense used to show an ongoing action in progress at some point in time

inflectional decay

This change is mainly evident in Middle English but began in the Old English period, catalyzed by the need for English in the Danelaw, to facilitate communication between two languages from different Germanic branches. While evidence suggests even the inflectional system in Old English was simplifying, the pattern of inflection loss and specific changes to pronouns proves the Danelaw greatly accelerated the process. In general, before inflections disappeared, they simplified to the point of serving no function; the best example of this is the survival of the final "e" on nouns and adjectives which by Chaucer's day was pronounced or not depending on whether it fit the meter or not. Decay of inflections was probably on the one hand hastened by the tendency of English words to place the accent on the first syllable and on the other, in the south especially, delayed by a residual sense that something else should be there, the final "e" being both unaccented and indistinct in pronunciation.

judicious neology

Thomas Jefferson and the Anglo-Saxon language Discusses Jefferson's lifelong fascination with Anglo-Saxon history and culture as well as his study of the Anglo-Saxon language. The author summarizes that, through the construction of "judicious neology," Jefferson outlined a cultural politics of paternalism towards white males and imperialism towards Native Americans and non-English speakers.

100 Years War

War over the throne. France and England. "the transformation was almost certainly a result of the surge of patriotism and nationalism associated with the Hundred Years' War: the French language came to be associated with the enemy.

accent

a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class.

Joseph Priestley

a man who believed in descriptive grammar - that language usage should be viewed without judgement and just observations - 1761 published The Rudiments of English Grammar in which he asserts that custom and usage should (indeed will whether we like it or not) be the guiding principle of language. In this he was not arguing for anything goes but rather that one should study how the language at this point in time is used, especially by those recognized as its greatest users--its great writers and speakers.

dialect

a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.

doublet

a word subsequently replaced by its own inkhorn: synonym Doublet (linguistics) In etymology, two or more words in the same language are called doublets or etymological twins (or possibly triplets, etc.) when they have different phonological forms but the same etymological root. Often, but not always, the words entered the language through different routes.

americanism

a word, expression, or other feature that is characteristic of American English.

Great Vowel Shift

all long vowels in English move forward and up in their placement in the mouth (diagrams in the packet show this—the narrower end of the box represents the back of the mouth) To feel and hear the change first say A, E, I, O, U as you would in Spanish, for example, and then say them as we do in English (this is why you have to relearn the alphabet to learn another European language; the international phonetic alphabet is also keyed to this older more widespread pronunciation of vowels) Note (say and hear) how the letter "A" in English takes on the sound of the "E" in Spanish; the letter "E" in English takes on the sound of the continental letter "I." Because the "I" can go no further forward in the mouth it becomes a diphthong "ah-ee"(rendered in English sounds) Time span: began in late Old English and finished in 19th century but the bulk of the change occurred in the 15th and 16th century, exactly when the spelling of English was being standardized. First change: long "A" to long "O"—so, OE stan becomes ModE stone; OE ham ModE home

Samuel Johnson

already known for his writing, was approached by a group of English printers about taking on the task and eventually agreed; the first edition, published in 1755 - WROTE THE FIRST DICTIONARY. contained over 43,000 words. Took 8 years to write. He used quotations rather than examples of usage from which he derived.

code shifting

code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. Multilinguals, speakers of more than one language, sometimes use elements of multiple languages when conversing with each other.

Prescriptive Grammar

describes when people focus on talking about how a language should or ought to be used. One way to remember this association is to think of going to a doctor's office. When a doctor gives you a prescription for medication, it often includes directions about how you should take your medication as well as what you should not do when taking your medication. In a similar way, a prescriptive grammar tells you how you should speak, and what type of language to avoid. This is commonly found in English classes as well as other language classes, where the aim is to teach people how to use language in a very particular (typically described as 'proper' or 'correct') way.

leveling of dialects

dialect leveling refers to the reduction or elimination of marked differences between dialects over a period of time. Dialect leveling tends to occur when speakers of different dialects come into contact with one another for extended periods.

1755

first dictionary - samuel johnson

proper use

how the word functions, its part of speech and syntactical functioning - richard mulcaster in Elementarie

William Caxton

introduced the printing press In 1476 William Caxton introduced the printing press to England

creole

is a stable natural language developed from a mixture of different languages at a fairly sudden point in time: often, a pidgin transitioned into a full, native language

traits of AAVE or BVE

is/are can be left out double negatives it replaces there preterite had

inkhorn term

meaning words created by authors writing at their desks, but tendency to add new won out creating to guides to vocabulary, though some new words had a short life. - john cheke said this An inkhorn term is any foreign borrowing (or a word created from existing word roots by an English speaker) into English deemed to be unnecessary or overly pretentious.

Proscriptive Grammar

opposite of prescriptive - not a lot of information on this.

pidgin

pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common: typically, a mixture of simplified languages or a simplified primary language with other languages' elements included. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the country in which they reside (but where there is no common language between the groups).

William of Normandy

the conquerer - the man who ran the norman conquest.

orthology

the conventional spelling system of a language.

network standard

the language spoken on television - AMERICAN

Anglo-Norman

the language that had french influence after the norman conquest

natural force

the power of a word, what we would call definition - richard mulcaster in Elementarie

Received Pronunciation (RP)

the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England.

right writing

what we would call spelling - richard mulcaster in Elementarie

1476

william caxton introduced the printing press