the history of english

All of these are true about the Norman Conquest EXCEPT-

Because the French spoken by the nobles was Germanic in origin, it was easier for nobles and peasants to communicate, thereby leading to a mobility among social classes

All of the following statements are true about the epic poem Beowulf EXCEPT

Beowulf was an Anglo-Saxon story based on a Greek epic, Homer's Odyssey.

The earliest inhabitants of Britain we know much about, who lived around the time of the Iron Age, are:

Celts

Which ONE of the following statements about dialects is incorrect?

Dialects are always based on culture, never based on region.

All of the following are true about the English Renaissance EXCEPT

Due to the elevation and rediscovery of great works from the past, very few original works were generated during this era. In fact, the English Renaissance, unlike the Italian Renaissance, is most noted for its lack of contribution to literature and art.

What is a proto-language?

Early language that gives birth to others.

This work, written in the 1380s, is considered one of the first great works of English literature.

Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"

What branch of Indo-European gave rise to English?

Germanic

What is the proto-language of English?

Indo-European

The Angles, Jutes and Saxons were:

Invading Germanic "barbarians" who began to displace the Celts

All of the following are true about the bible EXCEPT:

Many of the most iconic passages from the bible, including "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," were actually not originally included in what is now known as the King James version. They were added over time, with significant revisions being made as recently as the 18th century.

All of the following statements about Old English are true EXCEPT:

Old English is a language that a modern speaker of German can easily understand, given that nearly 75% of the modern English vocabulary is composed of words that trace their roots directly or indirectly to the Germanic family of the Indo-European protolanguage.

All of the following are true about the time when the Germanic tribes invaded (450-600 AD) EXCEPT:

Picts and Celts made an unlikely alliance to drive out the Germanic invaders in 600 AD

All of these statements about the Latin language the Roman missionaries brought are true EXCEPT:

Quickly adapted by the Anglo-Saxon speakers, who deserted their native language completely

All of the following are true about the Great Vowel Shift EXCEPT:

Shakespeare's language is very hard for modern speakers to understand, because it has much more in common with the language of Chaucer than it does with our language today.

During these Norman-ruled centuries in which English as a language had no official status and no regulation, all of the following are true about English EXCEPT

The "Ormulum," a 19,000 line biblical text written by a monk called Orm in the late 12th Century, became a surprise best-seller that was widely distributed amongst the commoners and contributed to the growth of literacy.

Around 600 AD in the British Isles, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

The Angles and Saxons united in a civil war vs the Jutes, driving them from the British Isles

The first influence of Latin came with the invasion of Britain in 55 BC by:

The Romans under Julius Caesar

Despite the shake-up the Normans had given English, two hundred years after the Norman Conquest, it was English not French that emerged as the language of England. All of these were reasons for the resurgence of English EXCEPT

The Statute of Pleading, which would have made English the official language of the courts and Parliament, was rejected by Parliament in 1362. Consequently, by 1385 a heavily Normanized dialect had become the language of instruction in schools.

All of the following statements about Viking are true EXCEPT:

The Vikings had a well-developed written language which allowed them to preserve their sea songs and heroic tales.

All of the following about the influence of French on the development of Middle English due to the Norman Conquest are true EXCEPT

The fact that the Anglo-Saxon words cyning (king), cwene (queen), erl (earl), cniht (knight), ladi (lady) and lord persisted is due to the fact that most of the rulers and members of the upper class spoke English almost exclusively.

Middle English was

The language that resulted from the gradual merging of Old English and Anglo-Norman as Normans and Anglo-Saxons began to intermarry

The following are true about the influence of international trade on Early Modern English EXCEPT:

The rise of international trade brought with it a commitment from skeptical monarchs to maintain the integrity of the English language in the face of an onslaught of foreign loan words. Consequently, the Academy of English Letters was established in 1742 to safeguard the heritage and integrity of the modern English language.

All of the following statements about the emergence of Middle English are true EXCEPT

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded in 1167 and 1209 respectively, which led to a decrease in general literacy over the succeeding centuries, as all knowledge was centralized and those who didn't attend were prevented from social advancement.

All of the following statements are true about runes EXCEPT:

They were early Latin pictographs spread by the Church to appeal to semi-literate Anglo-Saxons

All of these statements are true about when St. Augustine led a group of missionaries from Rome in 597 AD EXCEPT:

This led to a decline of literacy because Anglo-Saxon was no longer spoken

All of the following are true about the Canterbury Tales EXCEPT

To pass the time, the pilgrims engage in a tale-telling contest, with the winner getting a free dinner and the loser agreeing to be tarred and feathered, which was a popular form of public humiliation at the time.

All of the following statements about King Alfred the Great (ruled from 871-899 AD) are true EXCEPT:

Was an important ruler because he had a fascination with Viking culture and made peace with King Ragnar that lasted for nearly 75 years

The following are true about William Shakespeare EXCEPT:

While his impact on the English language was profound due to memorable plays and sonnets, some of his finest work was achieved in the form of the Argument, or essay. He wrote with a remarkable degree of sophistication on topics ranging from medicine to astrology, displaying erudition far beyond the grammar school education he was believed to have received at Stratford-upon-Avon.

All of the following are true about the printing press EXCEPT:

While many attribute the rise of literacy to the increased accessibility of books due to the printing press, of equal importance was the impact of the Great Vowel Shift, which allowed the representation of spoken English to be more accurately represented on the printed page.

All of the following are true about English dictionaries and grammars EXCEPT:

While there were a number of attempts to standardize the language and grammar of English prior to the 18th century, it wasn't until the American Revolution of 1776 that the British were inspired to codify and regulate the "mother tongue" in order to prevent bastardization by the runt republic established by the Declaration of Independence.

The following is true about the "vernacular" EXCEPT

William Shakespeare wrote what is today called Middle English, but in his time was the vernacular.

All of the following are true about Golden Age of English Literature EXCEPT:

With the exception of Shakespeare, the period between the 16th and 18th century was generally devoid of innovative or daring works of literature or art. Drawing inspiration from an idealized past, writers, painters and sculptors won acclaim for what we now consider to have been the slavish imitation of the classic works of Greek and Roman antiquity.

The Normans bequeathed over 10,000 words to English (about three-quarters of which are still in use today), including all of the following EXCEPT words related to:

household words like water, earth, house, food, drink, sleep, sing, night, strong, the, a, be, of, he, she, you, no, not, etc. Also, many of our common swear words (including tits, fart, shit, turd, arse and, probably, piss).

The Norman Conquest of 1066 was

when William the Conqueror invaded the island of Britain from his home base in northern France