HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT SHEET


ENGLISH 510--SPRING 2008
W 5:00-7:30     END 266
FLOREY

Catalog Description:  The forces that have helped to shape the character of the English language.

Course Objectives:  By the end of the course, students will have a knowledge of the historical, political, cultural, and linguistic factors that have caused change in the English language. They will be aware of some of the essential distinctions between the three main periods of English (Old English, Middle English, and Modern English), and will show a knowledge of various sound changes, grammar changes, and semantic changes that the language has undergone. Students will learn the International Phonetic Alphabet as modified  by Thomas Pyles  and will be able to outline in IPA symbols the major sound changes that the language has undergone.  Students will learn some of the basic reasons for language change, and will be able to understand the concept of dialect and language variation. They will learn some of the basic grammatical and phonetic variations of modern dialects, particularly African-American. They will show knowledge of the backgrounds of the English language, including the Indo-European language theory.

Modes of Instruction:  The class will consist primarily of lecture and discussion. Students will also go over workbook assignments. For your exams, you will be expected to know the general concepts that we go over in class as well as the vocabulary assignments listed below. Prior to exams, I will pass out a study sheet of items that you will be tested on.

Texts: 

  • Pyles and Algeo, The Origins and Development of the English Language--5th Edition
  • Algeo, Problems in the Origins and Development of the English Language (workbook)

Jan.        25

Introduction to the course--Introduction to language development.

 

 

             30

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pyles, Chapters I and II. A definition of language, language as system, language as convention, language as communication, the organs of  speech, the consonants and vowels of English.  Think about exercises: 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.15, 2.2, 2.3, 2.6, 2.7. Know the following terms: Chapter 1--  speech, morpheme, bound morpheme, free morpheme, inflection, synthetic language, allomorph, analytic language, function words, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, transliteration, diachronic, synchronic, dialect, idiolect, orthography, concord, displaced speech. Chapter 2—schwa, voice, voiceless, stop, labial, bilabial, dental, alveolar, palatovelar, palatal, labiodental, fricative or spirant, consonant, sibilant, affricate, nasal, liquid, vowel, high vowel, mid-vowel, low vowel, front vowel, central vowel, back vowel, tense vowel, lax vowel, off-glide, stress, assimilation, metathesis, spelling pronunciation, folk etymology, aspiration, phoneme, allophone, virgules, velar

 

 

Feb.        6

 

Pyles, Chapter III. Letters and Sounds--a brief history of writing. The International Phonetic Alphabet. Do the following exercises: 3.15, 3.17, 3.18. Know the following terms: —digraph, thorn, ligature, eth, wynn, aesc, spelling pronunciation, futhorc, runes

 

 

              13

 

 

Pyles,  Chapter IV.  The backgrounds of English with focus on the Indo-European language theory. Do the following: 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.10, 4.11; Know the following terms: language family, cognate languages, Proto-Indo-European, centum and satem languages, reconstruction, cases, dental suffix, strong and weak adjectives, Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law, Vulgar Latin, strong and weak verbs, present and preterit tenses, stem

 

 

              20

 "                   "  The Germanic branch of the Indo-European language tree.  Grimm's Law and Verner's Law.  Do the following: 4.13, 4.14.

 

 

              27

 

 

Pyles,  Chapter V,  pp. 86-105.  The Old English Period.  The history and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, pronunciation, declensions. Do the following: 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 5.8. Know the following terms: grammatical gender, natural gender, a-stem, root-consonant stem, short and long syllables, umlaut, conjugation, ablaut, declension, masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, strong and weak adjectives, King Alfred

 

 

March      5

FIRST EXAMINATION

 

 

              12

Pyles,  Chapter V,  pp. 106-122. Old English grammar, paradigms, pronunciation, outside influences. Do the following: 5.9, 5.12, 5.14, 5.16, 5.20, 5.21.

 

 

              19

SPRING VACATION

 

 

              26

 

Pyles,  Chapter VI,  pp. 123-134. The Early Middle English period. Background of the Norman Conquest.  The decline of French in England and the linguistic influence of the Conquest.  Middle English spelling.  The rise of a London standard. Do the following: 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, 6.6, 6.7; Know the following terms: Norman French, Anglo-Norman, yogh, unrounding, diphthong, lengthening, shortening, open syllable, close(d) syllable, leveling, inorganic-e, scribal-e, Caxton 15-20 PAPER ASSIGNED

 

 

April        2

Pyles, Chapter VI,  pp. 134-152. Middle English period continued.  Changes in pronunciation and grammar.  Inflection of nouns.  Do the following: 6.8, 6.9. 

 

 

               9

 

 

Pyles,  Chapter VII.  The Modern English period to 1800--sounds and spellings.  The Great Vowel Shift. Pronunciation. Influence of culture and history on language development. Do the following: 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.7; Know the following terms: Great Vowel shift, etymological respelling, silent e, etymology, hypercorrect pronunciation, inkhorn or aureate terms

 

 

              16

SECOND  EXAMINATION

 

 

              23

 

 

 

Pyles,  Chapter VIII.  The Modern English period to 1800--forms, syntax, and usage.  The first dictionaries, spelling books, and grammars. Mistaken assumptions about language.  Do the following: 8.1, 8.2, 8.9, 8.10; Know the following terms: uninflected plural, his-genitive, group genitive, eye dialect, purism, uninflected genitive, prescriptive grammar, Robert Lowth, Joseph Priestly, Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, Jonathan Swift, Robert Campbell

 

 

            30

 

 

 

Pyles, Chapter IX.  Late Modern English (1800-present).  Ebonics.  Hispanic--American.  The influence of immigration on the development of the language.  Variation in American English. Do the following: 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.5, 9.6, 9.10;  Know the following terms:  dialect, ethnic dialect, caste dialect, consuetudinal or durative be, pidgin, creole, standard English, slang, Black English or Ebonics, social dialect

PAPER DUE

 

 

 May      7

 

 

 

 

 

Pyles, Chapter X. Words and meanings.  Semantics.  Etymology and Meaning.  How meaning changes.  Pejoration and amelioration, taboo and euphemism, the inevitability of semantic change.  Chapter XI.   New words from old ones.  Creating words, shortening words, blending words, sources of new words.  Foreign elements in the English word stock. Look over the following: 10.1, 10.3, 10.7, 10.8, 10.15, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.19. Know the following terms: Chapter X: semantics, etymology, generalization, specialization, pejoration, amelioration, taboo, euphemism, transfer of meaning, intensifier; Chapter XI: shortening, blending, root creation, echoic word, ejaculation, compound, back formation, blend or portmanteau word, clipped form, acronym, hybrid form, diminutive, folk etymology

 

 

              14

FINAL EXAMINATION (TENTATIVE) -- Please note that the time for the exam is 5:15-7:15

   .  

OFFICE  NUMBER AND HOURS:   END 274--T & TH 11:00-12:30,  W  11:00-1:00,  4:00-5:00 and by appointment

PHONE:  (203)  392-6733--I do have voice mail.   If I am not in the office when you call,  leave your name, the time that you  called, and a number including area code) and time where you can be reached during the day.

EMAIL: floreyk1@southernct.edu

GRADING POLICY:   Your final grades will be based as follows:  (1)  2  exams based on materials from Pyles and Algeo--40%;  (2)  final--20%;  (3) paper--20%; (4) in-class participation  (includes attendance, class discussion,   assignments, etc.)--20% Students will receive study sheets prior to each exam, including the final, indicating parameters of exam.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY:  If you have a documented disability, please contact me during the first week of the semester to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments.  If necessary, I will meet with you and staff members of the Student Services Center to formulate a written plan for appropriate accommodations.

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LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Old English links  This site contains links to various types of sources for the study of Old English. 

Yamada   Another site that links up to other sites for Old English with some emphasis on teaching and  learning  Old English.

HEL  Also known as Hell (History of the English Language Links), this is probably a good place to start for any search for on-line data bases.

The following links are audio sites dealing with readings in either Old English or Middle English:  

Old English

The Lord's Prayer  http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/paternoster-oe.html  

 

 

Middle English

The Canterbury Tales--General Prologue--http://www.umkc.edu/lib/engelond/prologue.htm  

 

Troilus and Criseyde--http://www.umkc.edu/lib/engelond/troilus.htm

 

The Chaucer METAPAGE AUDIO FILES--to help students improve their pronunciation of Chaucer's Middle English--http://academics.vmi.edu/english/audio/audio_index.html

SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

General Sources

Barber, Charles: The English language: a Historical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, 1993
Baugh, Albert C. & Thomas Cable: A History of the English Language, Prentice Hall, 1993.
Blake, N.F. : A History of the English Language, Macmillan. 1996
Campbell, A: Old English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1959
Chomsky, Noam & Morris Halle: The Sound Pattern of English, Harper and Row, New York, 1968
Fisiak, Jacek: An Outline History of English, Kantor Wydawniczy Saww, Poznan, 1993
Jespersen, Otto: Growth and Structure of the English Language, Teubner Verlag, Leipzig and Stechart, New York, 1905
McCrum, R. , William Cran & Robert MacNeil: The Story of English, Viking Penguin, New York, 1986
Pinsker, Hans Ernst: Historische englische Grammatik, Max Hueber Verlag, München, 1959
Wyatt, Alfred J.: An Anglo-Saxon Reader, Cambridge University Press, 1919

"Black"English

Black Americans: A Statistical Sourcebook. Edited by Alfred Garwood. Boulder, CO: Numbers & Concepts, 1992.

Burling, Robbins. . English in Black and White. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1973.

Dillard, J.L. Black English. New York: Random House, 1972.

Hale, Janice E. Black Children: Their Roots, Culture, and Learning Styles. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1982.

Holton, SylviaWallace.Downhome and uptown: the representation of Black speech in American fiction. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson UP; London: Associated University Presses, 1984.

Lee, Felicia R. "Lingering Conflict in the Schools: Black Dialect vs. Standard Speech," The New York Times, 5 January 1994, pA1.

Massey, D.S. and N.A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard, 1993.

Smitherman, Geneva. Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986.

Stoller, Paul, ed. Black American English. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1975.

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This site last updated by kflorey 1/08/08