Lang Change Flashcards
(9 cards)
Pre English period:
when was it?
what was the lang spoken by the GOV?
5th century
Celtic langs spoken by the Celts or Britons dominate. Latin was the language of the Gov
Early old English:
when was it?
what range of dialects were there?
were did these people settle?
450-850
Range of German dialects introduced by early settlers, the Angles, Jutes & Saxons from Germany, Denmark & Netherlands
- They settled in England & Southern Scotland
later old English:
when was it?
who invaded?
who was the king & what did he do to the texts of Old English?
850-1000
Viking invasions from Scandinavia influence dialects in north England
King Alfred in south England organises the translation of Latin texts into Old English
Middle English:
when was it?
what happened in 1066?
what was the lang of the church?
what languages did educated people speak?
1100-1450
The Norman Conqest of 1066 removed Old English as the lang of power & replaced it with Norman French. (beginning of the influence in 1150. Introduces 10,000 French words)
Latin was the lang of the Church. Most educated people were trilingual: they spoke French, Latin & English
Early Modern English:
when was it?
what big event happened in this time? -> what did it introduce?
what did Britain become?
what did this mean for literacy, what lang was it?
what was published in 1611?
who contributed to this book in 1611?
how many print copies did it make?
1450-1750
Renaissance
- introduced lots of greek/latin terms
Britian becomes a wealthy nation, trading overseas & colonizing many countries.
- Latin continued to be the literacy language as it was seen as more ‘eloquent’ & ‘cultured’ than English
- Introduction of King James Bible in 1611 (was published in English rather than Latin)
- Writers such as Shakespeare, Jonson & Marlowe contributed to a vastly expanding vocab
- believed that ordinary people should be able to read it
- Became the most printed book in the history of the world, 1bn copies in print
Early Modern English:
What happened in this time?
what did Britain become?
what did colonising & trading do to the lang?
who was John Cheke & what was his idea?
what helped to standardise English?
who was William Caxton & what did he do in 1476?
Renaissance (1450-1750)
Britian becomes a wealthy nation, trading overseas & colonizing many countries.
Emerge among African slave populations in the Caribbean & America.
- huge increase of Loanwords/borrowing from other countries
- John Cheke (1514-57) didnt like the idea of borrowing lang
The emergence of printing helps to standardise English & allowed different illiterate demographics to read
- 1476, William Caxton set up his Printing Press in Westminister
- Punctuation, Diversity in what was published, more genre
Modern English:
when was it?
what was introduced in 1755, by who?
what did it no include & what was it aim to do?
who was Johnathon Swift and what/when was his idea?
1750-1950
Dr Johnson published his dictionary of the English Language in 1755
- no rude words, lack of medicine, arts, science, drama etc
- served authority, like an autobiography, sometimes biased or inaccurate, aiming to preserve the English Lit & Lang
Wanted to be like Johnathon Swift to fix the meaning of English words
Johnathon Swift (1667-1745) who was worried about English changing so much that no one would be able to understand it in the future (prescriptivist era)
Modern English:
what was introduced more in Modern English, especially due to increasing technology/printing? (1750-1950)
what else was being introduced to do with class?
what happened in 1944?
what happened in 1687?
whats the enlightenment?
whose Lowth & Murray and what did they do?
what happened in the late 1700s)?
literacy developments
- Intro of neologisms, New technology, New genres, New Printing available
introduction of the rising middle class
- people became more literate/educated
1944 - education act
1687 - Newton published his Principia Mathmatica in Latin
- Intellectual movement which emphasises science research (the enlightment)
1762 & 1794, Bishop Robert Lowth & Lindley Murray, wrote texts to try ‘fix’ lang into a prestigious form.
- Incorporated Latin rules into English
world’s first industrial Revolution takes place in Britain (late 1700s)
- The British Empire (colonial expansion) gains enormous global power, introducing English Education
Late Modern English?
when was it?
what was dismantled?
what now emerges after that?
what does the English Lang become?
1950-present day
British Empire is dismantled.
New forms of Standard English emerge in previous colonies.
English becomes the global lang of the technological revolution
