Language Change

Question 1

What is Old English?

Answer 1

Language of the Anglo-Saxons who first came to Britain in 5th century-11th century

Question 2

How does Old English compare to Roman’s language from before? Why was it like this?

Answer 2

Anglo Saxon vocab was more useful than roman’s Latin because all function-based
People were not educated so language purely used for communication

Question 3

What were the four tribes in England in Old English times?

Answer 3

Angles
Frisians
Saxons
Jutes

Question 4

What were the four kingdoms in England in Old English times?

Answer 4

Northumbria
East Anglia
Wessex
Mercia

Question 5

How did Old English differ in the four kingdoms?

Answer 5

Regional dialects- differences in the use of ‘in’ and ‘on’

Different accents

Question 6

Give four examples of modern english words that are derived from Old English

Answer 6

Numbers, days of the week, place names, question words

Question 7

What was used to write Old English?

Answer 7

Runic alphabet

Question 8

Define kennings. Give an example of an Old English manuscript that contains kennings

Answer 8

Combination of two words to create an evocative and imaginative word
Beowulf

Question 9

What event caused old English to start to change to middle English?

Answer 9

Battle of Hastings 1066 but old English was still used until 1100s

Question 10

What three languages were spoken in England in Middle English times?

Answer 10

French- language of power and officialdom
Latin- language of education and church
English

Question 11

How did French become a part of Middle English?

Answer 11

William appointed French speaking supporters to all key positions of power

Question 12

Name three ways grammar developed as old English developed into middle English

Answer 12

Word order increasingly important in conveying meaning rather than word endings
Clever, new constructions e.g. auxiliary verbs ‘had’ and ‘shall’ to denote tense
Spelling/punctuation shift because Norman scribes use own conventions e.g. Qu- not cw

Question 13

Who made the first step to standardising English? How did they do this?

Answer 13

King Henry V

Wrote letters in English rather than French, and then declared all court documents should be written in English

Question 14

Why wasn’t English standardised?

Answer 14

English used Latin traditionally and French for over 300 years as written languages, no need to agree on a common linguistic standard

Question 15

How did the influence of French on English change throughout the 1100s?

Answer 15

Hundred year war between England and France- influence of French decreased because they are the enemy
English usurps French when used in opening parliament in 1362, French continues as the language of law

Question 16

Who and when was the printing press invented?

Answer 16

Caxton

1476

Question 17

What influence did the printing press have on the production of books?

Answer 17

Books could be manufactured in large numbers so now more affordable and makes profitable business, able to produce 100s of books in weeks, 20000 titles appear

Question 18

How did Caxton ensure books printed by the printing press could be understood by all?

Answer 18

Used dialects of the south-east because most socially and economically developed region

Question 19

What was the great vowel shift? When was it?

Answer 19

Major development in pronunciation where many long vowels were shortened
1500s

Question 20

What happened to spellings during the great vowel shift?

Answer 20

Many spelling oddities Spelling more standardised

Question 21

How did dialects develop during the great vowel shift? Which new dialects emerged?

Answer 21

Dialect of the east midlands established itself as a form of standard English- most populous, important social, administrative and educational centres
More dialects emerge:
west Saxon= southern, Northumbrian= northern, Mercian= west and east midlands
Kentish= south east

Question 22

Who wrote the Canterbury Tales? What was their significance?

Answer 22

Chaucer in 1380s/90s
Chose to write in English rather than Latin/French
Made English a language fit for cultivated readers

Question 23

Describe three things that contributed to language change in 1500-1650?

Answer 23

Momentus developments in certain studies so borrowed terms to name developments from 50 languages
Great religious and political upheaval
Expansion of known boundaries

Question 24

How were new words invented in 1500-1650?

Answer 24

Addition of prefixes, suffixes and cobbling together compounds

Question 25

What did the union of the English and Scottish crown lead to?

Answer 25

First English translation of the bible | 1611

Question 26

What were the opinions on the new words added to early modern English?

Answer 26

Controversy over new words- some think new Greek and Latin terms as enrichment, others think they are 'inkhorn terms'

Question 27

What was the first English dictionary called? When was it written and who by?

Answer 27

A Table Alphabeticall 1604 Cawdrey

Question 28

Who was the first English dictionary's target audience? What significance did it have to the development of English?

Answer 28

For gentlefolk and intellectually ambitious people | Recognition of new status of English language

Question 29

How did English develop from the 1700s onwards?

Answer 29

Knowledge continues to stretch | Scholars believe its chaotic and in need of rules

Question 30

What was established in 1712 and who established it? What was its main aim and two aims the creator had?

Answer 30

``` Language Academy Swift Regulate language usage Ban new absurd rules Hated fashion of not pronouncing -ed ```

Question 31

Name three books, their authors and the year they were published which contributed to creating language rules?

Answer 31

Samuel Johnson, dictionary-1755 Lowth- guide to Grammar-1762 Murray- pronunciation guide-1794

Question 32

What happened to dialects as the rules of English were established?

Answer 32

Standing of regional dialects and accents serious decline

Question 33

How was Jane Austen affected by the new language rules? What was she aware of and how did she incorperate this into her work?

Answer 33

Taught Lowths Grammar at school Aware grammar usage reflected social position Her educated characters used correct grammatical forms and uneducated ones have identifiable grammar and lexis of their own

Question 34

What did Webster write? What did it include? What was the significance?

Answer 34

American Dictionary of the English Language 1828 Covered more scientific/technical terms as well as American culture terms Defined identity of a new nation Taught children how to write, speak and say things changed spelling edition by edition

Question 35

What was the most significant thing that contributed to language development in the 1800s? Why was it so significant?

Answer 35

Education Act of 1867 Significant rise in literacy levels Interest in reading and writing

Question 36

What two reasons did people have to want to speak properly?

Answer 36

Show off educated status | Reflect personal prestige

Question 37

What became more popular during the 1800s and why? Who was credited with writing the first kind?

Answer 37

Novel reading Cheaply avaible Daniel Defoe

Question 38

Describe the original aims of Samuel Johnson's dictionary. How did these change?

Answer 38

Sought to regulate and control language but realised its ever-changing and his job was to document this

Question 39

Describe the key features of Samuel Johnson's dictionary

Answer 39

40000 words- many incomprehensible and some made up, some not good enough Quotations reflected right-wing views, if he didn't like it, he removed it More extensive and complex than previous ones

Question 40

Why was Samuel Johnson's dictionary criticised?

Answer 40

Imposing his personality too much

Question 41

What were Lowth's aims when publishing his book a Guide to Grammar?

Answer 41

Set out to fix mistakes made by established writers | Mistakes were common idioms, colloquial expressions or vulgar language

Question 42

How does David Crystal summarise the concept of politeness in the 1700s?

Answer 42

In 1700s, when by themselves, polite people didn't speak or write properly so grammars dictionaries etc needed to instruct polite society in correct ways No one was exempt even great writers, which shows the need for guidance as people not as good as Shakespeare are more likely to do the same

Question 43

Give six examples of the differences in grammar to modern English in the late 1700s-early 1800s

Answer 43

``` Expressing negation Use of auxiliary verb- 'shall' 'To be'- double usage and ellipsis Verb phrases expressing tense and aspect 'of' rather than 'have' Noun phrases- definitive and indefinite article ```

Question 44

What was the aim of the Oxford English Dictionary?

Answer 44

Gaps existed in other dictionaries, wanted the OED to include rejected words and those left unnoticed

Question 45

When was the OED first published?

Answer 45

1884

Question 46

Give two features of the OED

Answer 46

Traced history of words | Included word families, pronunciations and multiple meanings

Question 47

Who was the editor of the OED? How did he find quotes to include?

Answer 47

James Murray | Hundreds of volunteers around the world