Week 14

Question 1

Middle English

Answer 1

1100-1500

Question 2

What marked the beginning of the ME period and what marked the end?

Answer 2

Battle of Hastings (Normans) in 1066

Printing press came to Britain (Caxton) in 1476

Question 3

ME dialects

Answer 3

1. Northern
2. West Midlands
3. East Midlands
4. Kentish
5. Southern

Question 4

Present tense indicative: 3rd person singular inflection

Answer 4

Northern: he walkes
East Midland:
1. North: he walkes
2. South: he walketh
West Midland
1. North: she walkes
2. South: he walketh
Southern and Kentish: he walketh

Question 5

Present tense indicative: 3rd person plural inflection

Answer 5

Northern: you walkes
East Midland:
1. North: they walkes
2. South: they walken
West Midland
1. North: we walken
2. South: we walketh
Southern and Kentish: we walketh

Question 6

Present particle

Answer 6

Northern: walkande
East Midland: walkende
West Midland: walkinde
Southern and Kentish: walkynge

Question 7

Isoglosses

Answer 7

Maps providing the use of certain features in different parts.

Question 8

Methodology

Answer 8

1. Concentrate on spelling and graphic features alone
2. Focus on a limited number (270) of ‘key items’ in manuscripts dated between 1350-1450.

Question 9

Which resource represents dialects in late ME?

Answer 9

A Linguistic Atlas of Late Mediaeval English between 1350-1450 (1986)

Question 10

Which resource is available for early Middle English dialects?

Answer 10

A Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English 1150-1325 (2008)

Question 11

Anchor texts

Answer 11

Texts that can be associated with definite places/areas on non-linguistic grounds

Question 12

Fit-technique

Answer 12

Any text of unknown origin can be placed on the map in relation to the ‘anchor texts’.

Question 13

Standard Language

Answer 13

A successful standard must be widely comprehensible, socially highly valued, and ‘codified’ to some extent.

Question 14

Best place for emerging standard?

Answer 14

London

Question 15

Which dialect is the best candidate to become the standard?

Answer 15

South East Midland dialect

Question 16

London as country’s capital

Answer 16

1. Political and commercial centre of England
2. Seat of royal and law courts
3. Close to Oxbridge and Canterbury
4. People moving in and out of city
5. London English is a mixture of local speeches which spreads in the country

Question 17

The Chancery

Answer 17

Chancery is the government writing office that travelled with the King’s household until the 14th c. Located in Westminster by 1345.

Question 18

Which type of dialect is Chancery English?

Answer 18

London dialect type IV

Question 19

What was the dialect that the Chancery used?

Answer 19

Official class dialect

Question 20

Who/what played a crucial role in spreading the standard language? And how?

Answer 20

Caxton’s spelling

He translated all manuscripts to Chaucer’s dialect, so he contributed to the spread of the Chaucerian dialect.

Question 21

Caxton’s spelling

Answer 21

1. Acceptable for all readers
2. No ‘strange terms’ as in first texts printed in English
3. Chancery English adopted for commercial reasons
4. Played crucial role in spreading the standard language

Question 22

Which London dialect is Chaucer’s language

Answer 22

Type III

Question 23

What social functions did the church fulfil apart from liturgical services?

Answer 23

1. Hospitals for the sick, hospitality for pilgrims, women in misfortune
2. Almshouses for the elderly
3. Majority of schools were under clerical control