HistoricalEnglish

Language Variation and Change in the History of English




Lianne van Doorn (6524591) & Naomi Goedhart (5734223)
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Language Variation and Change in the History of English




Lianne van Doorn (6524591) & Naomi Goedhart (5734223)

Slide 1 - Slide

Etymology 
Middle-English (ME):
  • OE used 'native resources' --> compounding + affixation
  • ME borrowed --> especially French (~ 10.000 words)
  • Reasons: (1) contact with other countries (French court), (2) dramatic decrease in inflections
  • Increase 1250 (i.e., 1066 Norman Conquest) till 1500, why delay?
  1. Linguistic changes need time
  2. English becoming the language of England (upper-class struggle)
  3. Degree of 'snobbery' --> synonym word-pairs


(Johnson, 2016)





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Slide 2 - Slide

Etymology: 
Spelling Middle-English (ME)
Germanic:
Soote/seeke                                oo double vowels (i.e., ee, aa, uu)   &   -e ending
Ryde/ryse                                   y used as long i:                               &   -e ending
Semed me                                  -ed ending

Foreign:
Licour                                          ou vowels pronounced as u:
Pilgrimages                                  gr consonants in middle                   &  -ages ending             
Melodye                                       -ye ending
Resoun/condicioun                      -oun ending

Slide 3 - Slide

Germanic
Foreign
What is their origin:
Roote
Open ye
Flour
Corages
Hostelrye
Seke
Devyse
Wyde
Compaignye
Degree

Slide 4 - Drag question

Phonetics and Phonology
Middle English (ME):


Vowels:
a = PDE father                                                                                       
e = PDE air
i (often written as y)  = PDE machine (phonetic long i:)                   e.g., ryse (ri:zə)/ryde  
                                                                                                                                             (ri:də)/devyse (de:vi:zə)
o = PDE note or PD French chose
u = PDE rude (French borrowings as in aventure)
long vowels (e.g., aa, oo, ee, ii, uu, or stressed position word-final, or followed by single consonant + -e ending) = PD French or Italian                                    e.g., seke (se:kə)
word-final -e as -uh (or the PDE a in about)


Slide 5 - Slide

Phonetics and Phonology
Middle English (ME):


Diphthongs (= combine two elements or vowels):
ai (ay), ei (ey) = between PDE play and aisle
au (aw) = PDE house (in French borrowings  as in PDE haunt)
eu (ew) = PDE few or lewd
ou = French borrowing as long u (e.g., flour = flu:r)

Consonants:
ALL consonants are pronounced (except initial -h in some French borrowings) --> gn (e.g., g-now); kn (e.g., k-nyt); wr (e.g., w-rap); lk (e.g., fo-lk)


Slide 6 - Slide

Examples Canterbury Tales (Chaucer, 1392):
Germanic:
Soote = so:tə
Open ye = ɔ:pən i:ə

Foreign:
Licour/resoun = liku:r/rε:zu:n
Melodye/hostelrye = mεlɔdi:ə/hɔstεlri:ə
Pilgrimages = pilgrima:ǰəs

Slide 7 - Slide

So, how would you pronounce the following Germanic words: roote; seeke; wyde; semed me?
A
ro:tə; se:kə; wi:də; se:məd me:
B
ro:t; se:kə; wi:de; se:məd me:
C
ru:tə; si:kə; wi:də; se:məd mi:
D
ro:tə; se:kə; wi:de; se:məd me:

Slide 8 - Quiz

And, how would you pronounce the following Foreign words: corages; compaignye; condicioun; degree?
A
ku:raǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egre:
B
ko:raǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; ku:ndisiu:n; d:egre:
C
kʊraǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egre:
D
kʊraǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egri:

Slide 9 - Quiz

Semantics
Middle English (ME)
Obsolete: Soote, licour, corages

In use: roote, licour, flour, melodye, open ye, pilgrimages, seke, hostelrye, compaignye, ryde, wyde, devyse, resoun, condicioun, semed me, degree

Degree of Snobbery: 
licour versus liquid 
flour versus flower

Slide 10 - Slide

1. What was the meaning of the word licour in ME?
A
Wine
B
Liquid
C
Parfum
D
Candy

Slide 11 - Quiz

2. What was the meaning of the word corages in ME?
A
Strength, power
B
Confidence, brawn
C
Heart, core
D
Spirits, feelings

Slide 12 - Quiz

3. What could have been the meaning of flour in ME?

Slide 13 - Open question

4. What could have been the meaning of seeke (n.)?

Slide 14 - Open question

References
Chaucer, G. (2012). The canterbury tales. Broadview Press.
Johnson, K. (2016). The history of early English: An activity-based approach. Routledge.

Slide 15 - Slide