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Lecture: History of EnglishProf. Dr. Neal R. Norrick

_____________________________________

The History ofEnglish

Universität des SaarlandesDept. 4.3: English Linguistics

WS 10/11

General information:

Tutorial with Matthias Heyne:

Mo 12-13h (c.t.) in room U10, building C5.3

� no sign-up on Clix is necessary to attend thetutorial, Matthias will sign you up manually in thefirst session so you can access materials!

� attendance is mandatory for Magister,

Erasmus (to get full credit), or if you wish to get

3 SWS credited (Alte Studiengänge)!

� attendance is recommended for everyone aspreparation for the final exam!!!

Bibliography, script, etc:Please sign up on Clix (everybody) to access files!!!

Website: Please check the English Linguistics homepage

(http://www.uni-saarland.de/fak4/norrick/)

regularly for important information, events etc !!!

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Final exam:

The final exam will take place during the last session

on Feb 8, 2011 (multiple-choice questions).

Attendance requirements (lecture):

� don't miss more than 2 lectures during the WS!!!

Sign-ups for the Final exam will take place online on

LSF-HIS-POS (for Neue Studiengänge)!!!

Lecture: The History of English

Topics and Goals

• Key events in the history of English

• The stages of English

• Basic principles of historical linguistics

• English as a Global Language

Key events in the History of English

English Time Line

449 Angels, Saxons and Jutes settle in England

787 Viking raids begin878 King Alfred defeats Vikings at Ethandum

(modern Edington)886 Treaty of Wedmore, creation of Danelaw

1066 Duke William of Normandy conquers English Throne

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1362 English reinstated for use in Parliament

1380 Chaucer at work on Canterbury Tales

1476 Caxton sets up printing press in Westminster (London)

1588 Defeat of Spanish Armada

1600 Formation of British East India Company, Shakespeare’s Hamlet

1607 First permanent English settlement in America

1788 “First fleet” of English prisoners arrives in Australia

The stages of English

OE 449-1150ME 1150-1500EModE 1500-1700ModE 1700-

sum man haefde twegen suna OE

a man hadde twei sones ME

a certaine man had two sonnes EModE

a certain man had two sons ModE

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Basic principles of historical linguistics

The Genetic Hypothesis

Principles of language change

Sound Shift

Grimm’s Law

The origins of English

English as a Global Language

• What is a global language?

• What makes a global language?

• How did English become the global language?

• Varieties of World English

• The Future of English

1. Historical Linguistics

19th Century Linguistics was only historical linguistics

or diachronic linguistics

� goals: explain relations between languages and

language change

Distinction of diachronic versus synchronic later

� Saussure 1916 Cours de linguistique generale:

lectures from 1906-1911

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2. The Genetic Hypothesis

Jones 1786 recognized relationship between awhole group of languages:

Cognate words = words with similar structure and related meaning in different languagesIf languages are related, then what needs explaining is not their similarities, but their differences

The Genetic Hypothesis: languages “sprung from some common source” belong together in a language family

English belongs to: Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic, Anglo-Frisian

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This Genetic Hypothesis raises a whole set ofquestions about the nature of language and relations between languages

English and German cognates:

mouse – Maus house – Hausjeans – Jeans rock and roll – Rock and Rolltheater – Theater philosophy – Philosophie

explained by borrowing - maybe from each other, maybe from a third language.

sets of regular relations

Tür – door Tier – deer Tanz - dance

parallel sets of inflected items

I me mine - ich mich/mir meinerwe us our - wir uns unser

� correspondences are so great that two languages must be related by more than borrowing.

The Genetic Hypothesis:

• Languages as belonging to families: German and English are closely related to eachother and ultimately to Sanskrit, but not to, say,Chinese or Thai

• Languages as living organisms that evolve through the generations (recall that Darwin’s theory of evolution did not yet exist!)

• Mechanism of change as either progress or decay

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August von Schlegel 1818three-fold distinction of languages

• Isolating “without grammatical structure”: each word consists of a single unchanging root as in Chinese, Vietnamese

• Affixing with unchanging roots and affixes as in Turkish

• Inflecting with changeable roots and affixes as in Sanskrit, Latin, German

Grimm 1819, 1822: Deutsche GrammatikAblaut (as characteristic Germanic inflection)sing – sang – sung ride – rode - ridden

Umlaut (as new inflectional principle)a kind of vowel harmony - back vowels fronted when followed by [i] or [j],

as in German a, o, u to ä, ö, üMann – Männer rot - rötlich Mund - münden

English:

foot – feet (from *fotiz )strong – strength (from *strongith )food – feed (from *fodian )

(* marks an assumed, reconstructed form)

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Lautverschiebung = sound shift

Grimm’s Law (following Rask 1818)

First (Germanic) shift:T (Latin tu ) � TH (thu OE)D (Greek daman ) � T (tam OE)TH (Greek thugater ) � D (dohtor OE)

Second (High German) shift:TH (thu ) � D (du )T (tamjan ) � Z (zähmen ) D (dauhtar ) � T (tochter )

This leads to a recurrent set of correspondences:T > TH > D > T

The standard textbook version of Grimm’s Law is:

3. The Regularity Hypothesis

Verner 1875:

“Eine Ausnahme der ersten Lautverschiebung”

� no exception without a rule

� there must be a rule for irregularity

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Verner’s Law: differential stress in Indo-European

accounts for exceptions to Grimm’s Law, thus:

Sanskrit bhrátar � OE brothor(as per Grimm’s Law)

Sanskrit pitár � OE fæder - preceding stress

�apparent exceptions form a pattern just as

predictable as the primary pattern

Die Junggrammatiker (esp. Brugmann 1878):Sound laws admit no exceptionsSound laws as fundamental mechanism of language change

Analogy and Borrowing always factors in changedove replaces dived in AE in analogy to rode, wrote

Why doesn’t sound shift cause confusion?

1. Sound shifts take place over long periods

2. Shifts themselves are graduale.g. aspiration of [bȹ] is lost by degrees

3. Shifts spread from one environment to the nexte.g. voicing of b is lost at ends of words first

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4. Shifts spread from one sound to the nexte.g. voicing is lost in g, then d, then b

5. Sound shifts vary from one register to anothere.g. slang, casual talk, formal speech, prayer

6. Populations shift in wavesi.e. groups shift at different ratesand: only younger speakers shift

Consider: Variation resulting from the second

(High German) sound shift

Pfalz, Pfeffer, Pferd, Pfeife, Pfad

of course, confusions can and do occur, especially

between different dialect groups and generations

4. Meaning change

Word meaning consists of both sense and associations

father, dad, daddy, papa, pops, the old manhave the same sense but different associations

and both sense and associations may change:� narrowing (specialization): OE fugol ‘bird’

ModE fowl� widening (generalization): OE brid ‘young bird’

ModE bird

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� meaning transfer: long ‘distance’ vs ‘time’

� metaphor: leg ‘of animal’ vs ‘of table’

� metonymy: press ‘machine’ vs ‘print media’

� perjoration: Latin vulgar ‘common’

ModE ‘obscene’

� amelioration: OE eorl ‘man’

vs ModE earl ‘noble, count’

5. The Phoneme

letters and phonemes

Grimm 1822 used letter (Buchstabe) for both written symbol and sound

Dufriche-Desgenettes 1873 first use of term phoneme (phonème) for language sound

The search for an international alphabet:

• Sweet 1877: “organic alphabet”• broad vs narrow transcription• symbols for “distinctive” sound

phonemes as sites of language change:

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6. Why does language change?

Till Labov in the 1960s, no one had tried to explain

language change

When linguists described change, they cited internal

(systematic linguistic) not external (social) factors

Neo-Grammarians claimed language change was

imperceptible, its origins obscure to speakers and

linguistics alike

academies and schools see change “from below” as

corruption, maintenance of standards

“from above” as necessary

Any deviation from standard is undesirable,

standard language is pure, better,

more logical than dialects

Labov found both internal and external factors in

change

Language change both from above and below

Language change is not imperceptible

people talk about undesirable features and changes

in progress

Language change not generally dysfunctional

corruption;

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Language change must have positive value as well• change and group identity• maintenance of stigmatized features

• Language change as deterioration and levelling ofdistinctions - but also new distinctions and features

• Language change must have value for the group –extra learning and monitoring of forms

change from below strengthens position of vernacular

Language change as a social marker

� Neither linguistic nor social conditions predict or

explain why one specific feature changes and

another doesn’t!!!

the vowel in words like craft

from [�] in OE to [�] in ME,

back to [�] in EModE

and back to [�] in the 18th Century in southern

England, (but not in America or northern England)

prestige varieties in southern England drop -r careful speakers in New York City are reintroducing -r

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7. How do we know how old languages sounded?

Detective work:

� Old texts: spelling, variants, rhyme, errors

� Social history: Migration of Peoples

(Völkerwanderung),

history of scribal practices, literature, law, schools

� Glossaries: translations, pronunciations

� Dialect variants: historical and contemporary

� General principles: long/stressed vowels tend to

rise, while short/lax vowels tend to remain the same

Assimilation – sounds become more like

neighboring sounds

� tendency toward vowel harmony (as in Umlaut)

Palatization

gotcha from got youwhatcher name from what’s your name

Ellipsis in unstressed forms

‘bout from aboutol’ from oldprob’ly from probably (called syncope)

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Metathesis

aks for askperfer for prefer

Intrusion (for dissimilation)

athelete for athletechiminey for chimney

Reanalysis

a newt from an ewtea nother as in a whole nother from another

Folk etymology

cold slaw from Dutch kool slabuckaroo from Spanish vaquero

Historical linguistics

• recognizes regular correspondences between

languages and dialects

• describes past sound changes in general principles

loss of [k] in initial cluster [kn] in ModE, as in:

knife, knight, knuckle, knot

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raising of [�] in ModE, as in:

name compare German Nameflame compare German Flamemake compare German machenbake compare German backen etc.

• applies general principles to old texts

• compares related languages to determine

pronunciations and meanings

Reconstructing historical English pronunciation

• OE scribes used the Latin alphabet

• ME scribes after 1066 used French-based conventions

• hypothesize Latin sounds from old texts, grammars, and modern languages

• compare related texts and languages to explain changes and anomalies

given OE spelling cnottacorresponding ME knot(te)and ModE knotcompare German Knoten

� assume initial [k] sound was once pronounced

and later lost

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given OE spelling fisccorresponding ME fish, fyssh

ModE fishcompare German Fisch

� recall that short vowels tend to remain

unchanged deduce that fish was pronounced

exactly as today

given OE (OFris, ON etc) spelling huscorresponding ME hous

(by French scribal convention ou = [�])

corresponding ModE housecompare German Haus

� reckon that OE hus had an [u] sound,

later changed to the current diphthong

Linguists even reconstruct forms not found in

any extant text, even forms of languages never

written at all like Proto-Germanic and

Proto-Indo-European

reconstructed forms from written languages

and all forms from protolanguages are marked

with an asterisk*

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given ModE loaf OE hlafGerm Laib MHG leip OHG [h]leibON hleifr Go hlaifs

scholars reconstruct the Proto-Germanic form *hlaiba-

reconstructed forms have all the sounds found in the

derivative forms,

• like the initial [h], which is later lost in

ModE and German

• like the [b], which devoices in final position in MHG

leip , and characteristically becomes [v] between

vowels (compare Engl. loaves )

• and [f] at the ends of words (like loaf ) in

Low German and English

8. Who were the Indo-Europeans?

Common existence between 3500 and 2500 BC

before migration

Kurgan culture north of Caspian Sea

� language clues to homeland of Kurgans:

IE languages share cognates for trees like

beech, apple, ash, oak, birch, elmbut none for olive, cypress, palm

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also cognates for

wolf, bear, lax (OE leax ),

honey (Latin mel, Engl mildew )

but not for camel, lion, elephant

language clues to Kurgan culture

cognates for mead (OE medu )

words relating to yoke, wheel, axle

9. From Indo-European to Germanic

• characteristic Germanic words:

drink, drive, fowl, meat, rain, wife• reduction of tense and aspect to present and preterit

ModE bind – bound, G binden – band,

ON binda - band

nothing comparable to future, perfect, pluperfect etc.

• dental suffix (with t or d) for weak preterit formation

strong (Ablaut): sing – sang rise – rosevs weak: OE slepan – slepte hieran - hierde

• characteristic sound shifts described in Grimm’s Law

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• the second (High German) sound shift does not

affect OE, Low German, Dutch and Frisian

no p to pf or ff as in: pepper vs Pfefferno t to ts o r ss as in: tongue vs Zunge ,

water vs Wasserno k to ch as in: make vs machenno d to t as in: dance vs Tanz

• OE, Old Frisian and Old Saxon group together as

Ingvaeonic

common loss of n before fricatives (f, s, th )

as in: us vs uns, soft vs sanft, wish vs Wunsch

10. Old English

Old English (OE) 449-1150

10.1 Britain before the English

Celts in Britain c. 1500 BC

55 BC Julius Caesar invades

Roman conquest from 43 BC,

introducing Latin and Roman customs

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by 410 AD Romans leave

449 AD Britons appeal to Saxons for protection

from Picts and Scots

10.2 Germanic invasions

From 449 on, invasion and settlement by waves of

Saxons, Jutes, Frisians and Angles (OE Angli - Engle ),

introducing Germanic dialects

Crystal, pg. 6

597 Pope Gregory calls the people Angli601 Pope Gregory calls Æthelbert of Kent

rex Angelorum

people call themselves Angelcynnand their language Engliscfrom about 1000 the land is called EnglalandCelts called Wealas (hence Welsh ),

i.e.‘foreigners’

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Settlement of England

The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy:

Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia,

Mercia, Northumbria

Crystal, pg. 28

Main dialects:

Kentish, West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian

but King Alfred had his capital in Winchester, Wessex,

and West Saxon is the dialect of most OE manuscripts;

descriptions of OE are generally based on West Saxon,

while ModE is based on the later London Standard

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10.3 Old English illustrated

OE spellingOE vowels

table from Cable, Companion, pg. 22

will be added asap!

OE consonants

b, d, l, m, n, r, p, t, w same as ModE,though r represented an apical trilland w (wynn) looked something like: [φ]

OE used sc and cg where ModE uses sh and dgas in: disc ‘dish’ and ecg ‘edge’

in the combination ng both n and g are pronounced,as in ModE finger, by contrast with singer

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[þ] (thorn ) and [ñ] (eth ) both stand for interdentalfricatives[þ] , [ñ] , f, s indicate voiceless fricatives initially, finally and preceding a voiceless consonant, otherwise they stand for the corresponding voicedfricatives

h stands for aspiration initially, as in ModE,but, like German ch, indicates either:a voiceless palatal fricative as in byrht ‘bright’or a voiceless velar fricative as in seah ‘saw’

c stands for [k] as in ModE, and for the voiceless palatal affricate whereModE has [s]

g stands for [g] as in ModE, and for the palatal glide [j] where ModE hasa voiced affricate

OE textsBeowulf

Crystal,

pg. 11

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The

Seafarer

Crystal,

pg. 13

OE grammar - Nouns

Baugh/Cable, pg. 57

Articles

Pyles/Algeo, pg. 116

OE articles are really demonstratives, and they may stand alone as personal and relative pronouns, as in German.

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Adjectives

as in German, both strong and weak declensions

Pyles/Algeo, pg. 115

Pyles/Algeo, pg. 115

Personal pronouns

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Pyles & Algeo, pg. 117

Verbs

Baugh/Cable, pg. 60-61

OE text: The Prodigal Son

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Pyles/Algeo, pg. 133

10.4 Scandinavian Influence on OE

787 Vikings (called Danes) begin raids on eastern coast

793 Vikings sack Lindisfarne and Jarrow

850 Regular Viking settlement begins

865 Vikings invade and control most of eastern England

878 Alfred (the Great) defeats Vikings at Edington,

establishing Danelaw by Treaty of Wedmore (886)

991 further invasions by Danes, including Battle of

Malden, Danes seize throne and occupy England

1016 Svein (then son Cnut) assumes English throne

1042 Edward the Confessor finally restores

Alfred’s line

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Crystal, pg. 25

Though Viking lexical borrowings are extensive,

the language remains substantially English

Viking influence:

Mixing of Scandinavian and English forms

contributing to loss of inflectional endings

Only ca 150 Scandinavian words appear in OE texts,

e.g. landing, score, fellow, take

but remember most OE texts are West Saxon

By the early 12th century they become common:

sky, skin, skirt, again, anger, bag, band, birth, call, get, ill, knife, leg, neck, odd, rid, sly, st eak, want

sometimes supplying pairs of close synonyms:

ill – sick, hale – whole, skill – craft, skin - hide

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sometimes ultimately replacing OE cognates:

egg for ey, sister for sweoster, silver for seolfor,give (pronounced with [g] in place of OE [j])

in time, even the personal pronoun system was

affected, replacing OE forms with:

they, them, their

and the forms of to be , where sindon yields to areand the use of –s to mark the 3rd person singular of

verbs

11. 1066 and all that

in January 1066, Edward the Confessor died heirless

his advisor Harold Godwin was elected king,

William Duke of Normandy, second cousin to the

king, and others challenged the election,

in September 1066 William’s forces landed at

Pevensy, met and slew Harold at Hastings,

burned and pillaged their way to London,

William crowned King of England on

Christmas day, 1066

William brought with him a new nobility,

filled high ranks with his French-speaking vassals,

reducing native English Language to second-class

status, spoken (not written) away from court by the uneducated, in informal contexts and in regional

dialects

Doomsday Book 1086 demonstrates William’s control

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Norman French dialect developed in England into

Anglo-Norman, a matter of ridicule even in England:

And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,

After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,

For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.

as Chaucer writes in the

General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

William and his followers maintained close ties to

France, and married French noble-women

(till Edward IV, reigned 1461-1483)

Nevertheless, by 1200 English was re-establishing itself

1204 King John lost Normandy

from 1250 growth of cities with wealthy guilds and

tradesmen

1337 Hundred Years’ War further separated England

from France

1348-50 Black Plague kills 30% of entire population,

strengthening position of artisans and guilds

1362 Parliament opened in English

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ME writers on French vs English

Baugh/Cable, pg. 144

William of Nassyngton

Speculum Vitae or Mirror of Life (c. 1325)

Arthur and Merlin (c. 1325)

Baugh/Cable, pg. 145

Effects on English :

• Fragmentation into regional variants with no cultural center and no linguistic standard

• further decay of inflectional system

• new sounds

• new spelling system

• contribution of vocabulary in all areas

• new literary models and traditions

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By 1400 we see the rise of a new standard English

based on the speech of London consolidated in the

works of Chaucer especially through the introduction of

printing press by William Caxton at Westminster,

London, in 1476

� This language is the direct ancestor of ModE

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Lecture: History of EnglishProf. Dr. Neal R. Norrick

_____________________________________

The History ofEnglish

Universität des SaarlandesDept. 4.3: English Linguistics

WS 10/11

Middle English

ME 1150-1500

Most important writer: Chaucer 1343-1400

Chaucer primary influence on ModE:• sought to raise vernacular to literary language

(Dante)

• wide range of genres and styles:

lyric, narrative poetry; prose; translations;

romances; legends; ribald tales

• included “low” characters, “rude” speech,

iambic pentameter, rhyme, heroic couplets

many early editions from Caxton (1476) based on

London Standard ME as direct ancestor of ModE

(recall: OE was based on West Saxon)

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ME form in Chaucer is generally quite

close to ModE form

(though not so for other ME writers and dialects)

and pronunciation derivable via Great Vowel Shift

and a few other regular correspondences

Spellingfor Chaucer in most editions no new letters,

though some letters have different values

Consonants

r = apical trillwh = aspirated [hw]gh = [c, x]g as in French before e, i - as in engendred, courage

still pronounced: kn, gn and wrand l before f, v, m and k as in half, calve, palmer, folk

Vowels Cable, p. 59

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Norman French scribal tradition in ou, owfor long /u/ and u for /y/

also use of o for retracted u in

e.g. nonne, sonne, love, yronne

both i and y for both long and short iin byte/bite, ywis/iwis

distinguish open and close long o as in

stone/stoon vs rote/roote

by reference to OE stan vs rot or

ModE o vs u pronunciation

Distinguish open and close long e as in

swete/sweet vs breeth

by reference to ModE spelling ee vs ea

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Algeo 1982

Grammar

Noun Phrase• -s, -es for plural and possessive (but no apostrophe)

• nouns sometimes without possessive

myn owen herte blood; by my fader soule;venus sone

• nouns with irregular plural

(men; gees; sheep; oxen as in ModE)

ten hors, ten vers; eyen, shoon, foon, keen

Pronouns

Note Contractions:

artow, arte; hastow; shaltou, wiltow, maistow etceven: seistow, wostow, hydestow, wenestow, prechestow etc

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Adjectives

Final -e for plural and weak declension in

one-syllable adjectives:

smale fowles; the yonge sonne; youre rede colera

also in trisyllabic adjectives :

o wommanliche wyf; the semelieste man

and in survivals of old dative:

of olde tyme; with harde grace; in salte see

Adverbs

Regular endings in -e, -ly, -lichebrighte; stille; namely/nameliche;royally/royalliche

a few adverbs end in -es or -enones (atones), twyes, certes, elles,aboven, abouten

note adverbial phrases:

atte beste; atte laste; for the noneshis thankes; hire thanks

‘of his/their own free will; voluntarily’

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Verb phrase

Note: participle prefix

y- (-i) in yronne, iride(n)

Note: impersonal constructions

me thinketh - me thoughte me mettehe may ride wher hym list it liketh me - it remembreth me

Relative Clause

• often which or whom with preposition

this wydwe, of which I telle yow my talemy suster Emelye for whom ye have this strif

• or with that on his perche that was in the halle

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• sometimes with that and a resumptive pronoun

ther is no newe gyse that it nas old

• or even with which thattwo lordes, which that were of gret renoun

� Note also ther for in which in locatives

unto the lystes ther hire temple was

Negation

Multiple Negation:

• no wyn ne drank she

• repleccioun ne made hire nevere sik

• I ne loved nevere by no discrecioun

Note negative contractions:

nam ne amnys, nis ne isnas ne wasnere ne werenoot ne wotnyste ne wistenille, nyl ne willenolde ne wolde

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Word Order:

To hem have I so gret affecciounAs I seyde erst, whanne comen is the MayThat in my bed ther daweth me no dayThat I nam up and walkyng in the mede

(Legend of Good Women, Text F 44-47)

Vocabulary

By comparison with OE, lots of French and Latin words:perced, veyne, licour, vertu, engendred, flour

The famous word pairs:(attributed to Sir Walter Scott)

ox beefsheep muttoncalf vealdeer venisonpig, swine pork

but there are many others, e.g.:

begin commencechild infantdoom judgmentfreedom libertyhearty cordialhelp aidhide concealwedding marriagewish desire

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Also note regular correspondences:

ME: er ���� ModE: ar, ear, ur, ir

Cherl churlDerk darkErs arseGerl girlHert heartMerk mark

Clerk clerk same spelling, differrent pronunciation in BE [ar]

ME text samples

The Prodigal Son

Pyles/Algeo, p. 164

William Langland (ca. 1330 - ca. 1386)

Piers Plowman: The Prologue

In a somer sesun, whon softe was the sonne,I schop me into a shroud, as I a scheep were;In habite as an hermite unholy of werkesWente I wyde in this world wondres to here;Bote in a Mayes morwnynge on Malverne hullesMe bifel a ferly, of fairie, me-thoughte.I was wery, forwandred, and wente me to resteUndur a brod banke bi a bourne side;

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And as I lay and leonede and lokede on the watres,I slumbrede in a slepynge, hit swyed so murie.Thenne gon I meeten a mervelous sweven,

That I was in a wildernesse, wuste I never where;And as I beheold into the est an heigh to the sonne,I sauh a tour on a toft, tryelyche i-maket;A deop dale bineothe, a dungun ther-inne,With deop dich and derk and dredful of sighte.A feir feld full of folk fond I ther bitwene,Of alle maner of men, the mene and the riche,Worchinge and wandringe as the world asketh.

Early Modern English

EModE 1500-1700

Most important writer: Shakespeare 1564-1616

recall:

OE 449-1150ME 1150-1500EModE 1500-1700ModE 1700-

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ENGLISH TIME LINE

449 Angels, Saxons and Jutes settle in England787 Viking raids begin878 King Alfred defeats Vikings at Ethandum

(modern Edington)886 Treaty of Wedmore, creation of Danelaw

1066 Duke William of Normandy conquers English Throne

1362 English reinstated for use in Parliament 1380 Chaucer at work on Canterbury Tales1476 Caxton sets up printing press in Westminster

(London)1558 Queen Elizabeth I1588 Defeat of Spanish Armada

1592 Shakespeare begins writing for stage (Henry VI , parts 1-3)

1600 Shakespeare’s Hamlet1611 King James Bible, Shakespeare retires from

writing for stage1649 Interregnum : Puritan Cromwell Lord Protector 1660 Restoration of monarchy: King Charles II1667 Milton’s Paradise Lost1688 “Glorious Revolution”:

William and Mary II joint rulers1695 Augustan/Neo-Classical literary period1700 First “modern” drama The Way of the World

by Congreve

1. The Great Vowel Shift (GVS)

Shakespeare’s English during the GVS

Diagram from http://facweb.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/what.htm

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Pyles/Algeo, p. 171

2. Characteristic features of EModE2.1 Spelling

Most editions have regularized spelling,

but you may see:

word-initial v vpon, vnderstandword-internal u haue, forgiue

ck for k musick, physick

Note various contractions:

‘tis, ‘twas, ‘twere,

an’t please you for an it (an = ‘if’)

the morning comes upon ‘s for upon us

and after seem to chide ‘em for chide them

he plays o’ the viol de gamboys for on the

what kind o’ man is he? for kind of

13

Capitalization

� nouns can be proper or common

proper nouns include the names of people and

places, and these are capitalized in EmodE,

along with titles like Count, Sir, Mistress

Most modern editions have regularized spelling,but EmodE writers often capitalized common nouns,

e.g. in Hamlet III iv 137 ff. the First Folio:

Queen: This is the very coynage of your Braine,This bodilesse Creation extasie is very cunning in.

Hamlet: Extasie?My Pulse as yours doth temperately keepe timeAnd makes as healthful Musicke.

Writers continue to capitalize especially abstract

nouns and topically salient nouns (and even

sometimes adjectives) throughout the EmodE period;

Hamlet III iv 147 ff. (First Folio):

It will but skin and filme the Vlcerous place;

14

We even find participles capitalized in Hamlet

(First Folio):

Why thy Canoniz’d bones Hearsed in death.

In fact, this practice becomes more prevalent up

to the 18th Century; compare Swift’s Baucis and Philemon (1706):

Give us but Straw, and let us LyIn yonder Barn to keep us dry.

Apostrophes

Possessive endings were not usually marked with an

apostrophe, though modern editions generally add

them, we find e.g. in Hamlet (First Folio):

I am thy Fathers Spirit by a Brothers hand

Apostrophes generally signal contractions, as in:

‘tis time I’faith‘gainst death let’s follow

But the practice is not consistent, compare:

Ile follow thee

Note verb suffix: ‘d for -ed

be thou assur’d his damn’d fingers

15

Pronunciation

Both plural and possessive endings might be

pronounced as full syllables,

as the meter in the lines below suggests:

To show his teeth as white as whales bone(LLL V ii 232)

I see you have a monthes mind to them(Two Gent I ii 137)

2.2 Grammar

Nouns

Old Plural formsShakespeare still uses some old irregular plurals we

no longer find today

-en plural: eyen, eyne (eyes), shone (shoes), kine (cows)

(cf. oxen, children, brethren)

zero plural: horse, folk, pound, year (cf. deer, sheep, swine, fish)

e.g. horse occurs with zero plural in

Henry IV, Part 1; II i (1st Quarto):

and yet our horse not packt

16

Possessives

EModE had unmarked possessives in constructions like:

the bishop palace, Friar Lawrence cell,for recreation sake

we also find the so-called his- genitive:

A sea-fight ‘gainst the Count his galleys

Noun phrase constructions

Adjective precedes Determinerespecially in vocatives and forms of address with my,

as in: good my brother dear my lord

but we even find adjectives preceding the

indefinite article, e.g.:

As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion

bequeathed me by will but poor a thousand crowns ,

AYLI I i

Personal pronouns as nouns

personal pronouns can function as nouns with

adjective modifiers:

Lady, you are the cruell’st she alive 12 th Night I v

17

Split constructions

adjective precedes noun and adjective modifier follows:

of different flowers in odour and in hue Sonnet 98

cf. construction with preceding participle

(from Rheims Bible 1582):

the translated Bibles into the vulgar tonges

coordinate adjectives precede and follow noun:

an honest mind and a plain (King Lear)

even with intervening material in Henry 1V, Part 1:

a goodly portly man, y’faith and a corpulent

Pronouns

thou, thee, thy, thine vs ye, you

thy vs thine within thine own bud buriest thy content

my vs mine in faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes

18

his for its when as thy love hath cast his utmost sum,

no self in reflexive he takes on him to understand so much

against that time do I ensconce me here

Verbs

Verb Inflections

3rd person -(e)th: she goeth, hath, doth2nd person -(e)st: thou goest, dost, art, wert,

wast, hast, wilt

word order V – S thus came they home; here lies your way

his- genitive Nor Mars his sword nor war’s swift fires

Auxiliary Constructions

Dummy Aux Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May

Question without Aux:

Yes-No Question Comes Caesar to the Capitol tomorrow?

Wh-Question Why hear'st thou music sadly?

19

Negation without Aux His rider loved not speed Sweets with sweets war not

Multiple Negation And live no more to shame nor me nor you.

None else to me, nor I to none alive,

Comparison: 2 forms Grows fairer than at first, more strong, far greater

Multiple Comparison This was the most unkindest cut of all

be + Perfect And you are come in very happy time

Impersonal construction so it please thee hold; This lodging likes me better

Relative Clauses

that for people and he that calls on thee,

which for people till he faced the slave, which ne’er shook hands

whose for things upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds

no relative word there’s one ___ did laugh in’s sleep

20

3. Verse

Nay, then, God buy you, an you talk in blank verse. AYLI IV i 31

blank verse = iambic pentameter without end rhyme

pentameter = line with five metric feet

iambic foot = unstressed – stressed

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

In Shakespeare’s plays, we should say blank verse is iambic pentameter with occasional end rhyme for special effect, e.g. in Romeo & Juliet

Act I Prologue in sonnet formI v 46 ff. rhymed couplets when Romeo sees Juliet for the first time

Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! aIt seems she hangs upon the cheek of night aLike a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear – bBeauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! b

I v 95 ff. abab, cdcd rhymes when Romeo and Juliet first speak together

If I profane with my unworthiest hand aThis holy shrine, the gentle fine is this, bMy lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand aTo smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. b

21

And occasional other meters, e.g. in MSND

II ii 27 ff when Oberon casts a spell

What thou seest when thou dost wake,Do it for thy truelove take,Love and languish for his sake.

II ii 66 ff when Puck speaks

Through the forest have I gone,But Athenian found I noneOn whose eyes I might approveThis flower’s force in stirring love.

Note: Shakespeare often ends lines with an unstressed eleventh syllable

And like this insubstantial pageant fadedTempest IV I 155

And sometimes we have to drop a syllable somewhere in the middle

• either shortening a single word like mockery to mock’ry in

Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? MSND II ii 123

• or by eliding two words like to + untie as t’untie in

It is too hard a knot for me to untie12th Night II ii 42

Also: words ending in -ion may be pronounced with two final syllables

The brightest heaven of inventionHen V Prologue 2

22

Prodigal Son Pyles/Algeo, pp. 210-211

Hamlet - First Folio

23

1

Lecture: History of EnglishProf. Dr. Neal R. Norrick

_____________________________________

The History ofEnglish

Universität des SaarlandesDept. 4.3: English Linguistics

WS 10/11

1. The Expansion of English

From the EModE period onward, with permanent

English settlement in America we must consider the

History of English as a world language!

TIME LINE

449 Jutes, Angels, Saxons invade and settle England

597 Christianization begins by Augustine under King Æthelbert

850 Regular Viking settlement begins

886 Treaty of Wedmore establishes Danelaw

991 Battle of Maldon, Danes occupy England

1016 Svein (then son Cnut) assumes English throne

1042 Edward the Confessor restores Alfred’s line

1066 Duke William of Normandy conquers English Throne

1380 Chaucer at work on Canterbury Tales1476 Caxton sets up printing press in Westminster

1535 Statute of Wales makes English official language in Wales

1584 Raleigh sends first expedition to America

2

1588 Spanish Armada defeated under Elizabeth I

1592 Shakespeare begins writing for stage (Henry VI , parts 1-3)

1600 Formation of British East India Company,

Shakespeare’s Hamlet1607 First permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown,

Virginia

1611 King James Bible

1620 First Puritan “Pilgrims” arrive at Plymouth on Mayflower1649 Interregnum : Cromwell Lord Protector of England,

Scotland, Ireland

1660 Restoration of monarchy: King Charles II

1700 First “modern” drama The Way of the World by Congreve

1707 Act of Union makes Scotland part of UK

1770 Cook visits Australia

1776 American Declaration of Independence1784 India Act establishes English control of India1788 “First fleet” of English prisoners arrives in Australia1803 Act of Union makes Ireland part of UK1806 British establish control of South Africa1808 Sierra Leone becomes Crown Colony1822 Liberia, Africa’s first republic, founded by

American Colonization Society1842 Hong Kong ceded to England1861 British colony founded at Lagos, Nigeria1867 Federated Malay States become Crown Colony1888 Imperial British East Africa Company founded1898 US sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico,

Philippines, Hawaii1920 Kenya becomes British colony

Crystal - Cambridge Encyclopedia ofthe English Language

3

Varieties of World English

4

BE (or BrE): England, Wales, South Africa,

Australia, New Zealand

NAmE (or NAE): US, Canada

� Scottish & Irish varieties separate

� non-native varieties, pidgins and creoles separate

2. English in North America

History of English in North America (NAmE, GenAmE)

� USA (AE)

1584 Raleigh sends first expedition to America1607 first permanent English settlement in VA

first Puritan “Pilgrims” arrive at Plymouth

1776 American Declaration of Independence

� Canada (CanE)

1763 English control of area east of Mississippi (Treaty of Paris)

1867 Dominion in British Commonwealth

US English (AE) vs Canadian English (CanE)

Canadian raising[��] about the house[��] typewriter

5

GenAmE vs BE (RP)

� major differences in pronunciation, grammar,

lexis, spelling

Pronunciation

GenAmE

[�] vs [�] (BE) in can’t etc.

rhotic with non-prevocalic /r/ in bard, bird etc.consistent flapping [�] of intervocalic /t/

unrounded [�] in pot etc.

absence of contrast in bother and father

/l/ fairly dark in all positions

usually no glide [�] after alveolars

like tube, due, new

Note: the letter z is pronounced [�] in BE

and [� ] in AE

Major differences in Morphology

Adj-Adv suffix -st only in BE

whilst, amidst, amongst

irregular Past Tense forms typical of BE

burnt, smelt, dreamt, knelt

6

regular forms in GenAmE

burned, smelled, dreamed, kneeled

irregular Past Tense forms only in GenAmE

dove, snuck

regular forms in BE

dived, sneaked

only GenAmE uses Past participle gotten for

recurrent event:

GenAmE She’s gotten caught three times since December

vs BE She’s got caught three times since December

both: She’s got three poodles at home

Salient differences in Grammar

In BE main verb have acts like auxiliary in questions

and negation:

Have you any wool? I haven’t any wool

In GenAmE main verb have requires do-support

Do you have any wool? I don’t have any wool

7

in BE seem, sound, look etc. stand directly

before nouns

Sue seems a good neighbour/looks a pleasant person

In GenAmE these verbs require like before nouns

Sue seems like a good neighbor/looks like a pleasant person

In BE collective nouns may be treated as

grammatically plural

The team/the family/the government are in agreement

In GenAmE such nouns are always

grammatically singular

The team/the family/the government is in agreement

GenAmE and BE disagree in requiring articles

with some nouns

BE in hospital, be at/go to university, be at/go to a class

AE in the hospital, be at/go to the university, be at/go to class

8

GenAmE and BE disagree on prepositions:

BE different from all the rest

AE different than all the rest

BE we prevented them leaving

AE we prevented them from leaving

Selected Vocabulary Differences

BE AElorry trucktap fawcettin canpetrol gaspudding dessertcustard puddingegg custard custardgarden yardflower garden gardentorch flashlightchemist's shop drugstoreetc. etc.

etc etc

Regular Spelling Differences:

BE GenAmE

-our -or colour – color

-ou -o mould - mold

-oe -e foetus - fetus

en- in- enquire - inquire

-re -er centre - center

-ce -se defence - defense

9

BE GenAmE

-ise -ize apologise - apologize

-xion -tion connexion - connection

-ll- -l- travelled - traveled

-gh -f draught - draft

-gh -w plough - plow

Note also: gaol - jail , kerb - curb

3. Varieties of English in England

Received Pronunciation (RP)

• Standard British English with particular

supra-regional accent

• from 19th Century "accepted in best society"

• taught in public (= private) schools

• upper class "prestige" accent, region-less

• spoken by about 3 % of population

• formerly, speech of BBC news readers

variation in RP, primarily by age

Gimson: upper crust, general, advanced

Wells: conservative, mainstream, adoptive

Variation in consonants:

� RP is non-rhotic, i.e. has no non-prevocalic r

r-less pronunciation: tired, clear water, theatre seatsr pronounced in: tiring, clearish

10

linking r in: clear air is nice, theatrer is openintrusive r in: idear of, drawr ing pen

glottal stop:

� Conservative RP (Trad. RP)

• only replaces word-internal t as in Gatwick• or first of 2 homorganic stops at word boundary, as in

back garden, get down

� Advanced RP also replaces final t before vowel,

as in quite awful

h dropping or "aitch dropping"

� General RP drops h in unstressed pronouns and

auxiliaries

Have you seen 'er? Why 'aven't we seen 'im yet?

by contrast, dialect speech drops hs in all word

classes, so that e.g. harm = arm & heart = art

Allophones of l:General RP has initial light l and final dark l [�] in:

e.g. level but some speakers vocalize word-final ls, as in:

table, beautiful

glide [�] increasingly missing after initial s and l

as in suit and lute

coalesces with preceding alveolar, as in:

what you, would you, and even tube

11

BBC = essentially mainstream RP

Estuary = Advanced RP influenced by local southeast

accents in the estuary of the Thames

4. Traditional dialects

• unique history

• accent

• grammar

• lexis

� particularly: Scots and Irish

Traditional dialect grammar, e.g.

Scottish Engl.: she's no going, she cannae go, (ScE or ScStE) she's nae got it

South-West Engl.: I be going, you be going, she be going

Traditional Dialect vocabulary, e.g.

Scottish, Northern Engl.: wee, bairn, lass ( vs girl, SW maiden)

12

Non-standard variation in grammar

Negation: Multiple negation

she didn't have any dinner she didn't have no dinner

she couldn't get any anywhere she couldn't get none nowhere

Ain't

I ain't/she ain't/we ain't goingshe ain't done it, she ain't got none

Tense markers

present tense: she see him, he like her, it go fast

past tense: she sees him daily, she seen him yesterday, she's seen him already today

he comes here daily, he come here yesterday, he's come here already today

(cf. hit, cut, put etc.)

Pronouns

relative: she's the one who/that did itshe's the one what/as/at done itshe's the one done it

personal: himself hisselfthemselves theirselves

(cf. myself, yourself, ourselves )

13

demonstratives: this, that, these, those & them

she seen them horses from a long way off

adverbs: she ran fast she ran quick she spoke good

5. English in Scotland

History of English in Scotland

� Independent Scots English (ScE) in south Scotland

from Middle Ages on

1034-40 Duncan I unites Scotland

1296 Edward I conquers Scotland

1314 Robert Bruce defeats English at Bannockburn

1375 Barbour's epic The Bruce 1649 Cromwell Lord Protector of Scotland

1707 Act of Union makes Scotland part of UK

but in Highlands English only spoken for 200 years,

English still Second Language in places

14

Scottish English Pronunciation

Scottish English is rhotic like NAmE, but the r is a flap ([�]) rather than the retroflex

of NAmE

• pairs are distinguished by r • same vowel [�] in bee, beer ; [�] in bay, bear

• presence of r influences vowels

• distinct vowels of fern, bird, hurt may merge in

colloquial speech

• historical hw retained in which, whale etc.

• t is glottalized between vowels, as in BE

• l is fairly dark everywhere, as in NAmE

Grammar of Scottish English (ScE)

• have more like auxiliary:

she'd a good time, had you a good time?

• will in 1st person, even in questions:

will I put out the light?

15

• leaves negatives uncontracted

Is she not going? She'll not be home.

• need takes past participle

the car needs washed

• yet with past tense:

Did you see it yet?

• yet in positive, declarative:

she's here yet

Vocabulary typical of Scottish English (ScE):

aye yeswee littleburn creekdram drinkoutwith outsidestay livesort mendpinkie little finger janitor caretaker

6. English in Ireland

History of English in Ireland (IrE)

1171 Henry II conquers Ireland

1649-51 Cromwell conquers Ireland

1690-91 William III controls Ireland

1803 Act of Union makes Ireland part of UK

� Northern Ireland settled from SW Scotland from

17th century on

16

Northern Irish English

� like Scottish, but r is more retroflex and

less of a flap

• vowel system similar to Scottish

• h is not dropped• historical hw retained in which, whale etc.

By contrast with Northern Ireland,

Southern Ireland was settled from Western England

Southern Irish English

Pronunciation

� as in Northern Ireland, Southern Irish English is

rhotic with retroflex r and l is light in all positions

• [�] frequent in path, after

• lot has [�] as in NAmE

• [��], [��] are monophthongized

• th is stopped initially and finally: third, north

• h is not dropped

• historical hw also retained

17

Grammar

Progressive aspect used quite freely

It's belonging to me

I'm hearing well these days

More simple present and past without perfect aspect

How long are you here? = have you been

Did you see her yet? = have you seen

A calque (loan translation) from Irish Gaelic with

after in progressive

I'm after seeing her = have just seen

habitual aspect with do

she do be writing all the time

vs she's writing right now

frequent clefting

It was ill that she looked Is it daft you are?

embedded questions without if/whether retain inversion

I wonder did she see him

temporal and , translatable as when/as:

I only remembered and she was leaving

18

7. English in Wales

History of English in Wales (WelE)

1171 Welsh kings recognize English authority (Henry II)

1282-83 Edward I conquers Wales1301 Edward names son Edward II

Prince of Wales1535 Statute of Wales makes English

official language1536-42 Wales becomes part of England

�But English as a second language till recently in many places

Pronunciation

Welsh English (WelE) is like a Northern accent in:

• having [�] in dance, daft• flapped r, but no post-vocalic r• monophthongs [� ], [� ] for [��], [��] in plate, boat

� but like a Southern accent, Welsh has final [� ] in city

8. English in Australia and New Zealand

History of English in Australia (AusE)

1688 Dampier first English explorer in Australia1779 Cook visits Australia, claims east coast1788 “First fleet” of English prisoners arrives in

Australia

19

Pronunciation

like a Southern English accent, Australian English is non-rhotic with linking and intrusive r and has final [� ]in city

• Australian like RP in having [�] in daft• but unlike RP in having [�] in dance

� front vowels are generally closer� diphthongs are generally wider

History of English in New Zealand (NZE)

1769 Cook first visits New Zealand

1772-75 Cook explores New Zealand

1840 Treaty of Waitangi: British control

1840- Forced settlement from England

Pronunciation

by contrast with AusE, NZE has [�] in both dance and daft

very close [�], [] in bad, bed

� front vowels are generally closer

20

Grammar

Australians & New Zealanders

• use less shall, should and more will, would in 1st person

• use less do with modals in answers:

I should do, I may do• say team, government is rather than are• use she for it in colloquial she's a stinker today• use shouldn't, oughtn't in tags,

instead of doesn't, don't

Vocabulary

AusE BE

get fetch

goodday hello

(one storey) house bungalow

lolly sweet

parka anorak

frock dress

wreckers breakers

NZE BE

bowser petrol station

tramping hiking

hurray goodbye

kia ora hi (Maori for "get well, healthy")

21

9. South African English

History of English in South Africa (SAfE)

1806 British establish control of South Africa

1814 England annexes Cape

1822 English made official language

1902 British colonies united into

South African Union

Pronunciation

South African English, like Southeast England and New Zealand is non-rhotic, sometimes without linking and intrusive r

• has final [� ] in city• has [�] in both dance and daft

South African English has a tendency toward:

• flap intervocalic t as in NAmE• dark l absent or less dark

Grammar

• no do with modals

I should have (done), I may (do)

• universal tag is it? She's gone to town – Oh, is it?

• introductory particle noHow are you? - No, fine thanks.

22

Vocabulary

SAfE borrows freely from Afrikaans, e.g.

veld open countrydorp village

and has other special items like:

bioscope cinemalocation (black) ghettorobot traffic light

10. Creoles and Pidgins

• African-American Vernacular English as Creole

• Carribean creoles and pidgins (CarC/P)

23

History of English in Jamaica (JamE)

1655 English conquer Jamaica

1833 Slavery abolished

1866 Jamaica as British Crown colony

1959-61 Autonomy and Sovereignty

Pronunciation

Jamaican Creole (JamC) vowels

• syllable timing and unreduced vowels• [�] in both pat and pot• [��] in both file and foil

non-rhotic, but without linking and intrusive r, th is stopped initially and finally

Grammar

markers familiar from Standard English (StE)

often missing:

plural three bookpossessive my brother book3rd person sg. she go homecopula she nice, she leaving now

24

different tense aspect system:

she walk past simple

she did walk past continuous

she bin walk past completive

lack of inversion in questions:

what time it is?

As regards vocabulary, typical of

Jamaican English are:

carry take, transport

tall long (hair)

licks a beating

dunny money

overstand understand

11. History of English in West Africa (WAfE)

1780’s “resettlement” of slaves from

England & America

1808 Sierra Leone becomes Crown Colony

1822 Liberia, founded by

American Colonization Society

1861 British colony founded at Lagos, Nigeria

25

Pronunciation

• non-rhotic, but without linking r and intrusive r• syllable timing and unreduced vowels

Grammar

� markers familiar from StE often

missing, as in Jamaican:

possessive my brother book3rd person sg. she go homearticles she go to cinemaplural three book

but plural marker on mass nouns:

furnitures, damages

frequent use of resumptive pronoun:

My brother, he leave home.

and resumptive pronoun in relative clauses:

The people that I invited them have arrived.

more general use of progressive:

That car is belonging to me.

yes-no reversal answering negative questions:

Isn’t the car in the garage?• No (= it is)• Yes (= it is not)

26

universal question tag is it?

They are in town, is it?

We will see her soon, is it?

reflexive themselves for each other

They really love themselves

As regards vocabulary, typical of

West African English are:

been-to person who’s been to England

or US

balance change

corner bend in road

carpet linoleum

hear understand

chop eat

12. English in India

History of English in India (IndE)

1600 Formation of British East India Company

1784 India Act establishes English control of India

1857 under control of British Crown

universities established in Bombay, Calcutta,

Madras

1947 India as dominion in British Commonwealth

27

Pronunciation

• stress timing rather than word timing

• some vowels merged:

bard = bawdcot = cat

���� [��], [��] are monophthongized

� Indian is non-rhotic, but pre-vocalic r is a flap

or retroflex

• v, w are levelled

• epenthetic vowel before initial clusters sp, st, sk• glide inserted before initial vowels

• t, d, s, l, z are retroflex

Grammar

Indian English has characteristic features:

• treating mass nouns like count nouns

with plural -s fruitswith indefinite article a chalk with numerals two clothes

28

is there for there is:Salad is there and meat is there

could, would for can, will:We hope you could join us tomorrow.The lecture would begin at 10 on Tuesday.

modals in conditionals:

When you will arrive, please visit me.

present tense for duration (and since for for ):

I am here since noon/since two hoursShe is reading since noon/since two hours

progressive aspect with stative verbs:

She is having many problems

progressive aspect for habitual acts:

She is reading novels very often

and progressive aspect for completed acts:

She is coming from Delhi

no sequence of tenses:

She told me that she is arriving by train

lack of inversion in questions:

What this is made from?

inversion in indirect questions:

I asked her where does she work

29

yes-no reversal answering negative questions:

Isn’t the car in the garage?• No (= it is)• Yes (= it is not)

universal question tag is it?

They are in town, is it?

We will see her soon, is it?

Vocabulary

Indian English borrows freely from native

Indian languages:

dhobi washerman

durzi tailor

dakh one hundred thousand

sahib master, sir

13. English as a Global Language

What is a Global Language?

� special role everywhere

Mother-tongue

• English in USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia,

New Zealand, South Africa

• cf. Spanish in 20 countries

30

• official language/second language:

English in India, Nigeria, Singapore

most recently in Rwanda, 1996

• most frequently taught foreign language

English taught in over 100 countries

replaced traditional French in Algeria in 1996

• priority language of communications

English most frequent in electronic media,

newspapers, universities, science & industry

worldwide

What makes a global language?

• no language is intrinsically superior

• language advancement through cultural power

• military expansion, economic dominance

• religious/cultural significance

� England led world in production and trade in 1900

� USA leads world in industrial production in

20th century

Is English easy to learn?

• mixed vocabulary

• simple morphology

• no honorifics, polite forms

� but unsystematic spelling

31

advantages of a Global Language:

• uniform lingua franca• avoids translation problems and costs

� formation of international organizations:

1945 UN, World Bank

1946 UNESCO, UNICEF

1948 World Health Organization

1957 International Atomic Energy Agency

� international business

• cooperation

• advertising

� international air transportation

� academic-scientific community

• conferences

• publications

� the Internet

If the electronic age has made the world a global village , then the language of the village is English.

- David Crystal

32

disadvantages of a global language.

� mixed feelings for native speakers and others

linguistic power:

• unfair advantages

• need for education

linguistic complacency:

• Are monolingual English speakers disadvantaged?

• Should everyone speak at least two languages?

language death:

• endangered indigenous languages

• 80 % of world’s 6000 languages in danger

• loss of native culture, lore, customs

English as the Global Language

33

9. The Future of World English

� backlash: anti-English language tendencies

disestablishing English as official language:

1967 Malaysia, Tanzania reject English as

joint official language

1974 Kenya replaces English with Swahili

34

• efforts to stop lexical borrowing (France)

• efforts to develop local version of English

(Africa, India)

One English or many Englishes?• drive for identity

• drive for intelligibility

• effects of electronic media