The subject of the history of the English

3. West Germanic Words which have parallels only in the West Germanic languages: OE   rēat > NE great, OE scēap > NE sheep;

4. Specifically Old English Words. These words do not occur in any other known languages and refer to the Old English period proper: OE brid > NE bird, OE wimman > NE woman.

        Borrowings were mainly made from Latin and Celtic. The majority of them were adopted into OE through personal intercourse. Some of them entered the language through writing. Loan-words denoted things of everyday life or other important notions.

         The adoption of Latin words had begun long before the first Germanic tribes came to Britain. A considerable number of Latin words were borrowed already in Late Common Germanic. The Latin loan-words of the second period came into English through the dialects of the Celtic tribes in the British Isles. Those were mostly names of Roman settlements. Many of them have survived as place-names f their parts: Lancaster (Lat. Castra, OE ceaster "a military camp"; Bridport (Lat. Portus, OE port, NE port).

        The third layer of Latin words entered Old English in the 6th and 7th centuries when the population of Britain was converted to Christianity. Latin was the language of the Church. Latin also influenced the formation of the so-called "translation loan-words", i.e. words made from the material of the native language on the pattern of Latin words. e.g. OE eorþbi en a "inhabitant of the earth" (Lat. terricola);

OE d.t1nimend "participle" lit. "taker of parts" (Lat. participium).

        In OE there was a considerable number of Latin borrowings with the suffix - arius denoting nomina agentis. Eventually the suffix -arius was singled out and became one of the most productive suffixes in English: OE sutere < Latin sutor "shoemaker", OE scōlere < Latin scholāris - NE scholar.

The Celtic element in the OE word-stock is very small, e.g. OE dun > NE down "hill" (O. Irish dun): OE cumb > NE dial: comb "a small valley" (Welsh cum). The word cumb is also found in some place-names: Duncombe, Batcombe.

 

Word-Formation

        Depending on the morphological structure of the word all OE words were divided into simple, derived and compound. Many of the OE simple words appear to have been derived or compound having later undergone the process of simplification of their morphological structure. Thus, OE hlāford > NE lord, a compound word of hlaf and weard, appears to be simple already in OE, having lost its connection with the component parts, both in form and meaning. In OE words were derived by means of affixation and sound alternations. The majority of sound alternations found in OE were vowel alternations going hack either to Into-European ablaut (gradation) or to OE umlaut (palatal mutation). Vowel gradation was most frequently used in differentiating verbs and nouns of the same root together with a suffix: OE specan > NE speak, OE spr ce > NE speech.

        Vowel alternations due to palatal mutation served to differentiate various parts of speech coming from the same root:

a) nouns and verbs; OE dōm > NE doom, OE dēman > NE deem;

b) adjectives and verbs: OE full> NE full - OE fullan - NE fill;

c) nouns and adjectives: OE lon > NE long, OE len þu > NE length;

d) nouns of the same root: OE od > NE god, OE yden "goddess";

c) adjectives of the same root: OE weorþ > NE worth, OE wyrþi > NE worthy.

In OE affixation was subdivided into suffixation and prefixation.

        Prefixation was most frequently used to derive verbs. Only negative prefixes were productive in the formation of nouns and adjectives. The most productive OE prefixes were as follows:

ā-: OE ā -bīdan - "abide"

bc-: be-feallan - "befall",

for-: for-sacan - "forsake",

fore-: fore- ān - "precede",

 e-: e-rinnan - "run together", 
mis-: mis-cweþa - "speak incorrectly",

un-: un-rīpe - "unripe".

         Many prefixes in OE lost their original concrete meaning and developed a very general meaning.

Suffixation was most productive in nouns. OE suffixes used to build nouns were subdivided into suffixes of concrete nouns and suffixes of abstract nouns. One of the most productive suffixes of concrete nouns was-ere, borrowed from Latin - arius: OE dōmere "judge".

Other productive suffixes of nomina agent is were: -estre: OE bæcestre "woman baker", -en: OE mæ den > NE maiden.

         Productive suffixes of abstract nouns were as follows: un : OE huntun > NE hunting; -aþ, -oþ: OE huntoþ - "hunting", -nes, -nis; OE blindnes> NE blindness; - þ:

lengvþu > NE length, -u: OE hætū > NE heat.

OE suffixes -ede, -en, -i ,  -isc, -sum were used to build adjectives: OE hocede - "curved", OE wyllen > NE woollen, OE mihti > NE mighty, OE wyrpi > NE worthy; OE cildisc > NE childish.

        A number of OE suffixes developed from root morphemes of compound words: -dōm, –hād, -scipe, -full, -leas, -līc (OE wīs-dōm > NE wisdom, OE dræ -lic > NE daily).

        OE compound words (nouns, verbs and adjectives) were made up either by combining two roots or stems with or without a connecting vowel or by combining two words after the pattern of a free combination. Thus they were divided into two groups: primary compounds and secondary compounds.

        Primary compound nouns included nouns formed after the pattern: noun-stem + noun-stem (OE winter - tid. NE winter-tide), adjective stem + noun stem (OE mid-niht, NE midnight); verb-stem + noun-stem (OE bæc - hus "bakery").

        Primary compound adjectives were built by combining: 1) noun – stem + adjective-stem (OE ār – fæst "merciful"); 2) adjective - stem + adjective-stem (OE wīd - al "wandering").

        Primary compound verbs were formed after the following patterns:1) noun stem + verb stem; (OE d l+niman "take part"); 2) adjective stem + verb-stem (OE ful-fyllan, NE fulfill).

        Secondary compounds go back to free syntactical combinations. They were commonly built after the pattern: "Noun-stem modified by another noun in the Genitive case": (OE r des-man "councillor").

 

                                               Spheres of Usage in OE Word-stock

        The OE word-stock was not homogeneous either stylistically or semantically. The following spheres of usage in OE can be singled out: 1) stylistically neutral words, 2) poetic words, 3) learned words. The majority of OE words were neutral in their stylistic colouring. These words which were commonly polysemantic denoted objects of everyday life and were used to form new derivatives und compounds as well as phraseological units. It is to note worthy that the bulk of common words were of native origin. Examples:

OE wisian v –  обучать, руководить;

OE wra0 adj. – разгневанный.

        There were a number of words in OE used only in poetry. Most of these words went out of use in ME. Examples: OE hild (poetic), OE fecht (common), NE fight. The OE poetic vocabulary was characterized by a wealth of synonyms. Thus, there were 37 words denoting a warrior in Beowulf (e.g. beorn, rinc, etc.).

        Learned words were the words connected with religion and learning. The majority of these words were borrowed from Latin or translated (translation-loans). Examples of learned words: OE ma ister - NE master; OE declīnun - NE declension.

                                                            Lecture 7

                                                        Middle English.

                 Historical Background of the Middle English Period.

             The Formation of the National Literary English Language

 

        The second main period in the history of the English language is the Middle English period which covers the 12th-15th centuries. During this period the English language was influenced by different economic, social and political factors. Among the most important political events were the Scandinavian Conquest and the Norman Conquest.

The Scandinavian Conquest

         Scandinavian inroads into England had begun as early as the 8th century. In the late 9th century the Scandinavians (the Danes) occupied the whole of English territory north of the Thames, In 878 King Alfred made peace with the invaders (Wedmore peace). The territory occupied by the Scandinavians was to remain in their power; it was henceforward called Danelaw. In 1013 the whole country fell to the invaders. Scandinavian power in England lasted until 1042, when it was overthrown, and the power of the Old English nobility was restored under the king Edward the Confessor.

        The Scandinavian conquest had a considerable effect on the English language. The Scandinavian dialects spoken by the invaders belonged to the North Germanic languages and their phonetic and grammatical structure was similar to that of Old English. Close relationship between English and Scandinavian dialects made mutual understanding possible.

        The result was a blending of Scandinavian and English. Influence of Scandinavian dialects made itself felt in two spheres: the word-stock and morphology.

 

The Norman Conquest

 

        The Norman Conquest of England began in 1066. That year King Edward the Confessor died. Harold, son or Earl Godwin, was proclaimed king of England. William, Duke of Normandy, who had long claimed the English throne, assembled an army with the help of Norman barons, landed in England, and routed the English troops under King Harold near Hastings on October 14, 1066. In the course of a few years the Normans became masters of England.

        One of the most significant consequences of the Norman domination in Britain was the use of the French language In many spheres of British political and social life. However the lower classes held fast to their own tongue. Thus the English language and the French language coexisted and gradually permeated each  other. In the latter half of the 14th century victory of English became evident.

The victory of English was due to the rise of social layers that spoke it the gentry (благородное сословие) and the town bourgeoisie. However the three hundred years of French domination in many spheres of life considerably affected the English language: its word-stock, phonetic structure, alphabet and spelling.

 

Middle English Dialects.  Rise of the London Dialect

        The Middle English language was made up of a number of local dialects. There were three main groups of dialects in Middle English: Northern (OE Northumbrian), Midland (Средняя Англия) (OE Mercian), and Southern (OE West Saxon).

        A special position among the dialects belonged to the dialect of London, which after the Norman conquest became the capital of England. By the end of the 14th century the London dialect which had developed from several dialects became influential in other parts of the country.

London's geographical position was favourable for a quick growth of its political importance and its role as the birth-place of a nationa1 language. London's role as a trade centre attracted many people from different parts of the country and paved the way for elements of other dialects to penetrate into London English. Thus, the London dialect which became the base of the national English language, was a complex formation. It contained East Midland and Southern features. The London dialect is represented in the works of the following authors (14th century): Adam Davy, John Gower, John Wycliffe, Geoffrey Chaucer (his most important work is his " Canterbury Tales"). Geoffrey Chaucer is the greatest English writer before the age of Shakespeare. Chaucer wrote in a dialect which coincided with that used in documents produced in London shortly before his time and for a long while after. He made masterly use of the London dialect and set up a pattern of the literary language to be followed in the 14th and 15th centuries known as classical Middle English; in the 15th and 16th centuries it became the basis of the national standard form of the written language.

 

                                           Changes in the Spelling System        

        During several centuries after the Norman conquest the business of  writing was in the hands of French scribes. Thus, many of the changes in the English spelling system were due to French influence. Several OE symbols fell into disuse: the two runes þ ("thorn") and p ("wen") and the letter 3, which were replaced by th, w, g respectively. The ligature æ (двойная буква) also comes into disuse. A number of new letters were introduced: k, v, q (in the digraph qu), J, the digraph gh, etc.

        A few alternations must have been purely ornamental (the use of the letters y and w at the end of words with the same sound values as i and u).

 

           The Formation of the National Literary English Language

          The formation of the national English language, or Standard English, is considered to date from the period between the 15th and the 17th centuries. The unification of the country and the progress of culture led to this development. Towards the end of the 15th century the period of feudal disunity in Britain came to an end, and Britain became a centralized state. The contacts of England with other nations became closer, and new contacts were made. The English language was spread to new geographical areas (North America, India, Australia).

        In the 15th and 16th centuries there existed conditions in Britain for the formation of the national literary English language. The victory of capitalism over feudalism was linked up with the consolidation of the British people into a nation and the unification of the regional dialects into a national language.

        These centuries are marked by a general efflorescence of culture in Western Europe. The universities at Oxford and Cambridge became the centres of new learning in England. The first book in the English language was printed in 1476 by the first English printer William Caxton. Among the earliest publications were the poems of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, the works of John Lydgate and Trevisa. Thus the first printers fixed and spread the written form of English. The form of the language used by the printers became the standard form of literary English recognized throughout the country. The written form was accepted as standard earlier than spoken form. During the 17th century the gap between the written and the spoken language became narrower. With the spread of education more people learned to speak in the way prescribed by grammars and textbooks. The basis of the spoken standard was the tongue of London. The social source of the spoken standard was the tongue of the middle class of London. However it should be borne in mind that the spoken standard of tile literary language could never be as stable and fixed as the written standard. It has always been changing under the influence of non-standard forms of the language.

          The tendency to regularize and correct the language is seen in the early prescriptive grammars of the 16th-17th centuries as well as in the works of the great lexicographers of the 17th-18th centuries. John Wallis, 17th century grammarian, was the first to break the Latin tradition in interpreting English grammar. In the late 17th century the Royal Society (Королевская академия наук) appointed a special committee for "improving the English tongue". In 1712 Jonathan Swift, the great writer, drew up a detailed proposal for "Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue "by setting up a body of well informed persons who would fix the obligatory rules of usage.

        The publications of Johnson's "Dictionary of the English Language" in 1755 is the most important linguistic event of the 18th century. Johnson fixed the English spelling, pronunciation and defined the meanings of words.

        Samuel Johnson, Nathaniel Bailey and other 18th century lexicographers led the foundations of English lexicography and paved the way for the great dictionaries of the modem times.

                                                 

                                                             Lecture 8

                                                Middle English Phonetics

        The English sounds have changed very considerably in the times that have elapsed since the OE period. The changes have affected not only the pronunciation of separate words but the entire system of phonemes and the word-stress.

                 Word-Stress in Middle English and Early New English

        In the 13^th-16^th centuries the system of word-stress in English was considerably  altered: the position of stress became relatively free and its phonological application widened. In ME stress could fall not only on the first syllable of the words or the root-morpheme but also on the syllables following the root - morpheme or on the second syllable of the root, e.g. ME vertue  [ver’ty:] or [ve'tju'] > NE virtue; ME condiciuon [kondisi'u:n] > NE condition.

        During the ME period many words were borrowed from French or later from classical or contemporary languages. In the beginning these - loan words retained the original position of the stress, but gradually the stress was moved closer to the beginning of the word as the loan-words were assimilated by the English language. This shift is usually  termed "the recessive tendency". Thus in disyllabic words stress was shifted  from the second to the first syllable: :NE vertu [ve'tju'] > NE virtue[v3:tjð]; in words of three and more syllables stress could be shifted the syllable immediately preceding: ME condicioun [kendı’sjun] > NE condition [kэn’dIƒn].

         In polysyllabic words the rhythmic tendency was quite evident. This tendency required a regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. Due to the rhythmic tendency, a secondary stress arose at a distance of one syllable from the  original stress; ME disobeie [dizo'beIŏ] > NE disobey [‘disəbeI].

         Some alternations in the position of stress are associated with morphological factors: stress was not shifted to the prefixes of many verbs borrowed in Middle English or Early New English in spite of the recessive tendency which conformed to the native morphological regularity in the word-stress (to keep verb prefixes unstressed): NE im'prison, en'gender.

        The position of stress could sometimes serve as a distinctive feature differentiating between verbs and nouns: NE discord n ['disko:d] and discord v [dis'ko:d] .

        

            Changes of Unstressed Vowels in Middle English and Early New English

         In the ME period the pronunciation of unstressed syllables became increasingly indistinct. As compared to OE, which distinguished five short vowels in unstressed position (representing three phonemes [e/I] [a] and [o/u], ME reduced them to two short vowels (representing one phoneme [e/I] or rather [o/i], the first variant being a neutral sound):

OE fiscas, fisces > ME fishes ['fiJas], OE talu > ME tale ['ta:lə].

         In the NE period the final sound [ə] was lost.

        As a result  of the shifting of word-stress in ME and early NE and other phonetic changes new unstressed vowels developed from stressed ones.  Some of the new unstressed  vowels retained their quantitative and qualitative differences: NE consecrate [ei]. These developments show that the gap between the set of stressed and unstressed vowels has narrowed.

 

                              Changes of Stressed Vowels

        Not a single OE long vowel or diphthong has remained unaltered in the course of history, only a few short vowels have not altered at all. In OE the prevailing type of changes of stressed vowels were assimilative changes affecting the quality of the vowel. In ME quantitative vowel changes appear to have assumed greater importance. These were positional changes, which affected many vowels and led to an alteration in the phonological load of vowel quantity. The ME and the Early New English periods saw important qualitative vowel changes. The regular qualitative changes of all the long vowels between the 14 and the 17 centuries are known as the Great vowel shift.

        All the changes in vowel quantity can be interpreted as manifestations of a sort of rhythmic tendency - to achieve a certain average uniformity in the length of the syllable - either by shortening a vowel before a consonant cluster or else by lengthening the consonant after a short vowel.

 

                     Changes in Vowel Quantity in Early New English

        Certain consonant clusters in Early NE brought about the lengthening of the preceding vowel; they were [ss], [st], [ft], [nt] and mainly affected the vowel: ME blast [blast] >NE blast [bla:st]; ME after [aftэr] > NE after [a:ftə].

        The reverse quantitative change-shortening of vowels-occurred before certain dental or alveolar consonants and before [k]: ME breeth [br'Iθ] > NE breath [breθ], ME book [bu:k] > NE book [buk].

In the course of history the quality of stressed vowels has changed even more considerably than their quantity. The long vowels displayed a strong tendency to become narrower and to be diphthongised, whereas the short vowels showed a certain trend towards greater openness.