Domande d'esame con risposte (storia + sociolinguistica)

Development of the English Language: Causes and Stages

In this module, we will explore the main stages in the development of the English language, from its origins to its present status, focusing on the structural viewpoint. We will also examine some of the causes that led to this development.

One of the significant changes in the English language was the gradual transition from Old English (OE) to Modern English. This transition involved a shift from a synthetic to an analytic type of language. One of the reasons for this transition was the progressive erosion of most endings, especially in Modern English.

Another notable change occurred towards the end of the Old English period, where unstressed vowels were reduced to a neutral vowel known as "schwa." This reduction in vowels contributed to the disappearance of endings in the language.

During the transition from the Indo-European to the Germanic language, the primary stress on words shifted to the initial or nuclear syllable. This change also played a role in the loss of inflections in Old English.

Furthermore, studies conducted by David Crystal in 2003 revealed that the arrival of Vikings resulted in the emergence of a pidgin-like variety of English. This variety simplified the language due to interactions with the Vikings. Therefore, the loss of inflections in Old English can be attributed, in part, to the influence of the Vikings.

1- Simplifies word endings.

2- Provide examples of the most important lexical influences on English from European and extra-European languages.

3- Describe the Great Vowel Shift. When did it take place and which major changes did it bring about?

Is a substancial change in the vowel pronunciation that took place around 1400, even though it started earlier it accelerated in Early Modern English, and separated Middle from Modern English; the reason of this change is probably the social mobility and urbanization. GVS caused all long vowels to be pronounced with an elevation of the tongue and mouth close and a great divergence between sound and spelling. At the end of this period the structure of English was close to the one of Present-days English.

4- What are the main differences between Old English and Middle English?

5- Why is word order important in Modern English?

It is important to see all the word orders because it is the only way to understand the syntactic way of the language.

6- Which historical events esp.

contributed to the standardization of the English language?

1. Printing press establishment (Westminster) → literacy levels increase
2. Publication of the first dictionary → in 1604, was called “The Cawdrey's Table Alphabetical”, but was not useful. In 1755 Samuel Jhonson published the First official English Dictionary, which was the most influential dictionary, based on literally production, which is the best example of linguistic use

7-What is “italese”? Mention examples of Anglicisms and pseudo-Anglicisms in Italian. Studied by De Mauro in 1999-2007, is a language characterized by the mix of English and Italian constructions and expressions, in order to create a new language, a kind of “fake English”. Examples are word with same spelling but different pronunciation (shampoo, spray, tunnel,..); morphological integration (the adaptation of the original language by gender (fiction, star) or by number (film, hobby) and the phonetic-spelling.

There are two different types of Anglicism (borrowings from English) in Italian:

• Loanwords → maintain original form or are modified depending on orthography, phonology and morphology of it. They could be adapted or non adapted.
• Calques → reproduce the foreign words with italian elements

How can languages be classified from a typological point of view?

They can be classified on 4 levels:

1. Polysinthetic → large number of morphemes often corresponding to the whole sentence
2. Agglutinative → complex internal structure, each morpheme has a function
3. Isolating → “monosyllabic languages” or analytic type : ONE FORM = ONE FUNCTION
4. Fusional → synthetic type, tendency to use a single inflectional morpheme to denote multiple meanings (Latin, German, Italian)

When does a language “die”?

A language death happens when a language looses all its speakers. Every year, 4 languages are reported to die and 40% of world languages are in danger.

English actually made some languages die.

10-What happened in 1362? Statute of Pleading → states that all lawsuits must be in English so humble people could understand. The English dominance in the semantic field of the law replaced French. After the Norman conquest: Anglo-Norman was used for pleadings, and Latin in writing. But the fourteenth century saw a decline in Law French.

11-When did the Protestant Reformation take place and why was it important for the development of English? Because it determinates the acceptance of English domain in religion -> Translation of Bible -> King James’s Bible.

In the period of Early modern English we have no special invasion or belligerent events but political, economic, technologic and social changes. In 1530 England became a Protestant country. Causes included the invention of the printing press, increased circulation of the Bible and the transmission of new knowledge and ideas among scholars, the upper and middle classes and readers in general.

There was the official recognition of English in the religious dominion thanks to the English Reformation, and thanks to this there were first translation authorized in English and in 1611 took place the first translation of a Christian Bible in English: King James Bible.

12-What are culinary pairs? In Middle English there was a dichotomy (dicotomia=division in two) between "Low Saxons" and "Privileged French", these were called luxury loan. Examples are the culinary lexical pairs: ox=beef; sheep=mutton; pig=pork.

13-What is the inkhorn terms debate? In Early modern English, most specifically in the period of Renaissance, there was the "Inkhorn term debate" (1560), based on the debate of promotions of anglo-saxon words, which determined an important division between disapproval people and approval people. It refers to words which were being used by scholarly writers but which were unknown or uncommon in ordinary speech. The objection to inkhorn terms was a

Largely irrational and emotive reaction by conservatives against the sudden increase in English vocabulary derived from classical sources which was taking place at this time.

14-What are kennings? Are compound words figurative in meanings, circumlocation in the form of compounds with figurative meaning. Examples: banhus (bone+house=a person's body); modcroeft (mood+craft=intelligence)

15-What is a genetic definition of English? Indo-European language who belongs to the West Germanic groups of languages

16-What was the impact of Viking raids on English? In the 9th century Vikings invaded, and they had a destructive impact. Viking were pirates from present days from Sweden, Denmark and Norway. As I said, they had a destructive impact, they settled in places, attacking and destroying them. They become "Kings" or "Lords" and started commerce seas roads. By the end of the 9th century there were a large-scale settlements of Scandinavians in various parts of Britain (political).

domination over a significant territory). Vikings were also examples of borrowing language, they influenced the English lexical history, they introduced north-germanic words and a lot of Scandinavian loan words and place names, made by OE place names + Scandinavian termination (Thorpe – althorpe, linthorpe). 17-Why was Latin an important source of lexical influences in English? Latin represented a strong dominance in the religious and scientific semantic field. In Old English there were a prestige borrowing of loan words: catte=cat; plante=plant; win=wine 18- How did the Romans change Britain? 43 AD → Emperor Clodius sent 40,000 soldiers to Britain. First of all, they conquered it violently. Romans weren't only fighters but also builders. -New types of farming → they taught the locals how to agriculture good. -Introduction of new types of food → apples, pears, walnuts -Medicines -Roman language → Latin -Sophisticated culture -Christianity -Organized architecture 19- What is

old English? Language spoken by Angles, Saxons, Jutes with Scandinavian influences

SOCIOLINGUISTIC MODULE

1-Is it possible to define English as a unitary phenomenon? Why?

No, it isn't unitary cause there are many varieties based on geographical (American English, Australian English), social (Standard British English for example reflects the level of social education) and functional varieties (Depend on the purposes of communication: register and style, which refers to the level of formality)

2-Provide examples of geographical, social and functional varieties on English.

3-What is Standard English? Distinguish between Standard British English and General American by providing examples at different levels of linguistic description

4-Convert the following nonstandard examples into Standard English...

EXAMPLES

5-Rewrite the sentences below (American English) in Standard British English.. or identify which variety is involved..

EXAMPLES

6-Distinguish between accent and dialect. How do they relate to

differences. RP (Received Pronunciation) is a prestigious accent/dialect associated with the educated upper class in England. It is often considered the standard accent of British English. Some characteristics of RP include the non-rhotic pronunciation (where the "r" sound is not pronounced at the end of words), the use of the long vowel sound in words like "bath" and "dance," and the pronunciation of the "a" sound in words like "trap" and "bath" as a short vowel. Estuary English is a dialect that emerged in the southeast of England, particularly around the Thames Estuary. It is a mix of RP and various regional accents. Estuary English is commonly spoken by the middle class in London and the surrounding areas. Some characteristics of Estuary English include the use of glottal stops (replacing the "t" sound with a stop in the throat) in words like "bottle" and "water," the pronunciation of the "th" sound as a "f" or "v" sound, and the use of the long vowel sound in words like "goat" and "home." Cockney is a working-class dialect traditionally associated with the East End of London. It is characterized by its distinct pronunciation and vocabulary. Some characteristics of Cockney include the use of the glottal stop, the pronunciation of the "th" sound as an "f" sound, the use of rhyming slang (where a word is replaced by a phrase that rhymes with it), and the dropping of the "h" sound at the beginning of words. These accents/dialects represent the social and regional variation in the pronunciation and grammar of English in the UK.