Lecture Two, 24th October 2007
History and distribution of English
1. Introduction
2. Learner's Diary
3. Tasks and Quizzes
4. Evaluation
5. References
1. Introduction
Today's main subject which is the history of English, but with a focus on the developments that have lead from the Indo-European language to Middle English. There are different theories on the origin of the Indo-European language.
2. Learner's Diary
Who were the original human inhabitants of the British Isle?
It is not possible to identify the exact original human inhabitants of the British Isles. They had been inhabited by members of the homo erectus when the islands were still joined to continental Europe. The last ice age ended around 10,000 years ago, and hunter-gatherers spread to all parts of the islands by around 8,000 years ago. The culture an the living of these people are unknown, except for some archaeological findings.
Some Celtic vocabulary
Bannuc a bit bannock
binn basket, crib bin
brocc badger Brock the Badger
clugge bell clock
dry magician druid
luh lake loch, lough
Etymology, the history of words
Sound change
Grimm's Law
Deaspiration (fagus - beech, Buche)
*bh *dh *gh
*b *d *g
Devoicing (decem - ten)
*b *d *g
*p *t *k
Fricativisation (pitár, pater - father, Vater)
*p *t *k
*f *θ *h
High German Soundshift
Obstruent consonants
C V C
p: pf f Plant Pflanze
t: ts s Town Zaun
k: k (kx) x/ç
Great Vowel Shift
Steps of Great Vowel Shift:
1. /i/ and /u/ drop and become /əI/ and /əu/
2. /e/ and /o/ move up, becoming /i/and /u/
3. /a/ moves forward to /æ/
4. /ε/ becomes /e/ and /C / becomes /o/
5. /æ/ moves up to /ε
6. /e/ moves up to /i/
7. /ε/ moves up to /e/
8. /əI/ and /əu/ drop to /aI/ and /au/
Semantic change
Generalisation:
e.g. Schürze
Specialisation:
Meanings became specialised in different directions, e.g. Schürze à skirt and shirt
Metaphor:
A hidden meaning of any word, e.g. in poetry
3. Tasks and Quizzes
Where did the Celts originate?
The earliest known inhabitants of the British Isles were the Celts. There are two branches of Celtic, the Goidelic (West of Ireland, North- West Scotland) and the Brythonic Celtic (Wales and Breton). They originated in the area which today is to Southern Germany and the old Austrian Empire (Hungary, Bohemia). From there they spread all over North- Western Europe and finally the British Isles.
Name 3 Celtic town names in the area of modern Germany and give their meanings
- Remagen: rigo (celt.) rigs = king and magos (celt.) = fiedls meaning king's fields
- Worms: Borbetomagus (celt.), meaning Land of the Borbet
- Vienna: Vedunia (celt.) meaning forest brook
(Wikipedia article "german placename etymology". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_placename_etymology, 27.10.2007)
Where do the Celts live now?
Today the expression "Celtic" is often used in order to describe the people and their respective cultures and languages of several ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland, France, Spain and northern Portugal.
What is their significance for English studies?
Historically
The Celts had a huge influence on the language spoken in Europe and they were traders so they had an influence on the markets as well. There are still words whose origin can be found in the Celtic vocabulary. Irish monks preserved English literature.
Currently
It is still possible to find Celtic settlements all over France and England and they can tell us a lot about what life was like in ancient times. Furthermore there are still Celtic words in the English language which we use everyday without even noticing and town names that have their origin in Celtic times. Irish children learn Irish at school again (cultural Identity). In general the Celtic language is endangered to die out. It is very important that linguists do their best to document the Celtic language.
Find examples for all of these concepts
Grimm' s Law, First Germanic Sound Shift
p to f - pater (Latin) to father (English)
d to t - decem (Latin) to ten (English)
g to k - gelu (Latin) to kalt (German)
(Wikipedia article " Grimm's law". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm's_law, 27.10.2007)
High German Sound Shift
p to f - sleep (English) to schlafen (German)
t to ss – eat (English) to essen (German)
t to ts – cat (English) to Katze (German)
(Wikipedia article "High German consonant shift". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_German_consonant_shift, 28.10.2007)
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift marking the separation of Middle and Modern English.
Middle English e: to Modern English i: (see)
Middle English a: to Modern English eı (name)
(Wikipedia article "Great Vowel Shift". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift, 28.10.2007)
The semantic change changes the meaning of a word
- metaphor is a new interpretation of a word.
- generalisation means a extended way of the meaning of a word.
- specialisation is the opposite of generalisation, a word has only one or two meanings.
Find and list examples of these cases
Derivation
- adjective-to-noun: -ness (slow → slowness)
- adjective-to-verb: -ise (modern → modernise)
- noun-to-adjective: -al (recreation → recreational)
- noun-to-verb: -fy (glory → glorify)
- verb-to-adjective: -able (drink → drinkable)
- verb-to-noun: -ance (deliver → deliverance)
(Wikipedia article "derivation". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivation_%28linguistics%29, 28.11.2007)
Compounding
- airport
- bathroom
- brainwash
- evergreen
Abbreviation
- lab (laboratory)
- e.g. (exempli gartia – for example)
- BYOB – bring your own booze
- 20*C+M+B*08 (christus mansion benedicat)
Sign-meaning similarities
- sound symbolism - miau (cat), muh (cow)
- onomatopoeia – bampf, twhip, boom, pow (language in comics)
- synaesthesia – cool green, heavy silence (rhetoric and literary terminology)
4. Evaluation
An interesting lesson, especially the history of the English words. Sometimes a little bit to fast to ascertain important and interesting facts.
5. References
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/~gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/ITL/index.html
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