Universität Bayreuth Institut für Anglistik Dr. Thomas Schönweitz History of the English Language (WS 2014/2015) (REVISED AND UPDATED) TOPICS: 1. PRE-HISTORY 2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY 3. HISTORICAL MORPHOSYNTAX 4. HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY 5. HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING 6. STANDARIZATION AND WORLD-WIDE SPREAD Appendix: • Diachronic Varieties Illustrated • Selective Bibliography Version 4.0 Copyright Thomas Schönweitz 2000 Mail to: [email protected]
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Universität BayreuthInstitut für AnglistikDr. Thomas Schönweitz
History of the English Language(WS 2014/2015)
(REVISED AND UPDATED)
TOPICS:
1. PRE-HISTORY2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY3. HISTORICAL MORPHOSYNTAX4. HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY5. HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING6. STANDARIZATION AND WORLD-WIDE SPREAD
/v/ → /b/ love / Liebe, seven / sieben, live / leben, have / haben, dove / Taube, heave / heben
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2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY
2.1. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (cf. map from SCHELER 1977, p.164)
(2) CHARACTERIZATION OF ENGLISH NATIVE VOCABULARY
n Approach 1: Functional and lexical fields with a very low number of loan-words (according toSCHELER 1977, pp.75ff)n function words (articles, pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, numerals etc.)n the most frequent verbs (particularly those which are used to form phrasal verbs)n irregular verbsn words for parts of the human bodyn basic colour terms, the four seasons, the points of the compassn basic vocabulary of farming, flora, and fauna
n Approach 2: The general relationship of English and German cognatesn Group 1: no difference in (basic) meaning between English and German words (e.g.
cow / Kuh, mother / Mutter, laugh / lachen, house / Haus, stone / Stein, etc.)n Group 2: differences in (basic) meaning between related English and German words (e.g.
town / Zaun, strike / streichen, dog / Dogge, cough / keuchen, read / raten, write / ritzen -reißen, chicken / Küken, play / pflegen, etc.)
n Group 3: etymological relationship between modern English and extinct German words(e.g. little - OHG luzil, smile - MHG smielen, know - OHG chnaan, etc.)
n Group 4: modern Standard English vs. archaic words in German (e.g. smoke /Schmauch(en), breath / Brodem, ask / heischen, etc.)
n Group 5: etymological relationship between modern Standard English and regionalGerman words (e.g. womb / Wampe, pull / pulen, tail / Zagel, etc.)
n Group 6: native vocabulary, which is peculiar to English, not present in German, but notborrowed from other languages (e.g. bad, kill, buy, keep, bird, etc.)
(3) EARLY INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH VOCABULARY
• Latin influence on Germanic languages (“Latin influence of the zero period”, also called“continental borrowing”, before 5th century):
e.g. street (< L via strata), wall (< L wallum), wine (< L vinum), kitchen (< L cocina), dish(< L discus), cup (< L cuppa), butter (< L butyrum), cheese (< L caseus), mile (< L miliapassum), pound (< L pondo), mill (< L molina), anchor (< L ancora), ...
• Latin influence through Celtic transmission (“Latin influence of the first period”, approx. 5th
century):e.g. -chester / -caster / -cester (< L castra), mount (< L montem), port (< L portus)
• Direct Celtic influence (approx. 5th century):e.g. down (as N., later Adv./Prep.), lead /led/ (N.), ass, bin, rich
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• Latin influence due to the christianization of the Anglo-Saxons (“Latin influence of the se-condperiod”, sometimes of Ancient Greek origin, approx. 7th century)
e.g. noon (< L nona hora), clerk (< L clericus), mass, demon, organ, psalm, church, devil,angel, disciple, master, temple, priest, school, hymn, bishop, ...e.g. cat, fork, plum, rose, candle, cock, mule, plant, sock, (prob.) beer, ...
(4) SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE (8th century and after)
• Examples of Scandinavian (Old Norse) loan-words:• frequent everyday words: give (pronunciation only), get, fellow, husband, law, wrong,
• Native words passing out of use:ON LOAN NATIVE WORD ON LOAN NATIVE WORDsister † sweostor bank † ofertake † nimman egg † Qg [aI, QI]anger † torn cut † snifanwindow † fenester birth † gebyrde
• Semantic differentiation:ON LOAN NATIVE WORD ON LOAN NATIVE WORDwant will (V.) skirt shirtsky heaven leg footskin hide (N.) skill craftill sick hit strikedie starve call name (V.)
2.2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) EXAMPLES OF FRENCH LOAN-WORDS
• Government and Administratione.g. government, state, empire, reign, rule, council, people, budget, tax, property, constable,marshal, office, country, city, citizen, minister, crown, majesty, sovereign, power, police,messenger, peasant, village, ...
• VL /ka-/ → OF /tS-/ chase, chattel(s), chieftain, charge VL /ka-/ → AN /ka-/ catch, cattle, captain, carry
• Germ. /w-/ → OF /g-/ guardian, regard, guarantee, (en)gage Germ. /w-/ → AN /w-/ warden, reward, warrant, wage(s)
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(3) NATIVE WORDS PASSING OUT OF USE
OF LOANWORD NATIVE WORD OF LOANWORD NATIVE WORDsaviour † hQland army † hereduke † hertoge peace † friÞletter † bokstaf hour † stundage † Qldu air † lyftprayer † gebed victory † sigecustom † sidu people † leodecountry † rice uncle † eamstrange † fremed poor † earmbeautiful † scene catch/chase † fangansave † hreddan forge † smiÞian
(4) SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIATION
OF LOANWORD NATIVE WORD OF LOANWORD NATIVE WORDliberty freedom chamber roomsense meaning language speechcordial hearty aid helpmarriage wedding guide leadarms weapon(s) city townpeople folk saint holysolitude loneliness commence begin, startmansion house conceal hidequestion ask nourish feed
2.3. THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) EXAMPLES OF LATIN AND (ANCIENT) GREEK LOAN-WORDS DURING THERENAISSANCE (cf. “Fremdwörter” in Modern German)
• Ancient Greek (sometimes through Latin transmission): allegory, anaemia, anaesthesia,aristocracy, barbarous, chaos, climax, dilemma, drama, enthusiasm, epithet, epoch,metaphor, paradox, phenomenon, rhapsody, rhetoric, spasm, stratagem, symmetry,tyrant, ...
(2) DOUBLETS: French vs. Latin
OF LOAN LATIN LOAN OF LOAN LATIN LOANroyal regal loyal legaltreason tradition ray radiuspurvey provide count computeblame blaspheme fancy fantasyransom redemption caitiff captivesure secure respite respect
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2.4. THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) FURTHER SOURCES OF ENGLISH WORDS (selective)
Language / Group ofLanguages
Examples
Modern Celtic whiskey, collie, banshee, brogue, leprechaun, slogan, shamrock, druid
Modern Scandinavian ski, rune, ombudsman, fjord, geyser, saga, lemming, slalom
Modern French fiancee, limousine, negligee, garage, etiquette, hors d’oeuvre, rouge
For further information on foreign words in English and additional examples see:SCHELER 1977, Part I; ALGEO 2010, Chapter 12.
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2.5. SUMMARY: THE ORIGINS OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY
Language(s) CED (80096) OALD (27241) GSL (3984)
GERMANIC• Native• Scandinavian• Dutch/Low German• High German
(26.2%)22.2% 2.1% 1.4% 0.5%
(31.7%)27.4% 2.5% 1.6% 0.2%
(50.8%)47.0% 3.1% 0.7%
---
ROMANCE• French• Other Romance
(30.3%)28.4% 1.9%
(37.4%)35.9% 1.5%
(38.2%)38.0% 0.2%
LATIN• (Classical) Latin• Anglo-Latin
(28.4%)28.3% 0.1%
(22.1%)22.0% 0.1%
(9.6%) 9.5% 0.1%
GREEK 5.3% 1.6% 0.3%
CELTIC 0.4% 0.3% 0.1%
OTHER EUROPEAN 0.1% 0.1% ---
NON-EUROPEAN 2.0% 1.1% 0.1%
∅-ETYMOLOGY 4.0% 3.8% 0.9%
PROPER NAMES 3.3% 1.9% ---
(Table based on SCHELER 1977, p.72; percentages have been rounded)
Legend: CED Chronological English Dictionary (based on the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary); OALD OxfordAdvanced Learner’s Dictionary; GSL General Service List of English Words (by Michael West)
2.6. LEXICOLOGICAL ISSUES
(1) HOMOPHONES, HOMOGRAPHS AND HOMONYMS
(a) HOMOPHONES:
sea - see, meat - meet, beach - beech, made - maid, tale - tail, plane - plain, roe - row, sole -soul, sloe - slow, dew - due, threw - through, two - too - to, caught - court, alms - arms, sauce- source, forth - fourth, write - right - rite, knight - night, sight - site, know - no, axis - axes, I -eye, you - ewe, here - hear, Wales - whales, weather - whether - wether, witch - which, flower -flour, metal - mettle, draft - draught, etc.
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(b) HOMOGRAPHS:
sow: /U/ (N.) vs. /«U/ (V.)read: /:/ (Inf.) vs. /red/ (Past)wound: /wu:nd/ (N.) vs. // (V./Past)wind: // (N.) vs. /waInd/ (V.)slough: // (N.) vs. // (N.)live: // (V.) vs. // (Adj.)bass: // (N.) vs. // (N.)minute: // (N.) vs. /:/ (Adj.)resume: /:/ (V.) vs. // (N.)etc.
(c) HOMONYMS:
I. ear: OE eare vs. OE earlast: OE latost (Adj.) vs. OE lQstan (V.)bear: OE beran (V.) vs. OE ber (N.)meal: OE mele vs. OE mQlhide: OE hydan (V.) vs. OE hyd (N.)
II. bank: ON banca vs. OF banquerace: ON ras vs. OF race
III. seal: OE sele vs. OF seelarms: OE earmas vs. OF armesfile: OE feol vs. OF file
Zero-Derivation free + zero morpheme clean (V.) Early Middle English
minor types
Back-Derivation shortening / class-changing edit (V.) approx. 13th century
Clipping shortening / class-maintaining phone approx. 16th century
Blending blending of two words smog approx. 17th century
Acronymy initial words NATO approx. 19th century
Eponymy words from proper names zeppelin approx. 14th century ??
Reduplication repetition; rhyming; ablaut Ping-Pong approx. 16th century
3. HISTORICAL MORPHOSYNTAX
3.1. OVERVIEW: loss of inflection and its reasons
3.2. NOUNS
(1) SOME OLD ENGLISH NOUN DECLENSIONS
a-declension
o-declension
u-declension
n-declension
r-declension
root-declension
cyning‘king’
giefu‘gift’
sunu‘son’
tunge‘tongue’
fQder‘father’
mann‘man’
Sg. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
cyningcyningescyningecyning
giefugiefegiefegiefe
sunusunasunasunu
tungetungantungantungan
fQderfQderfQderfQder
mannmannesmennmann
Pl. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
cyningascyninga
cyningumcyningas
giefagiefenagiefumgiefa
sunasuna
sunumsuna
tungantungenatungumtungan
fQderasfQdera
fQderumfQdera
mennmanna
mannummenn
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(2) GENERALIZATION OF ONE FORM
Old English had the following possibilities of marking the plural of nouns (cf. Modern German,Latin):
• -as stan → stanas ‘stones’• -u scip → scipu ‘ships’• -∅ word → word ‘words• -a giefu → giefa ‘gifts’• -an tunge → tungan ‘tongues’• ‘umlaut’ fot → fet ‘feet’• -ru cild → cildru ‘children’• -e cwen → cwene ‘girls’
Similar: generalisation of the -s ending in the Genitive case.
(3) GRAMMATICAL GENDER
(a) OLD ENGLISH MODERN ENGLISHMasc. se mann the man Masc.Masc. se wifman the woman Fem.Masc. se mona the moon Neut.Masc. se grund (‘soil’) the ground Neut.
(b) Fem. seo cwen (‘girl’) the queen Fem.Fem. seo hlQfdige the lady Fem.Fem. seo sunne the sun Neut.Fem. seo eorÞe the earth Neut.
(c) Neut. ÞQt mQgden the maiden Fem.Neut. ÞQt wif the wife Fem.Neut. ÞQt tungol the star Neut.Neut. ÞQt land the land Neut.
(4) PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES CONTRIBUTING TO THE LOSS OF ENDINGS (in chronological order)
• -a, -e,-o, -u (NOT -i) in final/inflectional syllables change to unstressed /«/, mostly spelt -e;• -n in final syllables vanishes;• /«/ in final syllables is deleted;(for further information on these processes see Chapter 5 ‘Historical Phonology’)
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(5) CONSEQUENCES: FIXATION OF WORD ORDER
OLD ENGLISH MODERN ENGLISH(a) se hunta sloh Þone beran (SVO) (a) the hunter killed the bear (SVO)(b) Þone beran sloh se hunta (OVS) (b) the bear killed the hunter (SVO)(c) se hunta Þone beran sloh (SOV) (c) * the hunter the bear killed(d) Þone beran se hunta sloh (OSV) (d) * the bear the hunter killed(e) sloh se hunta Þone beran (VSO) (e) * killed the hunter the bear(f) sloh Þone beran se hunta (VOS) (f) * killed the bear the hunter
(a) - (f) grammatically acceptable (a) and (b) grammatically acceptable(a) - (f) identical in meaning (a) and (b) NOT identical in meaning
3.3. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
(1) TYPICAL DECLENSION OF AN OLD ENGLISH ADJECTIVE
Singular Strong declension Weak declension
Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut.
NominativeGenitiveDativeAccusative
blindblindesblindumblindne
blindblindreblindreblinde
blindblindesblindum
blind
blindablindanblindanblindan
blindeblindanblindanblindan
blindeblindanblindanblinde
Plural Strong declension Weak declension
Masc./Fem. Neut. Masc./Fem./Neut.
NominativeGenitiveDativeAccusative
blindeblindrablindumblinde
blindablindrablindum
blind
blindanblindrablindumblindan
NOTE: the strong declension was used after indefinite articles, numerals, and ∅; the weak de-clension after definite articles/demonstratives and possessives; cf. ModG ein braver Junge vs. derbrave Junge.
(2) COMPARISON
• synthetic (“Germanic”) comparison: use of endings; cf. big, bigger, biggest• analytic (“Romance”) comparison: use of grade adverbs; cf. important, more important, most
important (imitation of French)
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(3) REGULARLY DERIVED ADVERBS
• OE -lice → ModE -ly e.g. quickly, fairly, hardly, etc.• OE -e → ModE -∅ e.g. fast, hard, etc. (more frequent in American English)
3.4. PRONOUNS AND ARTICLES
(1) PERSONAL PRONOUNS
OE ME EModE ModE
1 st Person Sg. Subject Object Possessive Adj
icmemin
I / ikme
mi / min
Ime
my / mine
Imemy
2 nd Person Sg. Subject Object Possessive Adj
ÞuÞeÞin
thouthee
thi / thin
thou / youthee / you
thy / thine / your
youyouyour
3 rd Person Sg. M. Subject Object Possessive Adj
hehine / him
his
hehimhis
hehimhis
hehimhis
3 rd Person Sg. F. Subject Object Possessive Adj
heohierehiere
she / shohir / herhir / her
sheherher
sheherher
3 rd Person Sg. N. Subject Object Possessive Adj
hithim / hit
his
hit / ithit / it
his
itit
his / its
ititits
1 st Person Pl. Subject Object Possessive Adj
weusure
weus
oure
weusour
weusour
2 nd Person Pl. Subject Object Possessive Adj
geeow
eower
yeyouyour
ye / youyou / ye
your
youyouyour
3 rd Person Pl. Subject Object Possessive Adj
hi / hiehim / hem
hiera /hira
hi / theyhem / themher / their
theythemtheir
theythemtheir
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(2) MAJOR PROBLEM AREAS
• 2nd person in general: thou, thee, thy vs. ye, you, your: imitation and generalisation of the Frenchhonorific (vous, votre, etc.), leveling of the ye - you distinction;
• 3rd person plural: hie, him, hiera vs. they, them, their: borrowing from Scandinavian;• 3rd person singular feminine: heo vs. she: (most probably) internal borrowing.
(3) ARTICLES AND DEMONSTRATIVES
Declension of the Old English weak and strong demonstratives
Singular Weak demonstrative Strong demonstrative
Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut.
NominativeGenitiveDativeAccusative
se (1)ÞQsÞQmÞone
seo (1)ÞQreÞQreÞa
ÞQt (4)ÞQsÞQmÞQt
ÞesÞissesÞissumÞisne
ÞeosÞisseÞisseÞas
Þis (2)ÞissesÞissum
Þis
Plural Weak demonstrative Strong demonstrative
Masc./Fem./Neut. Masc./Fem./Neut.
NominativeGenitiveDativeAccusative
Þa (5)ÞaraÞQmÞa
Þas (3)Þissa
ÞissumÞas
Development:(1) OE se / seo → ModE definite article the(2) OE Þis → ModE demonstrative/proximity this(3) OE Þas → ModE demonstrative/proximity these(4) OE ÞQt → ModE demonstrative/distance that
(5) OE Þa → ModE demonstrative/distance those (analogy: ME tho)
3.5. VERBS
(1) BASIC VERB CLASSIFICATION
• Modern: Regular add -(e)d to the stem of the verbIrregular any other pattern
• Historical: Weak ending (incl. vowel/consonant alternation plus ending)Strong ablaut
NOTE: Regular/weak and irregular/strong do NOT overlap !!!
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(2) HISTORICAL VERB CLASSIFICATION
(a) WEAK VERBS: the traditional weak verb classes
Class Infinitive Preterit Past Participle
1 -an -(e)de or -te -ed or -t
2 -ian -ode -od
3 -an -de -d
Class 1: fyllan, fylde, (ge)fylled fill regularcyssan, cyste, (ge)cyst kiss regularwyrcan, worhte, (ge)worht work regularisedsettan, sette, (ge)seted set irregular: zero alternationsendan, sendde, (ge)sended send irregular: consonant alternationhieran, hierde, (ge)hiered hear irregular: vowel alternation + endingcepan, cepte, (ge)cept keep irregular: vowel alternation + endingmetan, mette, (ge)meted meet irregular: vowel alternationÞencan, Þohte, (ge)Þoht think irregular: vowel/consonant alt. + endingClass 2:lufian, lufode, (ge)lufod love regularendian, endode, (ge)endod end regularmacian, macode, (ge)macod make irregular: agglutination of stem and endingClass 3:habban, hQfde, (ge)hQfd have irregular: agglutination of stem and endinglibban, lifde, (ge)lifd live regularsecgan, sQgde, (ge)sQgd say pseudo-regular
(b) STRONG VERBS: the traditional strong verb classes
Past Participle (ge)fylled (ge)sungen (y)filled (y)sung
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NOTE: The subjunctive forms in both present and past in OE and ME were generally not asnumerous as the indicative forms (OE and ME: singular -e, plural -en, both weak and strong verbs).The use of the subjunctive has already been strongly reduced in the EModE period.
Consider the following Early Modern English examples:
(a) Most of the inhabitants can no word of Cornish. (travel report, 1603)(b) She could the Bible in the holy tongue. (Ben Johnson, 1632)(c) You may away by night ... (Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet)(d) I must to Coventry ... (Shakespeare, King Richard II)(e) I will tomorrow (...) to the weyard [= weird] sisters. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)(f) I will after straight and tell him so. (Shakespeare, King Henry IV Part 2)(g) What would these strangers? (Shakespeare, Love’s Labour Lost)(h) I am not mad, I would to heaven I were. (Shakespeare, King John)(i) Thou shalt not from this grave till I torment thee for this injury. (Shakespeare, Midsummer
Night’s Dream)
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3.6. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLISH SYNTAX
The process of grammaticalisation: lexical content words developing into grammatical items; hereespecially the OE verbs don, beon and habban becoming the ModE primary auxiliaries do, be andhave.
(1) NEGATION
• OE: ic ne ride (S + Part + LV; neutral)ic ne ride nat (S + Part + LV + Part; emphasis)
• ME and EModE: I ride not (S + LV + Part)• EModE and ModE: I do not ride (S + Aux + Part + LV)
(2) INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
• OE, ME, and EModE: inversionSeest thou these things? (LV + S + O)
• EModE and ModE: periphrasisDo you see these things? (Aux + S + LV + O)
(3) EXPANDED FORM (progressive aspect)
• OE: (a) he wQs huntiende S + beon + (often) inflected participle as AGENTIVE NOUN
‘he was (one who) hunted’(b) he wQs on huntunge S + beon + Prep + inflected gerund as NOUN ‘he was (involved in the process of) hunting’
• ME: (a) he was hunting(b) he was a-hunting (difference in meaning is obscure)
• EModE and ModE: (a) he was hunting S + be + uninflected participle(b) he was a-hunting (only in regional/social dialects)
(4) COMPOUND TENSES (perfective aspect)
• OE: (a) ic hQfde hit gebunden (Sg./Neut.) ic hQfde him gebundenne (Pl.)
S + habban + O + inflected participle as ADJECTIVE ‘I had (possessed) it/them (in the state of being) bound’(b) he wQs gecumen (Sg.) hie wQron gecumene (Pl.) S + beon/habban + inflected participle as ADJECTIVE ‘he/they was/were (one(s) who) came’
• ME, EModE, and ModE: (a) restricted use (cf. I had my hair cut)(b) he/they has/have come S + have (generalized) + uninflected participle
(decreasing frequency of be + verbs of movement)
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(5) THE PASSIVE
• OE: he wearÞ gebroht to Þam bisceope (Sg.)hie wurdon gebrohte to Þam bisceope (Pl.)S + beon/weor Þ an + inflected participle as ADJECTIVES‘he/they was/were (one(s) who was/were) brought ...’
• ME, EModE, and ModE: he/they was/were brought to the bishopS + be + uninflected participle
3.7. GRAMMATICAL VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH (AND MODERN DEVE -LOPMENTS)
The following major syntactic/grammatical structures still variable in Shakespeare’s days have beenfixed in the development from EModE to ModE mostly due to the influence of prescriptive/nor-mative grammar.
a) Accordance between noun and verb (mostly) after collective nouns (e.g. government, police,etc.).
b) Word order: SVO vs. VSO in adverbial clauses; the latter was reduced to negative adverbs ininitial position (e.g. never have I heard such a stupid question).
c) Generalisation of the do-periphrasis in negative and interrogative sentences.d) Avoidance of double (or multiple) negation.e) Differentiation of use between the s-genitive and the periphrastic of-genitive.f) Avoidance of redundant pronouns used to repeat (or anticipate) subjects and objects in written
language (e.g. my brother, he ...).g) Differentiation of use between who and which as personal/non-personal relative pronouns.h) Personal pronouns: variation between thou and you/ye.i) Variation between Germanic and Romance comparison (e.g. fitter, more fit); avoidance of double
(or multiple) comparison (cf. ... the most unkindest cut of all; Shakespeare, Julius Caesar).j) Consistent marking of adverbs regularly derived from adjectives (-ly).k) Stronger differentiation in meaning between past tense and present perfect.l) Present perfect: use of be with verbs of movement (e.g. they are come).m)Progressive aspect becomes obligatory when it is required.n) Rules for the use of shall and will as auxiliaries of the prospective aspect (1st person vs. all the
other persons; mostly abandoned by the end of the 20th century, except in very formal styles).o) Reduction of the use of the subjunctive (some exceptions, cf. I wish class were over).p) Verb endings: -st vs. Ø in 2nd person sg., -th vs. -s in 3rd person sg. (e.g. thou dost, he doth),q) Different irregular verb forms of the same verb (e.g. spoke/spake, wrote/writ).
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4. HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY
4.1. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) A significant Old English sound change: THE I-UMLAUT (FRONT MUTATION)(approx. 8th century)
SOUNDCHANGE
Early Old English Late Old English Modern English
/u/ → /y/, later /i/ Sg. mus, Pl. musisAdj. ful, V. fuljan
Sg. mus, Pl. mysAdj. ful, V. fyllan
mouse / micefull / fill
/o/ → /O/, later /e/ Sg. fot, Pl. fotiPT tolde, Inf. tolljan
Sg. fot, Pl. fetPT tolde, Inf. tellan
foot / feettold / tell
/a/ → /Q/ Num. an, Pron. anigAdj. hal, V. haljan
Num. an, Pron. QniAdj. hal, V. hQlan
one - an / anywhole / heal
/Q/ → /e/ Sg. mQnn, Pl. mQnni Sg. mQnn, Pl. menn man / men
/e/ → /i/ V. beran, (heo) beriÞ V. beran, (heo) birÞ bear / birth
(2) Starting Point: PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF OLD ENGLISH (9th century) (following LASS 1987, p.121)
VOWELS
SHORT /I/, /y/, /U/, /e/, /O/, /o/, /Q/, /A/
LONG /i:/, /y:/, /u:/, /e:/, /O:/, /o:/, /Q:/, /A:/
DIPHTHONGS /QA/, /QA:/, /eo/, /eo:/
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
FRICATIVES /f/, /T/, /s/, /S/, /x/
AFFRICATES /tS/, /dZ/
NASALS /m/, /n/
OTHER /w/, /r/, /l/, /j/
NOTE: Old English consonants (with the exception of /S/, /w/, and /j/) could be both short and long.
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4.2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD (incl. the transition from OE to ME)
4.2.1. VOWEL CHANGES
(1) THE LOSS OF INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS
• STEP 1: (LATE OLD ENGLISH) -a, -e, -o, -u (NOT -i) in inflectional endings are reduced to /«/(mostly spelt -e).
• STEP 2: (LATE OLD ENGLISH) final -n in inflectional endings is lost.• STEP 3: (approx. 14th century) -e /«/ in inflectional syllables is lost.
EXAMPLE STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 (ME)
sunu ‘the son’ (Nom. Sg.) sune /sUn«/ --- son /sUn/
• The reduction of vowels in unstressed syllables did not only affect inflections but also the secondor final syllables of a number of compounds; in OE these had long vowels in both stressed andunstressed syllables, the latter was then reduced to /«/ or /®/ in ME,e.g. wisdom (OE /wi:zdo:m/), husband (OE /hu:zbu:nda/), shepherd (OE /Se:phe:rde/), lady (OEhlafdige /hla:fdi:je/), daisy (OE dQges eage /dQ:jesQ:je/), and a number of others.
(2) LENGTHENING I (9th to 10th century)
Short vowels are lengthened before certain groups of consonants, esp. -ld, -nd, -mb (most cog-natewords in German still have the short vowel).e.g. OE haldan /a/ → ME holden /o:/ (ModE hold, cf. ModG halten)
OE feld /e/ → ME feeld /e:/ (ModE field, cf. ModG Feld)OE findan /I / → ME finden /i:/ (ModE find, cf. ModG finden)OE grund /U/ → ME grund /u:/ (ModE ground, cf ModG Grund)
Long vowels are shortened in checked syllables while remaining long in open syllables, esp. inweak verbs (cf. historical verb classification).e.g. OE cepan (open syllable) → ME ff. keep (long vowel)
OE cepte (checked syllable) → ME ff. kept (short vowel)OE rQdan (open syllable) → ME ff. read (long vowel)
OE rQdde (checked syllable) → ME ff. read (short vowel)OE fife (open syllable) → ME ff. five (long vowel)OE fiftig (checked syllable) → ME ff. fifty (short vowel)
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(4) SHORTENING II (at about the same time as (3))
Long vowels are shortened when followed by two syllables (‘tri-syllabic shortening’); they re-mainlong in simple(r) words.e.g. OE suÞ (one syllable) → ME ff. South (long vowel)
OE suÞerne (three syllables) → ME ff. Southern (short vowel)
OE crist (one syllable) → ME ff. Christ (long vowel)OE cristendom (three syll.) → ME ff. Christendom (short vowel)
OE halig (two syllables) → ME ff. holy (long vowel)OE halig dQg (three syll.) → ME ff. holiday (short vowel)
(5) LENGTHENING II (13th century)
The mid and low vowels /e, Q, a, o/ are lengthened in open syllables (‘Middle English OpenSyllable Lengthening’, MEOSL).e.g. OE nama /a/ → ME name /a:/, (ModE name)
OE metan /e/ → ME meten /e:/, (ModE meet)OE stQlan /Q/ → ME stealen /Q:/, (ModE steal)OE nose /o/ → ME nose /o:/, (ModE nose)
(6) MONOPHTHONGIZATION OF OE DIPHTHONGS (11th century)
OE /Qa/ → ME /Q, e/ e.g. OE beamu (> beam), OE eahta (> eight)
OE /ie/ → ME /e, I/ e.g. OE hiere (> her), OE giefu (> gift)
(7) DEVELOPMENT OF CLOSING DIPHTHONGS (at about the same time as (6))
Postvocalic /j/ and /w/ merge with preceding vowels to produce a new kind of diphthongs: theclosing diphthongs ending in /I/ and /V/.
ME /aU/ e.g. OE clawu /klawU/ → ME clawe /klaU«/ME /oU/ e.g. OE cnowan /knowen/ → ME knowen /knoU«n/
ME /IU/ e.g. OE niwe /nIwe/ → ME newe /nIU/ME /EU/ e.g. OE feawe /feawe/ → ME fewe /fEU/
ME /aI/ e.g. OE dag /daj/ → ME day /daI/ME /I/ is (mostly) of French origin (imitation)
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(8) “SÜDHUMBRISCHE BESEITIGUNG” (12th century)
South of the river Humber /a:/ changes to /:/ (Modern English /«V/).
e.g. OE ban → ME bon (ModE bone)OE stan → ME ston (ModE stone)OE gast → ME gost (ModE ghost)
North of the river Humber /a:/ developed similarly to the Great Vowel Shift (see below), whichresulted in either /Q:/ or /e:/ in these words, a typical characteristic of (some) Northern English and(most of all) Scottish dialects.
4.2.2. CONSONANT CHANGES
(1) PARTIAL LOSS OF /x/ (12th century; also see below)
The fricative /x/ is lost in certain environments, esp. occurring before /t/.
e.g. OE nict /ni:xt/ → ME night /ni:t/, ModE /naIt/, etc.
(2) PHONEMIZATION OF FRICATIVES AND AFFRICATES (approx. 14th century)
• In OE only the voiceless fricatives /f/, /T/, and /s/ can be called phonemes, the voiced variants/v/, /D/, and /z/ already existed, but only as allophones in certain environments (complementarydistribution): the voiceless fricatives only occurred in initial and final position (never in medialposition), the voiced variants only occurred in medial/intervocalic position. Minimal pairs weretherefore not possible.
PHOMEME ALLOPHONE
INITIAL MEDIAL FINAL
/f/ /f/ e.g. ful /v/ e.g. lifes /f/ e.g. lif
/T/ /T/ e.g. ÞQt /D/ e.g. baÞian /T/ e.g. baÞ
/s/ /s/ e.g. sellan /z/ e.g. leosan /s/ e.g. leos
• Due to the influence of French loan-words with initial /v/ and /z/ the voiced variants becamephonemes in ME (cf. few vs. view, seal vs. zeal, etc.).Due to the dropping of inflectional endings all the voiced variants gained phonemic status infinal position in ME (cf. leaf vs. leave, teeth vs. teethe, lose vs. loose, etc.).
• The influence of French loan-words also resulted in a new consonant phoneme /Z/ as a voicedpartner for the fricative /S/, which already existed in OE; in this case the French consonantgroup /-zj-/ merged to /-Z-/.
e.g. OF vision /vIzjon/ → ME /vIZn/ OF mesure /mezjyr/ → ME /meZ«/
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• Again due to the influence of French loan-words the affricates /tS/ and /dZ/, which existed aspositional allophones in OE (the voiceless variant only occurred in initial position, the latter onlyin medial and final position), became phonemes in initial position (cf. chest vs. jest, and otherOF loan-words like gentle, just, judge, etc.)
4.2.3. PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF MIDDLE ENGLISH (end of 13th century) (following LASS 1987, p.128)
VOWELS
SHORT /I/, /U/, /e/, /o/, /A/
LONG /i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/, /:/, /Q:/, /A:/
DIPHTHONGS /aI/, /I/, /IU/, /EU/, /aU/, /U/
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
FRICATIVES /f/, /v/, /T/, /D/, /s/, /z/, /S/, /x/
AFFRICATES /tS/, /dZ/
NASALS /m/, /n/
OTHER /w/, /r/, /l/, /j/
4.3. THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD (and later developments)
4.3.1. THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT (GVS)
(1) OVERVIEW
• FIRST STAGE (approx. 15th and 16th century): ME mid and low long vowels move one stepupwards in the vowel diagram, high vowels are diphthongized; this first stage, which is often theonly stage included in diagram descriptions of the GVS, gives this sound change a regular andsymmetric look.
• SECOND STAGE (approx. 17th century, during the rest of the EModE period): After the firststage some ME mid-low and low vowels still continue to rise in the vowel diagram (esp. B1 andB3).
• FINAL STAGE (approx. 18th and 19th century): two long vowels of EModE are diphthongized intheir development toward ModE; this process is not yet finished in most national varietiesoutside RP (B2 and B3).
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(2) DESCRIPTION OF THE GVS
ME 1st stage 2nd stage final stage Examples Spelling
A1 /i:/ /aI/ /aI/ /aI/ time, write, by, right <iCe, y, igh>
A2 /u:/ /aU/ /aU/ /aU/ house, proud, cow <ou, ow>
A3 /e:/ /i:/ /i:/ /i:/ field, chief, see <ee, ie>
A4 /o:/ /u:/ /u:/ /u:/ moon, cool, tooth <oo>
B1 /Q:/ /e:/ /i:/ /i:/ deal, beast, sea <ea>
B2 /:/ /o:/ /o:/ /«U/ stone, coat, rose <oCe, oa>
B3 /a:/ /Q:/ /e:/ /eI/ name, case, tale <aCe>
(3) EXCEPTIONS
Although the GVS is normally considered a strongly regular and comprehensive sound change,there occurred a small number of more or less systematic exceptions, in which ME long vowelswere shortened:
ME e. EModE EModE / ModE Examples Spelling
A 4 /o:/ /u:/ /U/ or /Ã/ look, good, blood, flood <oo>
B 1 /Q:/ /e:/ /e/ head, breast, breath, dead <ea>
(4) DIPHTHONGS AND THE GVS
Most of the diphthongs “produced” during the GVS were not new; words on these positions movedto different places (often those which were left “vacant” by preceding changes) and in some casesfollowed the original development of these particular vowels.
ME EModE Development ModE Examples Spelling
C1 /aI/ /a:/ cf. B3 /eI/ day, play, tail <ai, ay>
C2 /«U/ /:/ cf. B2 /«U/ grow, low, soul <ow, ou>
C3 /aU/ /a://a://:/
cf. B3cf. B3 (in part)arrested
/eI//a:, Q//:/
changedance, auntlaw, cause
<anCe, au, aw>
C4 new diphthong /eI/
Diphthongs not involved in the GVS include /IU/, /EU/, /I/, and the rare /UI/.
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4.3.2. OTHER VOWEL CHANGES
(1) ME short /a/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• ME /a/ changed quite regularly to EModE /Q/; this did not change any further in the developmenttoward ModE in most cases: cf. cat, bad, man, happy, catch, etc.
• Important exceptions:(a) EModE /Q/ changed to ModE /a:/ in several environments:
before nasals + a following plosive (cf. can´t - but NOT can or cannot - dance, aunt, etc.),before fricatives (cf. path, last, class, half, etc.); this only happened in RP not in GA;
(b) ME /a/ changed to ModE // after /w/ (cf. was, what, watch, want, etc.);(c) ME /a/ changed to ModE /:/ before /l/ (cf. all, walk, fall, salt, etc.).
(2) ME short // (Phoneme split, approx. 17th/18th century)
• In ME /U/ and /Ã/ were allophones of the phoneme /U/, it did not really matter which vowel wasused in those days (no minimal pairs).
• Due to the shortening of /u:/ during the GVS (see above) some words with ME /u:/ came to bepronounced either with /U/ (cf. good, look) or /Ã/ (blood, flood) in EModE.
• In a very small number of cases words with short /V/ and similarly structured words which werealready pronounced with /Ã/ began to coexist, so that the first minimal pairs came into existence:cf. look vs. luck, could vs. cud (one of a very small number of modern minimal pairs includesput vs. putt). Both vowels are consequently considered phonemes in ModE.
4.3.3. PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF EARLY MODERN ENGLISH (end of 16th century; following GÖRLACH 1991, p.65 and GÖRLACH 2002, p. 37)
• /x/ → ∅ as in night, light, etc. (see above), but also in high, sigh, etc.• /x/ → /f/ as in enough, cough, rough, tough, etc.
(2) LOSS OF /l/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• /l/ in postvocalic position is lost, cf. walk, half, calm, would, etc.• exceptions (unpredictable): bulk, wolf, film, cold, etc.
(3) LOSS OF /r/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• /r/ is lost in postvocalic position during the 17th century: this resulted in(a) the lengthening of the preceding vowel as in car /kar/ → /ka:/, etc.,(b) the occurrence of centring diphthongs ending in /«/ (NEW PHONEMES !!!)
as in beer /bIr/ → /bI«/, bear /ber/ → /be«/, sure /SUr/ → /SU«/, etc.,
(c) schwa only in unstressed syllables as in father /fa:D«r/ → /fa:D«/, etc.This sound change occurred in RP only, not in GA.
• During this period a new vowel phoneme /Î:/ (only occurring in the environment of /r/) emergedin both British and American English:
e.g. ME /-er-/ (as in German) ME /-Ir-/ (as in first) → EModE /-Îr-/ ME /-or-/ (as in world) ME /-Ur-/ (as in burst)
(4) SIMPLIFICATION OF CONSONANT GROUPS (during EModE period)
• nasal + consonants: thumb, sing• nasal + nasal: autumn, column• k / g + nasal: knee, gnaw• w + r: write, wrong• s / t + w: sword, two, answer• f / s + t: listen, castle, often• wh-: which, whale
and many more.
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5. HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING
(1) SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
(a) Phoneme (RP) vs. Grapheme:/:/ <aw> as in law, <au> as in autumn, <al> as in walk, <a> as in fall, <ar> as in war, <or> as in order, <ore> as in store, <oa> as in broad, <oor> as in door, <our> as in four, <aur> asin dinosaur, <ough> as in bought, <augh> as in caught
(b) Grapheme vs. Phoneme (RP):<ea> /i:/ as in clean, /e/ as in dead, /eI/ as in great<ear> /Î:/ as in heard, /I«/ as in fear, /e«/ as in bear, /a:/ as in heart
(2) OVERVIEW
(a) Old English roots: most letters (with some exceptions like <j, k, q, v, x, z>) are of native origin,but some combinations and phonetic values were different:
e.g. <c> for /k/ or /t/ (cat, OE cild), <sc> for // (OE scip), <g> for /g/ or /j/ (get, OE dragan),<y> for /j/ (yield)some typical OE graphemes: <æ, Þ>
(b) Franco-Latin elements:e.g. <c> for /s/ (city), <ch> for /t/ (chief), <g> and <j> for /d/ (gentle, just), <ph> for /f/(trophy), <sh> for // (ship), <y> for vowels (cry)generally: <qu, th, v, x, z>
(d) Exotic spelling practices in single words:e.g. aardvark, czar, Buddha, khaki, llama, schnapps, muezzin, shih-tzu and many others.
(3) PROBLEM OF EARLY FIXATION: later sound changes had no consequences
(a) Lengthening and shortening ov vowels im ME: crime/criminal, please/pleasant, etc.(b) Development of homophony due to the GVS: sea/see, mail/male, soul/sole, etc.(c) Simplification of consonant clusters: knot/not, write/rite, etc.(d) Loss of consonant phonemes: write/right, sauce/source, caught/court, etc.
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(4) VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
English orthography has been fixed quite strongly beginning in the 15 th century due to the in-troduction of the printing press (Caxton 1476); the following spelling problems still existed duringthe EModE period and have been fixed in the development to ModE (prescriptive grammar):
• <i> vs <y>: spirit, spyrit, spyryt• single vs. double consonant: spirit, spiritt• silent <e> vs. ∅: spirit, spirite (and all possible combinations)
Often a silent <e> or a double consonant (or both) were inserted in texts by the printers in order toproduce right margins.Another printers´ convention: the letters <u> and <v> could be used to represent vowels, i.e. mostly/u:, V/ as well as combinations (e.g. <ou>), and the consonant /v/; <u> occurred only in the interiorof words, e.g. court, neuer, <v> only in initial position, e.g. vnto, vain.
(5) VARIATION IN MODERN ENGLISH
(a) British-American spelling differences: simplification and regularisation:e.g. programme/program, traveller/traveler, catalogue/catalog, encyclopaedia/encyclopedia, etc.e.g. theatre/theater, gaol/jail, draught/draft, recognise/recognize, etc.
(b) Spelling of certain compounds:e.g. paintbrush, paint-brush, paint brush; girlfriend, girl-friend, girl friend, etc.
(c) Spelling of foreign words:e.g. kebab/cabob, lychee/lichee/litchi, tzar/tsar/czar, adzuki/adsuki/aduki, pyjamas/pajamas,orang-utan/orang-utang, yogurt/yoghurt/yoghourt, etc.
6. STANDARDIZATION AND WORLD-WIDE SPREAD
6.1. STANDARDIZATION
(1) RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION (British English)
The East Midlands dialect of Middle English as the historical precursor of RP.
(2) GENERAL AMERICAN (North-western or Network English)
Northern and North Midland (“General American”) vs. Eastern New England, South Midland, andSouthern (Regional Standards).
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6.2. ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
(1) ENGLISH AS A NATIVE LANGUAGE (ENL)
The great majority of people in ENL-societies have English as their first and, in very many cases,their only language. This category can be subdivided into two groups - without major competition (e.g. in England,Australia and New Zealand, Caribbean), and coexisting with one or more other major languages(e.g. in Wales, Scotland, Ireland - Gaelic; in the US - Spanish, French, German; in Canada - French,Inuit; in South Africa - Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu and some others)ENL-societies: UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Rep. of SouthAfrica.
(2) ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL)
Many people in ESL-societies use English for specific purposes, and in some places it has anofficial, educational or other role (e.g. in India: means of communication for speakers of differentlanguages in multilingual societies; English vs. Hindi, Bengali, Malay, Urdu, Tamil, etc.) Competence may vary greatly, from a native-like fluency to ‘broken English’. The language may begenerally accepted or may to varying degrees be a controversial issue.ESL-Societies: Colonial West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, etc.),Colonial East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, etc.), South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, SriLanka, etc.), Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, etc.), Pacific (esp.Papua New Guinea).
(3) CONTACT LANGUAGES: English-based Pidgins and Creoles, esp. in the Caribbean,West Africa and Australasia
- Pidgin: a simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages; it has arudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking dif-ferent languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language; e.g. trade, slavery, military, con-struction, etc.- Creole: a language derived from a pidgin but more complex in grammar and vocabulary than theancestral pidgin because it has become the native tongue of a community. Grammar and pronun-ciation are usually based on the system of the native languages while the vocabulary is largelyadapted from English.
(4) ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL)
Many people in EFL-societies learn English (using a British or American model of the standardlanguage) for occupational reasons, usually as part of their education. Competence varies frombasic survival to native-like fluency. This category can be subdivided into two groups - English as avirtual second language (e.g. in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden; always the first inforeign language teaching) and English learned as the global lingua franca (e.g. in Germany, France,Italy and Spain; not necessarily the first in foreign language teaching).
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DIACHRONIC VARIETIES ILLUSTRATED
The Gospel according to Luke (XV, 11-17 and 20-24)
Old English (approx. 10th century, source is obscure)Middle English (approx. 1380, Wycliffe Bible)Early Modern English (1611, King James Bible)
(11) SoÞlice sum man hQfde twegen suna.(11) A man hadde twei sones.(11) A certaine man had two sonnes:
(12) Þa cwQÞ se gingra to his fQder, “FQder, syle me minne dQl minre Qhte Þe me to gebyreÞ.” Þa dQlde hehim his Qhta.(12) And the yonger of hem seide to the fadir, “Fadir yiue me the porcioun of catel that fallith to me.”And he departide to hem the catel.(12) And the yonger of them said to his father, Father, giue me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And hediuided vnto them his liuing.(13) Þa Qfter feawum dagum ealle his Þing gegaderode se gingra sunu and ferde wrQclice on feorlen riceand forspilde ÞQr his Qhta, lybbende on his gQlsan.(13) And not aftir many daies, whanne alle thingis weren gederid togider, the yonger sone wente forthin pilgrymage in to a fer cuntre; and there he wastide hise goodis in lyuynge lecherously.(13) And not many dayes after, the yonger sonne gathered al together, and tooke his iourney into a farrecountrey, and there wasted his substance with riotous liuing.
(14) Þa he hy hQfde ealle amyrrede, Þa wearÞ mycel hunger on Þam rice and he wearÞ wQdla.(14) And aftir that he hadde endid alle thingis, a strong hungre was maad in that cuntre, and he biganto haue nede.(14) And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he beganne to be in want.
(15) Þa ferde he and folgode anum burhsittendum men ÞQs rices; Þa sende he hine to his tune ÞQt he heoldehis swin.(15) And he wente, and drough hym to oon of the citeseyns of that cuntre. And he sente hym in to histoun, to fede swyn.(15) And he went and ioyned himselfe to a citizen of that countrey, and he sent him into his fields to feedswine.
(16) Þa gewilnode he his wambe gefyllan of Þam beancoddum Þe Þa swyn Qton, and him man ne sealde.(16) And he coueitide to fille his wombe of the coddis that the hoggis eeten, and no man yaf hym.(16) And he would faine haue filled his belly with the huskes that the swine did eate: and no man gaue vntohim.
(17) Þa beÞohte he hine and cwQÞ, “Eala hu fela yrÞlinga on mines fQder huse hlaf genohne habbaÞ, and icher on hungre forwurÞe! ...”(17) And he turnede ayen to hym silf, and seide, “Hou many hirid men in my fadir hous han plente oflooues; and Y perische here thorough hungir. ...”(17) And when he came to himselfe, he said, How many hired seruants of my fathers haue bread inough, andto spare and I perish with hunger. ...
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(20) And he aras Þa and com to his fQder. And Þa gyt Þa he wQs feorr his fQder, he hine geseah and wearÞmid mildheortnesse astyred and ongean hine arn and hine beclypte and cyste hine.(20) And he roos vp, and cam to his fadir. And whanne he was yit afer, his fadir saigh hym, and wasstirrid bi mercy. And he ran, and fel on his necke, and kisside hym.(20) And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and hadcompassion, and ranne, and fell on his necke, and kissed him.
(21) Þa cwQÞ his sunu, “FQder, ic syngode on heofon and beforan Þe. Nu ic ne eom wyrÞe ÞQt ic Þin sunubeo genemned.”(21) And the sone saide to hym, “Fadir, Y haue synned in to heuene, and bifor thee; and now Y am notworthi to be clepid thi sone.”(21) And the sonne said vnto him, Father, I have sinned against heauen, and in thy sight, and am no moreworthy to be called thy sonne.
(22) Þa cwQÞ se fQder to his Þeowum, “BringaÞ hrQÞe Þone selestan gegyrelan and scrydaÞ hine, andsyllaÞ him hring on his hand and gescy to his fotum.(22) And the fadir seide to his seruauntis, “Swithe brynge ye forth the firste stoole, and clothe ye hym,and yiue ye a ryng in his hoond, and schoon on hise feet.(22) But the father saide to his seruants, Bring foorth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on hishand, and shooes on his feete.
(23) And bringaÞ an fQtt styric and ofsleaÞ, and uton etan and gewistfullian.(23) And brynge ye a fat calf, and sle ye, and ete we, and make we feeste.(23) And bring hither the fatted calfe, and kill it, and let us eate and be merrie.
(24) For Þam Þes min sunu wQs dead, and he geedcucode; he forwearÞ, and he is gemet.”(24) For this my sone was deed, and hath lyued ayen; he perischid, and is foundun.”(24) For this my sonne was dead, and is aliue againe; hee was lost, and is found.
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SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. History of the English language: overviews
Algeo, John. 2010. The origins and development of the English language. Boston: Wadsworth.Barber, Charles. 2005. The English language: a historical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.Baugh, Albert C.; Thomas Cable. 2002. A history of the English language. London: Routledge.Berndt, Rolf. 1989. A history of the English language. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie.Brinton, Laurel J.; Leslie K. Arnovick. 2006. The English language: a linguistic history. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.Fennell, Barbara A. 2001. A history of English: a sociolinguistic approach. Oxford: Blackwell.Freeborn, Dennis. 1992. From Old English to Standard English: a course book in language variation
across time. London: Macmillan.Görlach, Manfred. 2002. Einführung in die englische Sprachgeschichte. Heidelberg: Quelle & Mayer.Gramley, Stephan. 2012. The history of English: an introduction. London: Routledge.Hogg, Richard; David Denison (eds.). 2006. A history of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.Jucker, Andreas H. 2000. History of English and English historical linguistics. Stuttgart: Klett.Knowles, Gerry. 1997. A cultural history of the English language. London: Arnold.Lass, Roger. 1987. The shape of English: structure and history. London: Dent.McIntyre, Dan. 2009. History of English: a resource book for students. London: Routledge.Millward, Celia M. 1989. A biography of the English language. Fort Worth, TX.: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.Momma, Haruko; Michael Matto (eds.). 2008. A companion to the history of the English language.
Oxford: Blackwell.Moessner, Lilo. 2003. Diachronic English linguistics: an introduction. Tübingen: Narr.Mugglestone, Lynda (ed.). 2006. The Oxford history of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Shay, Scott. 2008. The history of English: a linguistic introduction. San Francisco: Wardja Press.Singh, Ishtla. 2005. The history of English: a student's guide. London: Hodder Arnold.Smith, Jeremy. J. 1999. Essentials of early English. London: Routledge.Van Gelderen, Elly. 2006. A history of the English language. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
2. Old English
Baker, Peter S. 2003. An introduction to Old English. Oxford: Blackwell.Campbell, A. 1983. Old English grammar. Oxford: Clarendon.Hogg, Richard M. (ed.). 1992. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 1: The Beginnings to
1066. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Hogg, Richard M. 2002. An introduction to Old English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Lass, Roger. 1994. Old English: a historical linguistic companion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Mitchell, Bruce; Fred C. Robinson. 2007. A guide to Old English. Oxford: Blackwell.Moore, Samuel; Thomas A. Knott; James R. Hulbert. 1977. The elements of Old English. Ann Arbor,
MI.: Wahr.Obst, Wolfgang; Florian Schleburg. 2004. Lehrbuch des Altenglischen. Heidelberg: Winter.Quirk, Randolph; Charles L. Wrenn. 1994. An Old English grammar. DeKalb, IL.: Northern Illinois
University Press.
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3. Middle English
Blake, Norman (ed.). 1992. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 2: 1066-1476. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Fulk, Robert D. 2012. An Introduction to Middle English: grammar, texts. Peterborough: Broadview Press.Horobin, Simon; Jeremy Smith. 2002. An introduction to Middle English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.Markus, Manfred. 1990. Mittelenglisches Studienbuch. Tübingen: Francke.Moessner, Lilo; Ursula Schäfer. 1987. Proseminar Mittelenglisch: Lehrbuch mit Texten, Grammatik und
Hueber.Obst, Wolfgang; Florian Schleburg. 1999. Die Sprache Chaucers: Ein Lehrbuch des Mittelenglischen auf
der Grundlage von 'Troilus and Criseyde'. Heidelberg: Winter.
4. Early Modern English
Barber, Charles. 1997. Early Modern English. London: Deutsch.Görlach, Manfred. 1991. Introduction to Early Modern English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Lass, Roger (ed.). 1999. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 3: 1476-1776. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.Nevalainen, Terttu. 2007. Introduction to Early Modern English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Scheler, Manfred. 1982. Shakespeares Englisch: Eine sprachwissenschaftliche Einführung. Berlin: Schmidt.
5. Modern English
Beal, Joan C. 2004. English in modern times. London: Arnold.Görlach, Manfred. 1999. English in nineteenth-century England: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.Görlach, Manfred. 2001. Eighteenth-century English. Heidelberg: Winter.Mair, Christian. 2006. Twentieth century English: history, variation, standardization. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.Romaine, Suzanne (ed.). 1998. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 4: 1776-1997.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Historical Phonology and Morphology
Faiß, Klaus. 1989. Englische Sprachgeschichte. Tübingen: Francke.Faiß, Klaus.1992. English historical morphology and word-formation: loss vs. enrichment. Trier: Wissen-
schaftlicher Verlag.Jones, Charles. 1989. A history of English phonology. London: Longman.Minkova, Donka. 2014. A historical phonology of English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Welna, Jerzy. 1996. English historical morphology. Warschau: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
7. History of Spelling
Upward, Christopher; George Davidson. 2011. The history of English spelling. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
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8. Historical Syntax
Dension, David. 1993. English historical syntax: verbal Constructions. London: Longman.Fischer, Olga et al. 2000. The syntax of early English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9. Etymology
Durkin, Philipp. 2009. The Oxford guide to etymology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Hughes, Geoffrey. 2000. A history of English words. Oxford: Blackwell.Scheler, Manfred. 1977. Der englische Wortschatz. Berlin: Schmidt.Stockwell, Robert; Donka Minkova. 2001. English words: history and structure. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
10. Varieties of English
Algeo, John (ed.). 2001. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. VI: English in North America.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Burchfield, Robert (ed.). 1994. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. V: English in Britainand overseas: origins and development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, David. 1997. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Hansen, Klaus; Uwe Carls; Peter Lucko. 1996. Die Differenzierung des Englischen in nationale
Varianten. Eine Einführung. Berlin: Schmidt.
11. Dictionaries
An Anglo-Saxon dictionary, ed. Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller, 2 Vols., Oxford: Clarendon, 1972-76.Middle English dictionary [MED], eds. Hans Kurath et al., Ann Arbor, MI.: University of Michigan Press,
1952-2001.The Barnhart dictionary of etymology, eds. Robert K. Barnhart, Sol Steinmetz, New York: H.W. Wilson
Company, 1988. The Oxford dictionary of English etymology [ODEE], eds. Charles T. Onions et al., Oxford: Clarendon,
1966.The Oxford English Dictionary [OED], eds. John A. Simpson, E.S.C. Weiner. 20 Vols. Oxford: Clarendon,
