EL2111 Historical Variation in English

Lecture No. 13

Overview and exams

 

Organisation

Overview of module

Exam format and advice

 

Objectives and aims

To appreciate language – in particular the English language – as a ‘living’ (organic) entity responding to the functions to which it is subject to and the users’ needs

Remember this is an ecological metaphor – of course English is not an organism from a biological or life science perspective!

 

Objectives and aims

To appreciate the English language as a structural entity, the details of which can be related to the (social, historical, political and economic) contexts of use

 

Objectives and aims

To have some sense of the sources of the English language – so that the development of Singaporean (etc.) English comes at the end of a long line of history (involving contact situations, changing functions, adaptations)

‘Movements’

Micro-linguistics v macro-linguistics

Internal v external forces of change

Language change v language shift

Opening up and making connections

 

Linguistic levels

graphology (orthography), writing system

the development of alphabetic writing

naturalising the Latin alphabet for English words and sounds

various spelling ‘reforms’

writing loan-words (etymological principle)

 

Linguistic levels

phonology, sound system

range of phonemes (segmental phonology)

relationship between phonology and spelling <i/j>, <u/v>, <s/z>, <ð/þ>, <c>, <g>

various sound changes, some through French influence

GVS (English v. French dame; promenade, esplanade)

rhoticity

 

Linguistic levels

grammar (syntax and morphology) – the sentence structure

OE as a highly inflectional language

ME with ‘levelled’ or lost inflections

synthetic v. analytic languages

word order changes (increased use of prepositions)

clause arrangements

 

Linguistic levels

lexicology (vocabulary, wordstock)

organisation: core v. non-core (literary, scientific, legal, etc.)

sources of English words: Norse, Latin, French, etc.

the shape of English words: naturalisation or assimilation of loan-words

dictionaries as a useful resource

 

Motivations for change

external (bottom-up): notions of identity (centripetal, centrifugal, convergence, divergence)

external (bottom-up): community reality and changing function of the language

external: language contact

external (top-down): language planning or engineering, government imposition

internal (bottom-up): ‘unplanned’ regularisation, linguistic assimilation

 

Particular episodes

Pre-English

the importance of Latin at the beginning of the first millennium

Germanic dialects already influenced by Latin; essentially ‘tribal’ dialects

 

English in Britain

The Anglo-Saxon occupation

function of English

The Scandinavian attack

language contact: ON and OE

loss of inflexions

 

English in Britain

The Norman Conquest

changing function and status of English

English in relation to French and Latin

changing shape of English in relation to its function and role

 

English in Britain

The Renaissance and Reformation and the New World Order

standardisation and the development of academic English

thou and you distinctions put under pressure by the middle class

the Great Vowel Shift

The Industrial Revolution

20th century

 

English in Britain

The forces of standardisation

Nationalism, stability, mobility, trade, education

The processes of standardisation

Selection, acceptance/promotion, elaboration, codification

 Hegemony

 

English beyond Britain

Settlement: North America, etc.

role of power and ideology in the selection of Standard (American) English

further language contact

changing shape of English in relation to users’ needs

 

English beyond Britain

Colonies: Singapore, Caribbean, etc.

changing role of English (Non-Anglo Englishes)

changing shape of English as it responds to users’ needs

 

English beyond Britain

Global English

going beyond national varieties

role of English in the world

 

Making connections

We want to connect the micro and the macro. The test focused on the micro aspects and the essay ventured more into the macro aspects. The presentation asks for both. It seems clear from the marks that some of you might be stronger in one than the other.

 

Moving on in NUS

Some of the issues touched on can be explored in other modules: English in South East Asia (3000-level), Language Contact (3000-level), Literary Stylistics (3000-level), English as a World Language (honours)

Unfortunately, there is no other history focussed module, but historical texts can be used in Independent Study Modules or Honours Project/Thesis.

 

The Exam

Thursday 4/5/2017

5.00 to 7.00 pm

Venue: to be confirmed

 

Instructions

Answer ALL THREE questions. There is internal choice in Question 3; please indicate the sub-question that you are responding to. 

Please write your answer in this booklet itself in the space provided (about ½ page for short answers, 3 pages for essay). These therefore represent maximum lengths.

Write your matriculation number in the boxes provided above; do not write your name.

Question 1 carries 40 marks, whilst Questions 2 and 3 carry 30 marks each. Please divide your time accordingly. (This means about 50 mins for Q1, and 35 mins each for Q2 and Q3.)

 

Questions 1 and 2 are subdivided into 10-mark sections.

Remember: what the exam is for

·         to be able, in a reasonably fair manner, the spread out students into grades: A, B, C, D – and it should not be surprising that the majority will be in the B and C range – this means that a good exam cannot be so straightforward that everyone can answer it easily or so overwhelmingly challenging that no-one or hardly anyone can give a satisfactory answer

·         to give the examiners a sense of the work you have put into the module

·         to give the examiners a sense of your understanding the ‘big picture’ as well as the details – and this understanding will partly be seen if you show that you can make connections between different parts of the module or to tease out the relevant parts of a discussion to support a particular point of view – if you can be innovative and creative, so much the better.

 

What you should do

Try to be familiar with the whole syllabus in general terms. Work out the main themes of the history of English for yourself.

Go through the details and have a well-maintained folder for the module: in case you need to consult anything

Familiarise yourself with the main characters and plots of A Midsommer Nights Dreame

 

What the questions test

Question 1 therefore has the aim of – testing your familiarity of the issue and the key terms and being able to discuss them clearly.

Question 2 encourages you to start with details (micro-analysis) and to demonstrate that you can do this clearly and accurately, but might also ask you to see how this fits into the ‘big picture’.

 

What the questions test

Is the question general or specific?

Question 3 (a) is a question about the ‘big picture’ and asks you to fit some details of your choice into the ‘big picture’.

Question 3 (b) is more specific, and asks for specific connections to be made.

 

QUESTION 1 (4 × 10 marks)

This question asks you to explain a series of statements to an intelligent non-specialist in a clear and precise fashion.

Each explanation is worth 10 marks: be brief and to the point. There is absolutely no need to use more space than what is provided.

 

Question 1

(a) Nominalisation helps to repackage information as things that can be examined.

(b) When English adopted the writing system from Latin, some adaptation was necessary.

(c) The appropriation of English by non-Anglo-Saxon communities has resulted in linguistic adaptation.

(d) The language shift of the Normans gave rise to an increase in Romance vocabulary in English.

 

What examiners want:

What do we look out for?

(i) An understanding of the terms used in the statement.

(ii) An understanding of the basic facts surrounding the question.

(ii) An understanding of the statement through selective exemplification or elaboration.

(iv) Coherent, logical and appropriate language.

 

QUESTION 2 (30 marks)

Examine the extract from A Midsommer Nights Dreame and answer the questions that follow.

  Deme. I loue thee not: therefore pursue me not,
Where is Lysander, and faire Hermia?
The one Ile stay: the other stayeth me.
Thou toldst me, they were stolne vnto this wood:
And here am I, and wodde, within this wood:
Because I cannot meete my Hermia.
Hence, get the gone, and follow mee no more.
  Hel. You draw mee, you hard hearted Adamant:
But yet you draw not Iron. For my heart
Is true as steele. Leaue you your power to draw,
And I shall haue no power to follow you.

  Deme. Doe I entise you? Doe I speake you faire?
Or rather doe I not in plainest truthe,
Tell you I doe not, nor I cannot loue you?
  Hele. And euen, for that, do I loue you, the more:
I am your Spaniell: and, Demetrius,
The more you beat mee, I will fawne on you.
Vse me but as your Spaniell: spurne me, strike mee,
Neglect mee, loose me: onely giue me leaue
(Vnworthie as I am) to follow you.
What worser place can I begge, in your loue
(And yet, a place of high respect with mee)
Then to be vsed as you vse your dogge.
  Deme. Tempt not, too much, the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick, when I do looke on thee.

stay = detain

wodde = mad

Adamant = lodestone, magnet (also a hard stone)

 

Question 2

(a) Examine the personal pronouns used and comment how they are different from PDE personal pronouns.

(b) Examine the lexis used in the passage, commenting on their ‘core’ status, and discuss if the lexical choice might be appropriate.

(c) Examine either the use of the question form (interrogatives) or the negation of clauses in the passage. Does that match present day usage?

 

What examiners want:

(i) Clear and accurate analysis.

(ii) Good understanding of terms (‘pronouns’, ‘core’)

(iii) Some kind of interpretation based on the analysis.

 

QUESTION 3 (30 marks)

Either (a) ‘In the history of English, there has always been a struggle between different varieties or dialects of English and various groups wanting to impose their variety as the “best” variety.’ Discuss this statement by focussing on any episode in the history of English, within or outside Britain.

 

Question 3

Or (b) When the Norse speakers assimilated with the English speakers in the late OE and the ME periods, they eventually gave up the Norse language, so that today in Britain, we cannot easily distinguish between people of Anglo-Saxon origin and people of Norse origin. With English becoming a global language, is there a danger of similar things happening? Would you mourn the Norse speaker's loss of Norse or any other speaker’s loss of their ancestral language?

What examiners want:

(i) A clear identification of the issue

(ii) A clear identification of the focus of the essay

(iii) Some sense of logical development and argument.

(iv) A good grasp of the details, or if there is analysis this should be accurate.

(v) Fluent English

(vi) Original or novel points are a bonus.

And finally,

All the best!

Remember the exam is at 5.00 to 7.00pm, Thursday 4/5/2017. Venue: tbc.

We’ll still be available for consultations, etc.

Please continue to use email until Wednesday 3/5/17!

 

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