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!