English Language - Unit Two, Area of Study One - Summary

I absolutely loved the previous area of study, which was language acquisition. I just found it so engaging. If I'm honest, I didn't actually enjoy this area of study all that much. I'm not really a history fan, so that's probably why.

Area of study one of unit two is Language Across Time, where we learnt about how English has evolved and changed. If you have already read one of my study guides, you'll know that I always recommend taking a look at the official study design. Information regarding this area of study begins on page 14.

Okay, let's get into the content. I feel like English Language is a subject which heavily involves applying knowledge, rather than just blurting out what you read in a textbook. Therefore, you shoul practise writing about what you learn in the subject.

Identifying Differences in Old English to Modern English

Firstly, what is Old English? Old English, otherwise known as Anglo Saxon, is the first recognised variety of English. It was spoken in what we now know as England from approximately 450 AD to 1150 AD. 

As expected, Old English looks and sounds a lot different to the English we use every day. This is evident by simply looking at a transcript of Beowulf, or even listening to it. These differences are split into four categories.  

Graphic Differences can include the use of characters which are no longer existent, such as: 

• þ (thorn)
• æ (ash)
• 7 (and)

Also, a raised dot can indicate a pause.

Grammatical Differences can relate to the word order in a sentence. For example, we currently follow a subject-verb-object word order. Meanwhile, the word order may differ in a work of Old English. 

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The main cause of language change in Modern English is from the usage of slang and informal language. So much so that this variation can become mainstream and acceptable in other contexts. For example, the vowels e and a often become homophones in Australian English. 

When an individual uses language which differs from standard English, such as with the use of slang, we can often identify the region their from or their social position. 

English and it's Relationship with the Proto-Germanic and Indo-European Languages

Genetic relatedness means when a language shares characteristics with other languages it's related to. English, a Germanic language, has genetic relations with other Germanic languages such as Dutch, Swedish and German (of course). They share a lot various grammar features with each other. 

The parent-language of all Germanic languages is Proto-Germanic. It was believed to have been spoken prior to the Christian era. However, there is no evidence of the language.

Dutch, English, Swedish and German used to only be varieties of the same language around one-thousand years ago. These dialects, of course, eventually turned into the distinct languages which we recognise today. 

Meanwhile, it is believed that there was a parent-language of classic languages, such as Sanskrit, Ancient Greek and Latin. This language, which has no physical evidence of its existence, is called Proto-Indo-European. It is believed to be the parent-language of most European, south-western Asian and northern Indian languages and was spoken circa 3000 BC. 

How Old English Evolved into Modern English

The three factors of language change are time, geographical separation and social separation

English arriving in Britain: 

• In year 1500 BC, a tribe who would become Germanic speakers in the future, departed from their Indo-European speaking home. 
• In the middle of the 15th century, the Germanic tribes introduced their language into Britain.
• Phonological change consisted of turning consonant sounds into fricative sounds. 

The following is a timeline of the different periods of English: 

How Different Language Influenced English

The process of adopting language features from a different language into another language is referred to as borrowing. 

The three main cultures which had an influence on English are the French, the Celts and the Scandinavians. 

When English arrived in Britain the the fifth century, the language came into contact with numerous Celtic tribe. As you would guess, this contact resulted in them adapting and evolving the language. 

Meanwhile, the influence that the Scandinavians had was during the 9th and 10th century, where England was invaded by them. England was under Scandinavian rule for twenty-five years, with them establishing themselves in multiple areas. 

Arguably, the most important influence was when English came into contact with French. England was also invaded by the French, with the country becoming under French rule. The ruler replaced all high office positions with individuals who spoke French. English words were basic and practical sounding, while their French counterparts sounded elevated and sophisticated. For example, an English word is house while it's counterpart is the French mansion. Additionally, stink and stench are English words while aroma and fragrance are French words. 

The Standardisation of English

Standardised English is the socially acceptable use of spelling, punctuation and grammar. It is viewed as the correct usage of the elements of English. The English you would be aiming to use to write an essay would be Standard English, for instance. 

There are many ways which we learn what Standard English is, such as from intellectuals and academics, dictionaries and reference books, politicians and published media. 

Prior to the standardisation of English, which mainly took off in the 1800s (start of Early Modern period), the language as incredibly varied. There was no prestige model and no reference books. Thus, it wasn't codified. 

During the Old English period, there were four principle dialects in England of English. These included Northumbrain, Mercian, West Saxon and Kentish. In the Middle English period, these became the Northern dialect, Midlands dialect, Southern dialect and Kentish (respectively). 

The popularity of English rose in England during the early 1400s. This was a result of the king introducing the language into governments and courts, where lots of documents were produced and released. 

The standardisation and popularity of English was also influenced by major universities adopting it, England's rich agricultural trade and the creation of the printing press, which allowed books to be cheaper and easier to create. 

Semantic Change

The changing values and beliefs of society can affect the semantic meaning and connotations of words. The following phrases which are associated with the change in a words connotation are: 

Broadening refers to when a word can be used in a greater number of contexts than it did previously. In other words, the word relates to more things than it used to. 

Commonization is a type of broadening. It relates to when the name of a brand becomes a common noun for the product. An example is Glad-Wrap or Kleenex. 

Meanwhile, the opposite is true for the term narrowing. Narrowing is when a word develops to be used in less contexts. An example is with the word girl, which used to be synonymous with the gender-neutral word child. Obviously, it has now narrowed to only refer to females. 

Shift is pretty simple to understand, it relates to when a word's meaning becomes completely different to what it once did.

The last two types of semantic change are elevation and deterioration. When a word becomes elevated, it's previously negative connotations turn into positive connotations. Meanwhile, deterioration is the opposite -- a word's negative connotation becoming positive. 

Lexical Change

 Neologisms refers to new phrases which are coined and adopted into a language. On the other hand, archaism is when words which existed historically are no longer in use currently. 

A type of lexical change is also borrowing, which we discussed prior. The act of borrowing is when a language adopts features of a different language. 

Acronyms are also a form of lexical change. The vast majority of us probably already know what they are -- when the initials of a phrase are condensed into a word. Initialism is similar, expect the initials are pronounced separately in the word rather than as a single word. For example, when you say "ABN" (Australian Business Number), you pronounce each initial individually rather than as just one word. 

Compounding is when two free morphemes are put together in order to create a word. An example is man-made. Meanwhile, when two sections of pre-existing words are combined to make one word, it's referred to as blends. 

Affixation is the most common way new words are created. It's the process of adding bound morphemes to free morphemes.

The shortened version of a long word is referred to as shortening. 

Approaches to Language Change

As with anything, there are different opinions about the development and modernisation of language. There are individuals who believe that language should remain standardised and that there is 'correct' and 'incorrect' usage of language. On the contrary, there are people who believe that language should continue to develop and that there is no 'incorrect' usage of language. 

Prescriptivism is approach that says that deviation from standard English is incorrect. Therefore, there is a 'correct' way to use language and an 'incorrect' way to use language. 

On the other hand, descriptivism is an opposing approach. This approach says that deviation from standard English is okay. It focuses on language as is or what it's becoming, not on what it should be.

William Shakespeare's Influence on English

While Shakespeare's plays have greatly influenced what kinds of stories can be told through plays, his work has also influenced our language as a whole. This includes words being coined such as unreal, critic and eyeball, to phrases such as be all and end all, good riddance and neither here nor there. 

Shakespeare's plays were accessible to both the rich and the poor, making a wider variety and more people exposed to language. His plays were one of the first to provide critical commentary of politics and government. In addition to creating neologisms, he also changed the word class and added affixation to pre-existing words.