Реферат: Билеты по истории английского языка (The history of the English language)

1. Periods in the history of English.

The history of English covers roughly 1200 years.

The commonly accepted, traditional periodisationdivides English history into three periods:

TheOld English period (OE) begins about <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«700 a» w:st=«on»>700 a</st1:metricconverter>. d. (it’s the time towhich the earliest writings in English belong), and lasts till about 12thcentury.

TheMiddle English period (ME) lastsfrom about the beginning of the 12th century till 15thcentury.

The Modern English period (MnE) begins at about 15th century and lasts tothe present day.

Within the Modern English period it’scustomary to distinguish between Early Modern English — 1500 — 1660, andLate Modern English — 1660 — …

2. Synchronic and Diachronic Aspects.

Before embarking on a study of the historicaldevelopment of the English language we will briefly consider the two aspects ofsuch study, now commonly called the synchronic

and the diachronic.

We would get a descriptive grammar of thelanguage of the period. Thus, a study of the language of Chaucer and hiscontemporaries would yield a system of Middle English grammar. A study of thelanguage of King Alfred’s works and translations, of Old English poems, andother texts of the period would be synchronic

as a study of20th — century language.

A differentkind of study is that which seeks to establish the changes which occurred inthis or that sphere of the language; this would yield a diachronic

result.

Let usillustrate this statement by one example.

The studyof the system of substantives in the 9th c. leads to the conclusionthat in Old English the substantives had four cases: the nominative, genitive,dative, and accusative. In a similar way, the study of the system ofsubstantives in the 14th c. leads to the conclusion that in MiddleEnglish the substantive had two cases: the common and the genitive. Both theseconclusions are strictly synchronic. But when we compare the results obtainedby the study of the 9th and of the 14th c., and draw theconclusion that during the intervening centuries the number of cases ofsubstantives was reduced from four to two, this is a diachronic statement. Suchreasoning of course applies to many other phenomena.

3. Origin of the English Language. Languages in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> beforeEnglish.

The EnglishLanguage originated from Anglo- Frisian dialects, which made part of the WestGermanic language group. The Germanic tribes which conquered <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place> in the 5th c.belonged, as ancient historians say, to three tribes, the Angles, the Saxons,and the Jutes. These tribes occupied the following territories on the continent:the Angles lived north of the Schlei river; theSaxons lived in modern Holstein; the Jutes lived in Northern Sleswick, which is now part of <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Denmark</st1:country-region></st1:place>. About the 4thcentury A. D. (Anno Domini)these tribes spread westwards.

Theearliest mention of the <st1:place w:st=«on»>British Isles</st1:place> is inthe 4th c. B. C. (Before Christ). At this time <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> wasinhabited by Celtic tribes (Britons and Gaels), who spoke various Celticlanguages.

Celticlanguages are divided into two main groups: the Gallo- Breton and the Gaelic.The Gallo- Breton group comprises (1) Gallic, which was spoken in Gaul (modern <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>France</st1:country-region>), and (2) British, represented by Welsh(or Cymry) in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Wales</st1:country-region>,Cornish in <st1:City w:st=«on»>Cornwall</st1:City> (became extinct in the 18thc.), and Breton in <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Brittany</st1:place></st1:State>.The Gaelic group comprises (1) Irish, (2) Scots, so- called Erse, (3) Manx, onthe isle of Man, between <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Scotland</st1:country-region>and <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Ireland</st1:country-region></st1:place>.

4. Writings in OE. OEpoetry. “Beowulf”. НаиболееяркиепроизведенияOE.

Among the earliest insertions in Latintexts are pieces of OE poetry. Bede’s HISTORIA ECCLESIASTICA GENTIS ANGLORUM (written in Latinin the 8th c.) contains an English fragment of five lines known as “Bede’s Death Song” and a religious poem of nine lines, “Cadmon’s Hymn”.

All in all we have about 30, 000 lines ofOE verse from many poets of some three centuries. The names of the poets areunknown except Cadmon and Cynewulf,two early Northumbrian authors.

The greatest poem of the time was BEOWULF,an epic of the 7th or 8th c. It was originally composedin the Mercian or Northumbrian dialect, but has come down to us in a 10thc. It is based on old legends about the tribal life of the ancient Teutons. The author is unknown.

In the 10th c. some new warpoems were composed and inserted in the prose historical chronicles: THE BATTLE OF BRUNANBURH, THE BATTLE OF MALDON.

Another group of poems are OE elegiac(lyrical) poems: WIDSITH (“The Traveller’s Song”),THE WANDERER, THE SEAFARER, and others.

Religious poems paraphrase, more or lessclosely, the books of the Bible — GENESIS, EXODUS. ELENE, ANDREAS, CHRIST,FATE OF THE APOSTLES tell the life- stories of apostles and saintor deal with various subjects associated with the Gospels.

OE prose is a most valuable source ofinformation for the history of the language. The earliest samples of continuousprose are the first pages of the ANGLO — SAXON CHRONICLES (by King Alfred, VII — IX c.): brief annals of the year’s happenings made at various monasteries.

One of the most important contributions isthe West Saxon version of Orosius’s World History.Alfred’s other translations were a book of instruction for parish priests PASTORAL CARE (CURA PASTORARIS) by Pope Gregory the Great; Thefamous philosophical treatise ON THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY by Boethius, a Roman philosopher and seaman.

By the 10th c. the West Saxondialect had firmly established itself as the written form of English. The twoimportant 10th c. writers are AElfric and Wulfstan.

AElfric was themost outstanding writer of the later OE period. He produced the LIVES OF THE SAINTS, the COLLOQUIUM and a LATIN GRAMMAR.

Wulfstan, thesecond prominent late West Saxon author, was Archbishop of York in the early 11thc. He is famous for his collections of passionate sermons known as the HOMILIES.

5. The Roman conquest.

In 55 B. C. the Romans underJulius Caesar first landed in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>.This first appearance of the Romans had no further consequences(последствие): after a brief stay theRomans went back to <st1:place w:st=«on»>Gaul</st1:place>. In the year 54Caesar landed in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:country-region> fora second time, he routed (разгромил) the Britons and advanced (продвинулся) as far as the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Thames</st1:place>.But this stay was also a short one.

Permanent conquest (постоянныезавоевания) of <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:country-region></st1:place> began in <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«43 A» w:st=«on»>43 A</st1:metricconverter>. D., under the emperorClaudius. The Romans subdued (подчинили) the Britons, and colonized the country,establishing a great number of military camps, which eventually(вконцеконцов)developed into Englishcities. About <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«80 A» w:st=«on»>80 A</st1:metricconverter>.D., under the emperor Domitian, the Romans reachedthe river Glotta (the Clyde) and the river Bodotria (the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Forth</st1:place>).Thus, they occupied a territory including the modern cities of Edinburgh andGlasgow.

In this period <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> becamea Roman province. This colonization had a profound (глубоки) effect on the country. Roman civilization –paved (вымощенный) roads, powerful walls ofmilitary camps – completely transformed the aspect(вид)of the country. The Latin language superseded (сменять) the Celtic dialects in township and probably alsospread over the country- side. In the 4th c., when Christianity wasintroduced in the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roman Empire</st1:place>, it also spreadamong the Britons.

The Romans ruled <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> foralmost four hundred years, up to the early 5th c. In 410 Romanlegions were recalled from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:country-region>to defend <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>from the advancing Goths; so the Britons had to rely on their own forces in thecoming struggle with Germanic tribes.

6. The Anglo- Saxon conquest.

It was about mid- 5thc. that <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>was conquered by Germanic tribes. An old saying names the year 449 as the yearof the conquest, and Hengest and Horsaas the two leaders of the invaders (захватчик).

The Britons fought againstthe conquerors for about a century and a half – till about the year 600. It isalso this epoch that the legendary figure of the British king Arthur belongs.

The conquerors settled in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> in thefollowing way. The Angles occupied most of the territory north of the Thames;the Saxons, the territory south of the Thames and some stretches north of it;the Jutes settled in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Kent</st1:country-region>and in the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Isle of Wight</st1:place>.

Since the settlement of theAnglo- Saxons in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>the ties of their language with the continent were broken, and in its furtherdevelopment it went its own ways. It is at this time, the 5th c.,that the history of the English language begins.

Its original territory was <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>England</st1:country-region> except <st1:City w:st=«on»>Cornwall</st1:City>,<st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Wales</st1:place></st1:country-region>,and Strathclyde. These western regions the Britonssucceeded in holding, and they were conquered much later: <st1:City w:st=«on»>Cornwall</st1:City>in the 9th, Strathclyde in the 11th,and <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Wales</st1:place></st1:country-region>in the 13th c.

The Scottish Highlands, whereneither Romans nor Teutons had penetrated(проникать), were inhabited by Pictsand Scots. The Scots language, belonging to the Celtic group, has survived inthe <st1:place w:st=«on»>Highlands</st1:place> up to our own days.

<st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> also remained Celtic: thefirst attempts at conquering it were made in the 12th c.

7. Phonetic structure. Vowels and consonants.

The system of OE vowels in the 9th and 10thc. consisted of seven short and long phonemes and of four short and longdiphthongs.

Short vowels: i,e, u, o, a, , y.

Long vowels: i,e, u, o, a, , y.

Short diphthongs: ea, eo,io, ie.

Long diphthongs: ea, eo,io, ie.

The OE consonant system consists of thefollowing sounds: labial – p, b, m, f, v; dental – t, d, , ,n, s, r, l, velar – c, , h. The letterx is used instead of the group cs.

9. The Norman Conquest.

The Norman conquest of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> beganin 1066. It proved to be a turning- point in English history and had aconsiderable influence on the English language. The <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Normans</st1:place></st1:City> were by origin

(по происхождению) a Scandinavian tribe. In the 9thc. they began inroads (набег) on the northern coast of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>France</st1:country-region> and occupied the territory on both shoresof the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Seine</st1:place> estuary. Under a treaty (соглашение) concluded in 912 with the Normanchief Rollo, the French king Charles the Simple ceded(уступать) to the Normans this stretch of thecoast, which since then came to be called Normandy. During the century and ahalf between the <st1:City w:st=«on»>Normans</st1:City>’ settlement in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>France</st1:country-region> and their invasion (вторжение) of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> they had undergone apowerful influence of French culture. Mixing with the local population, theyadopted (принимать) the French language and in themid- eleventh century, in spite of their Scandinavian origin, they were bearers(носители) of French feudal culture and ofthe French language.

In 1066 king Edward the Confessor died.William, Duke of Normandy, landed in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and routed the Englishtroops under King Harold near Hasting on October 14, 1066. The <st1:City w:st=«on»>Normans</st1:City>became masters of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>.The ruling class of Anglo- Saxon nobility

(дворянство) vanished almost completely. Thenobility was replaced by Norman barons, who spoke French, namely, its <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Norman</st1:place></st1:City> dialect. Thus, asa result of the conquest <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>came to be ruled by a foreign ruling class.

William confiscated the estates of the Anglo-Saxon nobility and distributed them among the Norman barons. Frenchmen arrivedin <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>in great numbers. Among them were merchants, soldiers, teachers, seeking for anew field of activity. During the reign of William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087)about 200 000 Frenchmen settled in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>. This influx

(наплыв) lasted about two centuries.

During several centuries the rulinglanguage in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>was French. It was the language of the court

(двор), the government, the courts of law (суд), and the church; the Englishlanguage was reduced to a lower social sphere: the main mass of peasantry (крестьянство) and townspeople. French was thelanguage of the ruling class.

10. The rise of <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>London</st1:place></st1:City> dialect and the formation of theNational Language.

In the course of the 15th century the <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>London</st1:place></st1:City> literary languagegradually spread all over the country, superseding local dialects. SpokenEnglish in various parts of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>gradually approaches the literary norm, and differences between the norm andpopular speech tend to become obliterated.

<st1:City w:st=«on»>London</st1:City> documents of the former half of the 15th century arepoems by Thomas Occleve (Hoccleve),official <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>London</st1:place></st1:City>papers, and also official documents from other towns. The literary language isalso found in letters written by kings, queens, ministers, and other officials.

The formation of a national language wasgreatly forsed by two events of the late 15thcentury.

The most significant event of the periodwas the War of Roses (1455 — 1485), which marked the decay of feudalism and thebirth of a new social order — an absolute monarchy.

Another great event was the introductionof printing. Printing was invented in Mayence (<st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>) byJohann Gutenberg in 1438. From Mayence printingspread to Strasburg, then to <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Italy</st1:country-region>and to the <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Netherlands</st1:country-region></st1:place>.The englishman William Caxton(1422 — 1491) published the First English printed book, The Recuyeil of the Histories of <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Troy</st1:place></st1:City>. Then he founded the first Englishprinting office in <st1:City w:st=«on»>London</st1:City> in 1476, and in 1477appeared the first book to be printed in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>, namely, The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers. The spread ofprinted books was bound to foster the normalization of spelling and also ofgrammatical forms.

Printed books was a first- rate factor infixing spellings and grammar.

Social changes of the 16th century createdthe conditions for a great cultural progress and the growth of a nationalliterature. The 16th century was a time of great literary achievement. Theearly poetical works of Wyatt

and <st1:place w:st=«on»>Surrey</st1:place> were followed bythe The Faerie Queeneby Edmund Spenser (1552 — 1599), and the 80s and 90s witness the rise of agreat number of dramatists. The greatest of these was William Shakespeare (1564- 1616). His contemporaries were Christopher Marlowe (1564 — 1593), Benjamin(Ben) Jonson (1573 — 1637), Philip Massinger (1583 — 1640), Frances Beaumont (1584 — 1616),John Fletcher (1579 — 1625), and many others. This epoch, which historiansusually call Elizabethan after queen Elizabeth I, who reigned 1558 — 1603,belongs to the period of Early Modern English.

11. The verbs in OE.

The conjugation (спряжение) of verbs shows the means of form- buildingused in the OE verb system. Most forms were distinguished with the help ofinflectional endings or grammatical suffixes; one form- Partic.II – was sometimes marked by a prefix; many verbs made use of vowelinterchanges in the root; some verbs used consonant interchanges and a few had suppletive forms. The OE verb is remarkable for itscomplicated morphological classification which determined the application (применение) of form- building means in various groups ofverbs. The majority of OE verbs fell into 2 great divisions: the strong and theweak verbs. Besides these two main groups there were a few verbs which couldnot be put together as “minor” groups.

The main difference betweenthe strong and the weak verbs lay in the means of forming the principal parts,of the “stems” of the verb. There were also a few other differences in theconjugation.

All the forms of the verbs,finite (личный) as well as non- finite,were derived (произошли) from a set of “stems” orprincipal parts of the verb: the Present tense stem was used in all the Presenttense forms, Indicative, Imperative and Substantive, and also in the PresentParticiple and the Infinitive; it is usually shown as the form of theInfinitive; all the forms of the Past tense were derived from the Past tensestems; the Past Participle had a separate stem.

The strong verbs formed theirstems by means of vowel gradation and by adding certain suffixes; in some verbsgradation was accompanied by consonant interchanges. The strong verbs had fourstems, as they distinguished two stems in the Past Tense – one for the 1st and 3rdp. sg. Ind. Mood, the other- for the other Past tenseforms, <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Ind.</st1:place></st1:State>and Subj.

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