English Language Chapter 1
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Questions and Answers

What did King Alfred call the general language of England?

  • Englisc (correct)
  • Modern English
  • Old English
  • Anglo-Saxon

    • The term 'Old English' has advantages over 'Anglo-Saxon' as the name of the language.

    True

    What term is typically used to refer to the dialect of nearly all the important literature of the Anglo-Saxons?

    South-South-West

    The Old English term for 'street' is ______, which is derived from the Latin word 'strata'.

    <p>stræt</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main reason that the English language has a wide appeal worldwide?

    <p>All of the above</p> Signup and view all the answers

    English has become the most 'mixed' of languages due to its receptiveness and adaptability to foreign elements.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a notable characteristic of English related to the relationship of words in a sentence?

    <p>Simplicity of inflexion</p> Signup and view all the answers

    English uses ______ to take the place of lost inflexions.

    <p>prepositions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following language characteristic with its description:

    <p>Simplifying of inflexion by reduction = Ease of indicating word relationships with minimal changes Fixed word-order = Relatively fixed order of words due to loss of inflexions Development of new varieties of intonation = Expressing shades of meaning through intonation Use of periphrases = Roundabout ways of saying things to replace lost inflexions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the Old English word for the Latin word (originally Greek) 'Euangelium'?

    <p>Godspell</p> Signup and view all the answers

    William Barnes tried to create modern English words by translating Latin terms directly into new English compounds.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What Latin word did the Old English term 'prynes' translate to in English?

    <p>Tronitatem</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the Middle English period, a number of purely technical legal, scientific, and ecclesiastical terms were taken directly from the ______.

    <p>Latin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms with their language of origin:

    <p>Pauper = Latin Index = Latin Simile = Latin Collect = Latin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the name of the Renaissance-era writer whose prose style influenced English literature significantly?

    <p>Cicero</p> Signup and view all the answers

    From which century onwards did Greek words mainly enter the English language through learned, technical, or scientific usage?

    <p>Seventeenth century</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Greek prefix 'anti' means _______.

    <p>against</p> Signup and view all the answers

    English became the accepted language for a large part of literature and speech among the upper classes in the thirteenth century.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following Greek-influenced technical terms with their meanings:

    <p>Psychology = Study of the mind Neurology = Study of nerves Hepatic = Related to the liver Phlebotomy = Surgical incision of a vein</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Germanic family of languages is believed to have originated in Northern Europe around what time period?

    <p>Around the first millennium before the Christian era</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are two significant characteristics that mark off the Germanic family of languages?

    <p>fixing stress of a word on its root syllable or near the beginning, and using a 'two-tense' system in the verb</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Germanic languages have a strong tendency to fix the _____________ of a word on its root syllable or as near to its beginning as possible.

    <p>stress</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Germanic languages primarily use a free stress system, allowing stress to be placed on different parts of a word according to context and meaning.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes strong verbs from weak verbs in the Germanic languages?

    <p>Strong verbs indicate tense by change of vowel in regular series.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of influence did Arabs have on the English language?

    <p>Both technical terms and localized cultural items</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What Arabic word denotes 'the vault' and has been adopted into English?

    <p>alcove</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Chinese word 'tea' entered English through the Dutch as ______.

    <p>t'e</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The English spelling tends to be purely phonetic.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    During which period did most common French words come into English?

    <p>Fourteenth century</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote, The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veine in swich licotur Of which vertu engendred is the flour, Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breth Inspired hath in every bolt and heth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne, and smale foules maken melodye That slepen al the nyght with open ye, (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages,) Than longen folk to goon on ___

    <p>pilgrimages</p> Signup and view all the answers

    French words borrowed in the earlier Middle English period became integral parts of the English language.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used for a military engineering word connected with mining in the later nineteenth century, which later acquired a military meaning in the twentieth century?

    <p>camouflage</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the term used for collections of glosses in the text?

    <p>Glossaries</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Renaissance brought the need for Latin and Greek dictionaries.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who wrote 'A Table of Alphabeticall English Wordes' in 1604?

    <p>Robert Cawdrey</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Edward Phillips, Milton's nephew and pupil, published his New World of English Words in __.

    <p>1658</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following individuals with their contributions to etymological dictionaries:

    <p>Stephen Skinner = Etymologicon Linguae Anglicanae Francis Junius = Etymologicon Anglicanum Charles Richardson = A New Dictionary of the English Language</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the chief objection to any phonetic reform of English spelling?

    <p>The changing nature of pronunciation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who adapted the Roman letters to create the Anglo-Saxon alphabet?

    <p>Christian Missionaries from Ireland</p> Signup and view all the answers

    French scribes used the symbol 'u' to represent the sound 'y' in Old English.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The formative period of Modern English Spelling was the Early _____ period.

    <p>Modern</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms with their description:

    <p>Caxton = Introduced printing to England Dr. Samuel Johnson = Started work on a Dictionary of the English Language Daniel Jones and C.L. Wrenn = Summarized the Great English Vowel Shift Society for Pure English = Founded in this century with focus on aspects of modern language</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Characteristics of English

    • English is spoken by the largest number of people worldwide due to historical, political, and economic reasons.
    • English has a wide appeal due to its characteristics, including:
      • Receptive and adaptable heterogeneousness, taking in material from around the world and making it its own.
      • Simplicity of inflexion, with a minimum of change in word shapes or variations in endings.
      • Relatively fixed word-order, making the order of words important for meaning.
      • Use of periphrases and compound tenses to replace lost inflexions.
      • Development of new varieties of intonation to express shades of meaning.

    Indo-European Family of Languages

    • English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, which includes languages such as Latin, Greek, Russian, and Sanskrit.
    • Indo-European languages share a common ancestor and have similar structures and vocabulary.
    • The Indo-European family is characterized by:
      • Use of parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.)
      • Shared vocabulary, including names of family relationships, domestic materials, and familiar animals.
    • English is Indo-European because it uses parts of speech and shares a fundamental nucleus of vocabulary with other Indo-European languages.

    Germanic Family of Languages

    • English belongs to the Germanic family of languages, which includes languages such as German, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages.
    • Germanic languages developed from a common ancestral language, known as Common Germanic or Primitive Germanic.
    • Characteristics of Germanic languages include:
      • Fixed stress on the root syllable of a word.
      • A two-tense system in the verb, with a present and past tense.
      • Use of periphrases and compound tenses to replace lost inflexions.
    • The Germanic family of languages has developed separately from other Indo-European languages, with distinct characteristics.

    Development of English

    • English has lost inflexions over time, leading to a simplified verb system and increased use of periphrases and compound tenses.
    • English has developed a distinct vocabulary, with words borrowed from other languages such as Latin, Greek, and French.
    • Intonation plays a significant role in English, with varying pitches and intensities used to express shades of meaning.### Weak and Strong Verbs
    • Weak verbs are secondary or derived and do not change their root-vowel in conjugation, instead adding a suffix to the end (e.g., love - loved)
    • Strong verbs, on the other hand, change their root-vowel in conjugation (e.g., buy - bought)
    • However, this distinction is not always clear-cut, and the distinction has become blurred over time due to sound changes in the language

    Old English and the Germanic Family

    • Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest form of the English language, spoken from the 5th to the 11th centuries
    • It is a Low German dialect, closer to Dutch, Frisian, and Low German dialects than to High German dialects spoken in Germany and Austria
    • Old English is characterized by special sound-changes that distinguish it from other Germanic languages
    • The term "Anglo-Saxon" has traditionally been used to refer to the language, but "Old English" is a more common term used by scholars today

    Latin Influences on Old English

    • Latin had an impact on Old English vocabulary, especially in areas such as government, trade, and technology
    • Many Latin words entered the English language through contact with Roman civilization and Christian missionaries
    • Latin words were often adapted into English, such as "street" from Latin "strata" and "cheese" from Latin "caseus"
    • The Christian church also introduced Latin words, such as "mæsse" from Latin "Missa" (mass)

    Coining New Words

    • Old English had the power to create new words from native elements, often by translating Latin compounds literally
    • This method was used to create words for technical and scientific concepts, such as "Godspell" from Greek "euangelion" meaning "good news"
    • This method was also used to create words for religious concepts, such as "blesian" (to bless) from Latin "benedicere"### Latin Influence on the English Language
    • Latin has been an influence on English throughout its history, with many fluctuations
    • In the fifteenth century, translation of Latin texts added to the number of direct Latin borrowings
    • The Renaissance brought a direct influence from Classical Latin, especially in the fields of science and philosophy
    • Many Latin words entered English at this time, especially in fields like law, medicine, and science
    • The Renaissance also saw the remodelling of schools, with Latin as the primary language of instruction
    • As a result, educated men used Latin terms and affixes unconsciously in their ordinary English speech
    • Example of Latin words borrowed into English: exit, genius, area, fungus, miser, circus, vacuum, medium, species, ignoramus, vagary

    Latin's Impact on English Grammar and Vocabulary

    • Latin influenced the attitude to the language of its teachers and improvers in England
    • The whole set-up and terminology of English grammar has been dominated by Latinate school masters
    • The ghost of the Latinate tradition still haunts our classrooms
    • Many words of Latin origin have been taken over unchanged, while others have been 'Englished' by taking on native endings or reductions
    • Latin suffixes such as -ate (from -atus), -ic (from -icus), and -al (from -alis) have become part of the language

    Greek Influence on the English Language

    • Greek words came to English mainly through learned, technical, or scientific usage
    • Many Greek terms were borrowed into English, especially in fields like medicine, philosophy, and science
    • Greek prefixes and suffixes have become part of the language, such as graph (writing), phone (sound), and -ology
    • Examples of Greek words borrowed into English: academy, atom, Bible, diphthong, harmony, ecstasy, nymph, tragedy, tyrant, theatre
    • Many Greek words were borrowed through Latin, and later directly from Greek, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
    • Greek words have become part of the Common European vocabulary, and have been adapted with English prefixes and suffixes

    French Influence on the English Language

    • French influence on English began with the Norman Conquest, with the introduction of French words related to the new culture and way of life
    • Before the Conquest, few French words were found in English, such as castel, capun (capon), and bacun (bacon)
    • After the Conquest, French became the language of government, and many French words entered English related to law, church, and aristocracy
    • Examples of French words borrowed into English: foreste, tur (tower), market, rent, justise, acorden, bataille, curt (court), cuntesse (countess), tresor, carited (charity), pais (peace), miracle, processiun
    • French influence continued to grow, especially in the thirteenth century, with the loss of Normandy and other French possessions
    • English eventually became the accepted language for literature and speech among the upper classes

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