History of English Language Quiz

Old English Compounds

• Self-explaining compounds refer to words that are composed of two elements, where the meaning of the compound is obvious from the individual elements.
• Examples of self-explaining compounds in Old English include "daylight" (dæg + light) and "fisherman" (fisc + mann).

Old English Period

• The Old English period, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries, saw the prevalence of self-explaining compounds.

Norman Conquest and English Language

• If William the Conqueror had not succeeded in making his claim to the English throne, the English language might have developed more closely to its Germanic roots, with less influence from French and Latin.
• The Norman Conquest of 1066 introduced French and Latin loanwords into the English language, which had a significant impact on its development.

Close of the Old English Period

• The event that had the greatest effect on the English language at the close of the Old English period was the Norman Conquest of 1066.

German Language

• German still prefers to use compound words, similar to Old English, rather than borrowing words from other languages.