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Questions and Answers
Which of the following best describes an allomorph?
Which of the following best describes an allomorph?
What is the primary purpose of grammatical signals in a sentence?
What is the primary purpose of grammatical signals in a sentence?
What distinguishes bound morphemes from free morphemes?
What distinguishes bound morphemes from free morphemes?
Which of the following describes inflectional suffixes?
Which of the following describes inflectional suffixes?
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What characterizes synthetic languages?
What characterizes synthetic languages?
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How does onomatopoeia function in language?
How does onomatopoeia function in language?
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Which language influenced English grammar by introducing auxiliary verbs and split infinitives?
Which language influenced English grammar by introducing auxiliary verbs and split infinitives?
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What role did Julius Caesar play in the development of Londinium?
What role did Julius Caesar play in the development of Londinium?
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Which function of language is primarily used to express emotions?
Which function of language is primarily used to express emotions?
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What is an example of a homophone?
What is an example of a homophone?
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What are function words used for in language?
What are function words used for in language?
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What was the primary linguistic impact of the Vikings on the English language?
What was the primary linguistic impact of the Vikings on the English language?
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During which period did the Vikings invade Britain?
During which period did the Vikings invade Britain?
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Which theory suggests that language originated from gestures?
Which theory suggests that language originated from gestures?
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What type of language variation is associated with a specific social level or ethnic group?
What type of language variation is associated with a specific social level or ethnic group?
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What theory suggests that Middle English arose from contact between Old English and Old Norse?
What theory suggests that Middle English arose from contact between Old English and Old Norse?
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What significant event occurred in AD 410 concerning the Roman soldiers in Britain?
What significant event occurred in AD 410 concerning the Roman soldiers in Britain?
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What describes the term 'concord' in linguistic terms?
What describes the term 'concord' in linguistic terms?
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Which of the following statements about language is incorrect?
Which of the following statements about language is incorrect?
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Which of the following best describes the language during the Primitive Old English period?
Which of the following best describes the language during the Primitive Old English period?
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Which group invaded Britain shortly after the Romans left, contributing to the development of English?
Which group invaded Britain shortly after the Romans left, contributing to the development of English?
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What is a key characteristic of human language compared to animal communication?
What is a key characteristic of human language compared to animal communication?
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Which subgroup of the Germanic language is the ancestor of modern English?
Which subgroup of the Germanic language is the ancestor of modern English?
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What does the Bow-Wow theory propose about the origin of language?
What does the Bow-Wow theory propose about the origin of language?
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Which of the following describes the Substratum Effect?
Which of the following describes the Substratum Effect?
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What does Grimm's Law compare?
What does Grimm's Law compare?
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What was the primary consequence of the Roman invasion in AD 43?
What was the primary consequence of the Roman invasion in AD 43?
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Which theory describes language originating from sounds made during labor?
Which theory describes language originating from sounds made during labor?
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What is true about the Celts before the Roman invasion?
What is true about the Celts before the Roman invasion?
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Which language is classified as North Germanic?
Which language is classified as North Germanic?
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What is the significance of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?
What is the significance of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?
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What event marks the beginning of the Middle English period?
What event marks the beginning of the Middle English period?
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What significant change occurred in English vocabulary due to the Norman invasion?
What significant change occurred in English vocabulary due to the Norman invasion?
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Who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings?
Who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings?
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During the Middle English period, which social structure emerged regarding language?
During the Middle English period, which social structure emerged regarding language?
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What is the significance of the I-Umlaut or front mutation in language?
What is the significance of the I-Umlaut or front mutation in language?
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What major outcome occurred for the Anglo-Normans by the end of the 14th century?
What major outcome occurred for the Anglo-Normans by the end of the 14th century?
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What characterized the Paleolithic period in human history?
What characterized the Paleolithic period in human history?
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What was a significant development during the Neolithic period?
What was a significant development during the Neolithic period?
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What significant change in the English language began around 1400?
What significant change in the English language began around 1400?
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Which event marks the beginning of books becoming more accessible in England?
Which event marks the beginning of books becoming more accessible in England?
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Who played an important role in the development of Old English language and literature?
Who played an important role in the development of Old English language and literature?
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What was the significance of the first English dictionary published in 1604?
What was the significance of the first English dictionary published in 1604?
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Which notable literary figure was born during the Early Modern English period?
Which notable literary figure was born during the Early Modern English period?
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What did the replacement of French with English represent in legal and parliamentary contexts?
What did the replacement of French with English represent in legal and parliamentary contexts?
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Which organization was founded during the Late Modern English period?
Which organization was founded during the Late Modern English period?
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What was the purpose of the Table Alphabeticall published in the Early Modern English period?
What was the purpose of the Table Alphabeticall published in the Early Modern English period?
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Study Notes
Language
- Is a system of conventional vocal signs used by humans for communication
- Is a system of rules or patterns that relate words to one another
- Is vocal; its signs are sounds produced by the mouth and interpreted by the ear
Language Variations
- Dialect: variety of language tied to a specific place, social level, ethnic group, sex, or age
- Register: variety of language for a particular purpose
Language Change
- Is natural; language systems are culturally transmitted
- Syntagmatic change: words and sounds affected by neighboring words or sounds
- Paradigmatic or Associative Change: words and sounds influenced by those not immediately presented, but associated with them
- Social Change: language shifts due to world events
Theories of Language Origin
- Bow-Wow Theory: language originated from humans imitating animal and object sounds
- Ding-Dong Theory: language developed from a natural association between objects and their sounds
- Yo-He-Ho Theory: language emerged from sounds produced during group activities
- Baby Talk Theory: language evolved from simplified communication used by infants
- Oral-Gesture Theory: language resulted from gestures made with the mouth
- Divine Creation Theory: God created language
Functions of Language
- Referential: used to refer to things or people
- Poetic: used for its own sake, not necessarily referring to the real world
- Emotive: used to express emotions
- Conative: used to address another person and get their attention
- Phatic: used to maintain social relationships
- Metalinguistic: used to discuss language itself
Morphemes
- Smallest linguistic sign
- Meaningful unit that cannot be divided into meaningless parts
- Sequence of sounds with recognizable meaning
- Free Morphemes: can be used alone as words
- Bound Morphemes: combined with other morphemes
- Allomorph: alternate pronunciation or spelling of a morpheme based on context
- Idiom: combination of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from its parts
Grammatical Signals
- Techniques for relating words within a sentence
- Parts of Speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb
- Affixes: sounds or letters added to change a word's meaning: Prefix (added to the front), Suffix(added to the end), Inflection (changes the form of a word to mark distinctions)
- Concord: agreement/interconnection between words marked by inflections
- Word Order: grammatical signal for all languages
- Function Words: minor parts of speech used for word order, serving the same function as inflections
- Prosodic Signals: pitch, stress, and tempo that can indicate grammatical meaning
History of the English Language
- Pre-History: Isle of Britain inhabited by Celtic tribes (pagan tribal people with their own language)
- Indo-European Language: English belongs to this family
- Proto-Indo-European: ancestral tribes that migrated eastward, westward, and northward
- East Germanic: spoken by tribes who migrated back to Southeastern Europe
- West Germanic: ancestor of modern German, Dutch, Flemish, Frisian, and English
- North Germanic: evolved into modern Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic)
- Cognates: words of common origin in different languages
- Substratum effect: language influenced by a subjugated language
- Grimm's Law: comparing Germanic languages with Latin languages
Old English Period
- Also known as the Anglo-Saxon period
- 450-700 AD
- Influenced by Celtic and Latin
- Paleolithic Period: humans nomadic, traveling from place to place
- Neolithic Period: humans engaged in agriculture, domestication of animals, sedentary lives
- Age of Metals: humans started using metal tools, population growth, advancement in craftsmanship and transportation
Important figures in history
- Julius Caesar: led Roman troops, reached Thames River and established a military encampment
- King Alfred the Great: important role in development of Old English, encouraged translation of Latin into Old English
- William Caxton: brought the printing press to England, making books cheaper, increasing literacy, and solidifying spelling and grammar
Influence of the Vikings
- Old Norse language
- Viking invasions of Britain from 8th to 10th centuries
- Old Norse influence on English grammar evident in auxiliary verbs, word order, and split infinitives
Middle English Period
- 1066: Battle of Hastings, beginning of Middle English
- Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror defeats King Harold, becomes King of England
- Norman Invasion: French brought to England, Normans spoke French with Germanic influences
- Norman French: 10,000 French words entered English by the 13th century
- King John: William the Conqueror’s ancestor lost Normandy to King of France
- Normans adopted English as their language by the end of the 14th century
Modern English Period
- The Great Vowel Shift: around 1400, long vowel sounds raised and diphthongised
- Printing Press: established by William Caxton in 1476, facilitated spread of literacy
-
Early Modern English:
- The Daily Courant was published, the first daily English-language newspaper
- English replaced French as the language of law
- English used for Parliament
- First English dictionary published
- Shakespeare born and died
- English replaces Latin as medium of instruction
- Thomas Jefferson wrote the American Declaration of Independence
- Shakespeare’s First Folio published
-
Late Modern English:
- The British Broadcasting Corporation established
- The Oxford English Dictionary established
- Webster published his American English dictionary
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Description
Explore the fundamentals of language with this quiz, covering key concepts such as the system of vocal signs, variations like dialect and register, and natural language change. Understand significant theories of language origin and their implications. Test your knowledge on how language functions in communication and evolves over time.