HistoricalEnglish

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Language Variation and Change in the History of English

Lianne van Doorn (6524591) & Naomi Goedhart (5734223)

Etymology 

Middle-English (ME):

• OE used 'native resources' --> compounding + affixation
• ME borrowed --> especially French (~ 10.000 words)
• Reasons: (1) contact with other countries (French court), (2) dramatic decrease in inflections
• Increase 1250 (i.e., 1066 Norman Conquest) till 1500, why delay?

1. Linguistic changes need time
2. English becoming the language of England (upper-class struggle)
3. Degree of 'snobbery' --> synonym word-pairs

(Johnson, 2016)

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Etymology: 

Spelling Middle-English (ME)

Germanic:

Soote/seeke                                oo double vowels (i.e., ee, aa, uu)   &   -e ending

Ryde/ryse                                   y used as long i:                               &   -e ending

Semed me                                  -ed ending

Foreign:

Licour                                          ou vowels pronounced as u:

Pilgrimages                                  gr consonants in middle                   &  -ages ending             

Melodye                                       -ye ending

Resoun/condicioun                      -oun ending

Germanic

Foreign

What is their origin:

Roote

Open ye

Flour

Corages

Hostelrye

Seke

Devyse

Wyde

Compaignye

Degree

Phonetics and Phonology

Middle English (ME):

Vowels:

a = PDE father                                                                                       

e = PDE air

i (often written as y)  = PDE machine (phonetic long i:)                   e.g., ryse (ri:zə)/ryde  

                                                                                                                                             (ri:də)/devyse (de:vi:zə)

o = PDE note or PD French chose

u = PDE rude (French borrowings as in aventure)

long vowels (e.g., aa, oo, ee, ii, uu, or stressed position word-final, or followed by single consonant + -e ending) = PD French or Italian                                    e.g., seke (se:kə)

word-final -e as -uh (or the PDE a in about)

Phonetics and Phonology

Middle English (ME):

Diphthongs (= combine two elements or vowels):

ai (ay), ei (ey) = between PDE play and aisle

au (aw) = PDE house (in French borrowings  as in PDE haunt)

eu (ew) = PDE few or lewd

ou = French borrowing as long u (e.g., flour = flu:r)

Consonants:

ALL consonants are pronounced (except initial -h in some French borrowings) --> gn (e.g., g-now); kn (e.g., k-nyt); wr (e.g., w-rap); lk (e.g., fo-lk)

Examples Canterbury Tales (Chaucer, 1392):

Germanic:

Soote = so:tə

Open ye = ɔ:pən i:ə

Foreign:

Licour/resoun = liku:r/rε:zu:n

Melodye/hostelrye = mεlɔdi:ə/hɔstεlri:ə

Pilgrimages = pilgrima:ǰəs

 https://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2014/ling115/phonetics.html

So, how would you pronounce the following Germanic words: roote; seeke; wyde; semed me?

1. ro:tə; se:kə; wi:də; se:məd me:
2. ro:t; se:kə; wi:de; se:məd me:
3. ru:tə; si:kə; wi:də; se:məd mi:
4. ro:tə; se:kə; wi:de; se:məd me:

And, how would you pronounce the following Foreign words: corages; compaignye; condicioun; degree?

1. ku:raǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egre:
2. ko:raǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; ku:ndisiu:n; d:egre:
3. kʊraǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egre:
4. kʊraǰəs; kʊmpεini:ə; kɔndisiu:n; d:egri:

Semantics

Middle English (ME)

Obsolete: Soote, licour, corages

In use: roote, licour, flour, melodye, open ye, pilgrimages, seke, hostelrye, compaignye, ryde, wyde, devyse, resoun, condicioun, semed me, degree

Degree of Snobbery: 

licour versus liquid 

flour versus flower

1. What was the meaning of the word licour in ME?

1. Wine
2. Liquid
3. Parfum
4. Candy

2. What was the meaning of the word corages in ME?

1. Strength, power
2. Confidence, brawn
3. Heart, core
4. Spirits, feelings

3. What could have been the meaning of flour in ME?

4. What could have been the meaning of seeke (n.)?

References

Chaucer, G. (2012). The canterbury tales. Broadview Press.

Johnson, K. (2016). The history of early English: An activity-based approach. Routledge.