English Part 2: where did it come from, where will it go? (Cotton-Eye Joe)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Lesson 2

Why this is English how? What? Isn't it?

This lecture, when given in a classroom, is entitled: “The Words Tell The Story.” What is meant by that title?

Why do English speakers have such predictable responses to the two phrases, “They gave us a hearty welcome,” and “They gave us a cordial reception.”?

Based on the increasingly diverse population in the United States and on the past history of English, what prediction can you make about the future of the English language? What factors may influence the future evolution of the language?

The reason why the Celts benefited from Roman rule was that

1. The Romans did not demand tribute from conquered people
2. The Celts learned from the Romans how to build seafaring ships
3. The Romans enabled the Celts to attack the Jutes and Frisians
4. The Romans defended the Celts from the tribes on the western coasts of Northern Europe

What were the factors that enabled the Old Norse and Saxon languages to mix, rather than one replacing the other?

1. The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum stated that each tribe would learn the other’s language
2. Neither tribe was able to eradicate the other’s language
3. Peaceful borders and subsequent intermarriages made it practical for the Saxons to use Old Norse words
4. The languages were linguistically similar and shared many words already

Why are there so many words derived from Old French in modern English?

1. Tthe Norman invaders spoke French and placed French-speaking monarchs on the British throne
2. Because the Saxons attacked the Vikings in France and conquered them in 1066
3. Because the Norman conquerors did not care if Saxon peasants continued speaking Saxon
4. Both A and C

What is so noteworthy about the history of the English language?

1. It is a long and peaceful history
2. Although the story contains many periods of conquest and conflict, the conquerors in this period of British history never strove to wipe out the language of the conquered people
3. Modern speakers perceive no differences between English words with different origins
4. The English language has remained remarkably static for centuries

Go to the following site

https://ed.ted.com/on/CET2cs4w#panels

Listen to the differences in Old and Middle English, and compare that to the sounds of English you are familiar with.

'never French'

"English and French expressions [in English] may have similar denotations but slightly different connotations and associations. Generally the English words are stronger, more physical, and more human. We feel more at ease after getting a hearty welcome than after being granted a cordial reception. Compare freedom with liberty, friendship with amity, kingship with royalty, holiness with sanctity, happiness with felicity, depth with profundity, and love with charity." (Simeon Potter, Our Language, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1950/66, pp. 37-38.)

Assignment

Wiktionary.org provides a lengthy list of English words with French origins. (You can find the list here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Transwiki:List_of_English_words_of_French_origin). Spend some time perusing the list; then take a look at this list of modern English words with Saxon origins: http://www.ibiblio.org/lineback/words/sax.htm. Find some sets of synonyms, compare them, and see if Potter’s assessment that the English words feel “stronger, more physical, and more human” seems accurate to you. Which examples prove or disprove his assertion?

Write down your finding in the next slide.

Look at your sets of synonyms, compare them, and write down if Potter’s assessment that the English words feel “stronger, more physical, and more human” seems accurate to you. Which examples prove or disprove his assertion?