Changes since Pronunciation 2.Grammar 3.Vocabulary

2 Grammatical changes since 1600 I shall deal with these points: Changes in the verb system –tense and aspect –modal verbs –do-support present tense verbal inflexions 2nd-person forms of address group genitive

Changes since 1600 (Early Modern English) I shall deal with these points: Changes in the verb system – tense and aspect

Changes since 1600 (Early Modern English) I shall deal with these points: Changes in the verb system – tense and aspect

Development of the English Tense System Reduction of the IE tense system → 2 tenses in Germanic

Development of the English Tense System 2 “pure” tenses in Germanic: traditionally known as “present” and “past”: I think, she thinks – I love, she loves I thought, she thought – I loved, she loved Compare the periphrastic verbal forms: I have thought, had thought, will think, will have thought, am thinking, will be thinking, might have been thinking, etc., etc.

Development of the English Tense System 2 tenses in Germanic: traditionally known as “present” and “past”: past = simple past = preterite: I thought – she thought

je l’ai vu je le vis ich habe ihn gesehen Loss of the simple past in (spoken) French and German

Development of the English Tense System 2 tenses in Old English: traditionally known as “present” and “past”: Héo céapað fiscas be þám sǽmannum she buys fish from the seamen Héo céapode gystran dæg þonne fisc she bought the fish yesterday se scóp singþ/singeþ se scóp sang

Development of the English Tense System 2 tenses in Germanic: traditionally known as “present” and “past”: (why the quotes?)

Development of the English Tense System Past: she bought – he sang – they laughed past time Present: she buys – he sings – they laugh unspecified time Asymmetry between “present” and “past”: (Note the scare quotes)

Development of the English Tense System problem with the “present” Héo céapað fiscas be þám sǽmannum Se scóp singþ Héo céapað tó merigen þá fiscas Se scóp singþ tó dæg on æftentíde þætte mon éaþe tóslíteð, þætte næfre gesomnad wæs....

Development of the English Tense System problem with the “present” She opens the door and enters the house (Intructions? Narrative present?) She buys fish from the seamen I see her every day I see her on Mondays I see her on Monday

Development of the English Tense System “present” and “past” “unfinished” – “finished” Héo céapað - se scóp singþ Héo céapode - se scóp sang TENSE ASPECT

Development of the English Tense System Modern English makes a clear distinction between She buys fish at the market She is buying fish at the market

Development of the English Tense System Modern English makes a clear distinction between What do you read? What are you reading?

Development of the English Tense System 16th century English does not: What read you my Lord? What do you read my Lord? (Hamlet)

Development of the English Tense System Modern English makes a clear distinction between I never saw her I have never seen her

Development of the English Tense System 16th century English does not: I never saw so fair a child

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective: –Næfre ic ne gesáwe swá fæger cild

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective: –Næfre ic ne gesáwe swá fæger cild –Se Ælfric wæs þá abbot siððon fiftig wintre (OE Chr. 956)

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective: –Næfre ic ne gesáwe swá fæger cild –Se Ælfric wæs þá abbot siððon fiftig wintre (OE Chr. 956) –I was not angry since I came to France (Shakespeare)

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective: –Næfre ic ne gesáwe swá fæger cild –Se Ælfric wæs þá abbot siððon fiftig wintre (OE Chr. 956) –I was not angry since I came to France (Shakespeare) –Ne’er saw I, never felt a calm so deep (Wordsworth)

In OE and ME and even later the simple past could be used where we would now use a perfective: –Næfre ic ne gesáwe swá fæger cild –Se Ælfric wæs þá abbot siððon fiftig wintre (OE Chr. 956) –I was not angry since I came to France (Shakespeare) –Ne’er saw I, never felt a calm so deep (Wordsworth) But also: I have done the deed (Shakespeare)

Development of the perfect How did the form have + past participle arise? We have heard this song We this song have heard

Development of the perfect How did the form have + past participle arise? We have heard this song We this song have heard

We this song have heard wé habbað þisne sang gehyredne wé þisne sang habbað gehyred-ne við þennan söng höfum heyrð-an

Ég hef þennan mann áður séðan Við höfum vopn þeirra tekin Hann hafði þá konuna þegar kvænta

wé habbað þisne sang gehyredne við höfum þennan söng heyrðan wé habbað þisne sang gehyred við höfum þennan söng heyrt we hauen þis song yhered we have (y)hered þis song we have heard this song

Ic hine ne gesáwe siððon þritig dagas (“I saw him not since 3 days”) Ic ne hæbbe hine gesawenne siððon þritig dagas Ic ne hæbbe hine gesawen siððon þritig dagas I haue him noht ysene þese thirtie dayes I have not seen him for thirty days Another example:

Intransitive verbs used be + past participle: Se weall is gefeallen Þe wall is (y)fallen The wall has fallen down Ic eom gecumen I am come I have come

Modal Verbs These verbs have changed their meaning since OE: OEMod E can cúþe 'know how to'can/could mæg mihte'be able'may/might sceal sceolde 'ought to'shall/should willan wolde ‘desire, will’will/would mót móste 'be allowed to'only past: must can – could may - mightshall –should will - would must

Modal Verbs Note how the correponding Icelandic verbs kann and vil have retained their meaning: can – could may - mightshall –should will - would must OEIcelandicMod E ic þæt canég kann þettaI know how to do that ic wile faranég vil faraI want to go

Preterite-present verbs Why do can may shall will not take -s in the 3rd person singular? Originally, some preterite-present verbs had a preterite (past) form but a present meaning. hé cann ‘he knows how to’ héo wát ‘she knows’ hann kann hún veit And then they acquired a new past tense: hé cúþe ‘he knew how to’ héo wisste ‘she knew’ hann kunni hún vissi

Preterite-present verbs Why do can may shall will not take -s in the 3rd person singular? Originally, some preterite-present verbs had a preterite (past) form but a present meaning. Later, other verbs such as “will” and “dare” started to behave the same

Compound future willoriginally means ‘wish, desire, intend’ cf. Icelandic vilja shall originally means ‘owe’ cf. Icelandic skuld

Compound future willoriginally means ‘wish, desire, intend’ cf. Icelandic vilja shall originally means ‘owe’ cf. Icelandic skuld hé wille þæt hors céapian he wants (is going?) to buy the horse Gif þú æfre cymst tó þære stówe, þonne wilt þú cweþan þæt heo swíþe unfæger síe if you ever come to that place, you will say that it is (subjunctive) very ugly

Compound future willoriginally means ‘wish, desire, intend’ cf. Icelandic vilja shall originally means ‘owe’ cf. Icelandic skuld Hú micel scealt þú mínum hlaforde? How much do you owe to my Lord ? Þú scealt on æghwelc tíd Godes willan wercan. Thou shalt always do God’s will. Þú scealt gréot etan þíne lífdagas. Thou shalt eat stones all the days of thy life.

18th-century prescriptivism dertermined the use of “shall” and “will according to person: I shall, we shall you will, he will, they will Compound future

Do support Affirmative Interrogative Negative I saw the Queen arrive I did see the Queen arrive Saw you the Queen arrive? Did you see the Queen arrive We saw not the Queen arrive We did not see the Queen arrive

Do support Affirmative Goes back to OE; very common ; died out in prose in 18th century. There did I see that low-spirited Swaine (Shakespeare) Not a single word did Peggotty speak (Dickens) Well do I remember the scene She ded call after hym ryght pyteousli (Caxton 1489) Used to avoid inversion Now only emphatic / repetitive / contradictive But we do want them

Do support Interrogative The original form was simple inversion: slæpest þú ‘do you sleep?’ What rowne ye with oure mayde ? ‘What are you whispering to our girl?’ (Chaucer)

Do support Interrogative The original form was simple inversion. Chaucer occasionally uses do: Fader why do ye wepe? (=Fader why wepe ye?)

Do support Interrogative The original form was simple inversion. Chaucer occasionally uses do. Shakespeare could use both simple inversion and do: How say you, Lady? ‘What’s your opinion, Lady? Had he his hurts before? (Siward, Macbeth) Wash they his wounds with tears? Why dost though whet thy knife so earnestly? (Merchant of Venice) Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? (Romeo and Juliet) Dost thou forget from what a torment I did free thee? (Tempest)

Do support Negative OE:héo ne lufode hine early ME: ho ne luvede him later ME: sche ne luvede him noht Early Modern:she loved him not Modern English:she did not love him The development is as follows: Some verbs can still use simple “not”: I know not, it matters not, I think not won’t shan’t aren’t isn’t wasn’t am’t an't ain't

Later verbal inflexions Middle English Early Modern English Modern English 2nd pers. sg. thou sleepest you sleep

Later verbal inflexions Middle English Early Modern English Modern English 2nd pers. sg. thou sleepest you sleep 3rd pers. sg. he slepeth he sleepeth he sleeps

Later verbal inflexions Middle English Early Modern English Modern English 2nd pers. sg. thou sleepest you sleep 3rd pers. sg. he slepeth he sleepeth / he sleeps plural they sleepeth / en they sleep / (sleepeth) they sleep

be Eight forms in Standard Modern English: be been being am is are was were Non-overlaping grammatical functions

be Three original verbs Indo-European es- ‘be’ > is am are Indo-European beu- ‘become’ > be been being Germanic wes- ‘remain, stay’ > was, were

Two in Old English: Etymonline

be Early Modern English: the Shakespearean verb ‘to be’ had two alternative forms in the present: I amI be thou artthou beest he ishe be (older beeth, bith) we arewe be (been, beeth) you areyou be (been, beeth) they arethey be (been, beeth)

do, have 2nd person sg: dost, hast What dost thou think? What hast thou eaten? 3rd person sg: doth, hath What doth he say? What hath he eaten?

Forms of address: 2nd person forms OE had singular, dual and plural singulardualplural þú þec þé þíngit inc incer ‘you two’ gé éow éower

Forms of address: 2nd person forms OE and Old Norse had singular, dual and plural singulardualplural þú þec þé þíngit inc incer ‘you two’ gé éow éower þú þig þig þínþið ykkur ykkarþér yður yðar

Forms of address: 2nd person forms In Middle English, the dual disappeared singularplural þú þec þé þíngé éow éower þow þe þineye yow yowr thou thee thineye you your

Forms of address: 2nd person forms In Late Middle English, the plural form came to be used as a sign of respect familiarrespectful þow þe þineye yow yowr

Forms of address: 2nd person forms In Early Modern English, the singular (familiar) form was increasingly used as a sign of contempt:

PAROLLES. I beseech your honour to hear me one single word. LAFEU. You beg a single penny more; come, you shall ha't; save your word. PAROLLES. My name, my good lord, is Parolles. LAFEU. You beg more than word then. Cox my passion! give me your hand. [....] PAROLLES. It lies in you, my lord, to bring me in some grace, for you did bring me out. LAFEU. Out upon thee, knave! Dost thou put upon me at once both the office of God and the devil? One brings thee in grace, and the other brings thee out. All’s Well that Ends Wel.

Forms of address: 2nd person forms Only you, your remain in Modern English

Group genitive Early Modern English: The Dukes sonne of Norfolk (-s is a bound morpheme)

Group genitive Early Modern English: The Dukes sonne of Norfolk (-s is a bound morpheme) Modern English: The Duchess of Norfolk's daughter

Group genitive Early Modern English: The Dukes sonne of Norfolk (-s is a bound morpheme) Modern English: [The Duchess of Norfolk] 's daughter

Group genitive Early Modern English: The Dukes sonne of Norfolk (-s is a bound morpheme) Modern English: [The Duchess of Norfolk] 's daughter (-s is a clitic attached to the NP)

Group genitive Early Modern English: The Dukes sonne of Norfolk (-s is a bound morpheme) Modern English: The Duchess of Norfolk's daughter (-s is a clitic attached to the NP) The bloke we gave a lift to's dog.

Changes since Pronunciation 2.Grammar 3.Vocabulary

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