A Guide for ESL Teachers: How to Teach the Historical Background of English Irregularities in Modern English Valeria Scherf Advisor: Dr. Kathy Lyday-Lee TESOL Symposium Greensboro College July 10, 2008

The Beauty of the English Language Eggplant - French fries - Guinea pig Eggplant - French fries - Guinea pig Pineapple - quicksand - boxing rings Pineapple - quicksand - boxing rings Tooth  teeth booth  beeth? Tooth  teeth booth  beeth? 1 goose  2 geese 1 moose  2 meese? 1 goose  2 geese 1 moose  2 meese? Teachers  taught preachers  praught? Teachers  taught preachers  praught?  Ċild (from OE cild); plural was ċildru : re-pluralized during ME to children

The Purpose of the Study To provide to ESL teachers with a textbook with changes that have occurred in modern English since Anglo-Saxon times. To provide to ESL teachers with a textbook with changes that have occurred in modern English since Anglo-Saxon times.

Justification for the Study “ Precisely because he is a teacher, in a school, and it is the “ Precisely because he is a teacher, in a school, and it is the business of a school to formulate statements which are business of a school to formulate statements which are generalizations about many facts and experiences.” generalizations about many facts and experiences.” (Twaddell, 1962) (Twaddell, 1962) “EFL teachers should have knowledge not just of English but “EFL teachers should have knowledge not just of English but also about English.” also about English.” ( (

Research Questions Would a teacher’s guide focused on English irregularities be useful to ESL teachers?Would a teacher’s guide focused on English irregularities be useful to ESL teachers? What kinds of English irregularities cause the most difficulties for ESL students?What kinds of English irregularities cause the most difficulties for ESL students?

Definitions Synthetic language : One that indicates the relation of words in a sentence largely by means of inflections (e.g. Old English) Synthetic language : One that indicates the relation of words in a sentence largely by means of inflections (e.g. Old English) Analytic language : One that makes extensive use of prepositions and auxiliary verbs and depends upon word order to show other relationships (e.g. Modern English) Analytic language : One that makes extensive use of prepositions and auxiliary verbs and depends upon word order to show other relationships (e.g. Modern English) Leveling: A process of phonetic simplification, where unstressed syllables are dropped. (e.g. OE stānum  stānu  stānə  stān) Leveling: A process of phonetic simplification, where unstressed syllables are dropped. (e.g. OE stānum  stānu  stānə  stān) Analogy : The linguistic tendency to create a grammatical or semantic form based on existing forms in a language, which often results in a regularization of the part of speech. (e.g. OE past participle Analogy : The linguistic tendency to create a grammatical or semantic form based on existing forms in a language, which often results in a regularization of the part of speech. (e.g. OE past participle cloven  cleaved, cloven  cleaved, bacen  baked) (Baugh, & Cable, 2002) bacen  baked) (Baugh, & Cable, 2002)

Major Time Periods Pre- English 43 AD - 449: Pre- English 43 AD - 449:  Celts  Celts  Romans  Romans  Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians  Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians :  Old English Period :  Old English Period :  Norse Invasion :  Norse Invasion 1066:  Norman Invasion 1066:  Norman Invasion :  Middle English Period :  Middle English Period :  Renaissance Period :  Renaissance Period :  Early Modern English :  Early Modern English 1800-Present:  Modern English 1800-Present:  Modern English (Emerson, 1933) (Emerson, 1933) (Pyles, 1964) (Pyles, 1964) (Bragg, 2003) (Bragg, 2003)

Inflectional Changes Strong Masculine Noun Singular Plural (Robertson, 1934) (Stevick, 1968) (Pyles, & Algeo, 1963) Inflectional Changes Strong Masculine Noun Singular Plural (Robertson, 1934) (Stevick, 1968) (Pyles, & Algeo, 1963) Old English Middle English Modern English ( ) ( ) (1500-Present) N. stān G. stān-es D. stān-e A. stān N. stān-as G. stān- a D. stān-um A. stān–as N. stān-e G. stān-es A. stān-e N. stān-es G. stān-e his A. stān–es N. stone G. stone’s A. stone N. stones G. stones’ A. stones

Inflectional Changes Strong Masculine Adjective Singular Singular Plural Plural (Robertson, 1934) (Stevick, 1968) (Pyles, & Algeo, 1963) Old English Middle English Modern English ( )( )(1500-Present) N. g ō d G. g ō d-es D. g ō d-um A. g ō d-ne I. g ō d-e N. g ō d-e G. g ō d-e D. g ō d-e A. g ō d-e N. g ō d N. g ō d G. g ō de G. g ō de D. g ō de D. g ō de A. g ō de A. g ō de N. g ō de N. g ō de G. g ō de G. g ō de A. g ō de A. g ō de N. good N. good G. good G. good D. good D. good A. good A. good N. Good N. Good G. good G. good A. Good A. Good

Inflectional Changes Verbs Verbs Adverbs Adverbs( (Pei, 1952) (Baugh, & Cable, 2002) Old English Middle English Modern English ( ) ( )(1500-Present) dr ī fan dr ā f drifendrifedrafdrifendrivedrovedriven Old English Middle English Modern English ( )( )(1500-Present) l ē of-e - (l ēo f ly) l ē oflice  l ē oflic l ē oflic l ē ofli  lovingly

Inflectional Changes Personal Pronouns Singular N. īċ ð ū h ē (he) h ē o (she) hit (it) G. m ī n ð ī n his hiere his G. m ī n ð ī n his hiere his D. m ē ð ē him hiere him D. m ē ð ē him hiere him A. m ē (m ēċ ) ð ē (ð ēċ ) hine h ī e hit A. m ē (m ēċ ) ð ē (ð ēċ ) hine h ī e hit Dual N. wit ġ it G. uncer incer  G. uncer incer  D. unc inc D. unc inc A. unc inc A. unc inc Plural N. w ē ġē h ī e G. ū ser ( ū re) ē ower hiera G. ū ser ( ū re) ē ower hiera D. ū s ē ow him D. ū s ē ow him A. ū s ( ū si ċ ) ē ow ( ē owi ċ) h ī e A. ū s ( ū si ċ ) ē ow ( ē owi ċ) h ī e (Baugh, & Cable, 2002, p. 59) (Baugh, & Cable, 2002, p. 59) (Pyles, & Algeo, 1992, p ) (Pyles, & Algeo, 1992, p ) (Bloomfield, & Newmark, 1965, p ) (Robertson, 1934, p ) (Bloomfield, & Newmark, 1965, p ) (Robertson, 1934, p )

What was it? What was it? The raising of long vowels one half step phonetically. The raising of long vowels one half step phonetically. When did it happen? When did it happen? Between late , completed in most areas by Between late , completed in most areas by Why did it happen? Why did it happen? No one knows for sure. No one knows for sure. (Stevick, 1968, p ) (Baugh, 1951, p ) ( Mugglestone, 2006, p ) ( The Great Vowel Shift

Purpose of my survey Purpose of my survey Which irregularities cause the most difficulties for ESL students? Which irregularities cause the most difficulties for ESL students?  Grammatical  Semantics  Syntax  Phonology  Punctuation  Orthography Which difficulties are particular to the nationality of ESL students? Which difficulties are particular to the nationality of ESL students?

Use of –s with 3 rd person Use of –s with 3 rd person Use of verbal tenses Use of verbal tenses Use of pronouns Use of pronouns Use of interpersonal phrases Use of interpersonal phrases Use of affixes Use of affixes Use of comparative and superlatives Use of comparative and superlatives Use of prepositions Use of prepositions Use of possessives Use of possessives Use of noun endings with –s Use of noun endings with –s Methodology Grammatical Methodology Grammatical

Methodology Semantics Methodology Semantics Use of the verb “to be” Use of the verb “to be” Use of parts of speech Use of parts of speech Use of homonyms  fair - fair – fair Use of homonyms  fair - fair – fair Use of homophones  cite – site – sight Use of homophones  cite – site – sight Use of words Use of words Use of idioms Use of idioms Use of false cognates Use of false cognates Use of ordinal numbers on dates Use of ordinal numbers on dates

Methodology 1. What irregularities of the English language do your students struggle with the most to learn or master? 2. Considering the language distance, what kind of grammatical, semantics, syntactical, phonological and orthographical difficulties have your students from different nationalities? 3. The historical background of what English exceptions or irregularities would you like to consider important or relevant irregularities would you like to consider important or relevant to be included in this ESL guide? to be included in this ESL guide? 4. What kind of exercises should this guide focus on?

Methodology  Instrument: Survey  Individuals: Certified ESL teachers  Number of individuals: Thirty  Location: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, NC  Time to start: Fall 2008

Data will be analyzed  By categories: Grammatical, semantics, syntactical, phonological, punctuation and orthographical.  By nationalities: Examples of difficulties will by grouped by ethnic groups.

Thank you! Thank you!

References Baker, P. S. (2003). 10 Adverbs, Conjunctions and Prepositions. Retrieved from Baker, P. S. (2003). 10 Adverbs, Conjunctions and Prepositions. Retrieved from Baugh, A., & Cable, T. (2002). A history of the English language (5th edition). New Jersey: Baugh, A., & Cable, T. (2002). A history of the English language (5th edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Education, Inc. Bloomfield, M. W. & Newmark, L. (1965). A linguistic introduction to the history of English. New Bloomfield, M. W. & Newmark, L. (1965). A linguistic introduction to the history of English. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. York: Alfred A. Knopf. Bragg, M. (2003). The adventure of English: the biography of a language. New York: Arcade Bragg, M. (2003). The adventure of English: the biography of a language. New York: Arcade Publishing. Publishing. Emerson, O. F. (2005). The history of the English language. New York: Macmillan Company. Emerson, O. F. (2005). The history of the English language. New York: Macmillan Company. Freeborn, D. (1998). From old English to standard English (2nd edition). Great Britain: MacMillan Freeborn, D. (1998). From old English to standard English (2nd edition). Great Britain: MacMillan Press Ltd. Press Ltd. International Language Centre Language Link. (n.d.). TEFL training programmes. Retrieved May International Language Centre Language Link. (n.d.). TEFL training programmes. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from 10, 2008, from Krapp, G. P. (1927). The knowledge of English. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Krapp, G. P. (1927). The knowledge of English. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Kip Wheeler, L. (2008, June). Chart showing the actual great vowel shift. Retrieved from Kip Wheeler, L. (2008, June). Chart showing the actual great vowel shift. Retrieved from

References References Mugglestone, L. (2006). The Oxford history of English. Great Britain: Oxford Mugglestone, L. (2006). The Oxford history of English. Great Britain: Oxford University Press. University Press. Peters, R. A. (1968). A linguistic history of English. Boston: Western Washington Peters, R. A. (1968). A linguistic history of English. Boston: Western Washington State College. State College. Pyles, T. (1964). The origins and development of the English language. New York: Pyles, T. (1964). The origins and development of the English language. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. Pyles, T., & Algeo, J. (1993). The origins and development of the English language (4th Pyles, T., & Algeo, J. (1993). The origins and development of the English language (4th edition). Texas: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. edition). Texas: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Robertson, (1934). The development of modern English. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Robertson, (1934). The development of modern English. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Stevick, (1968). English and its history. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Stevick, (1968). English and its history. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Twaddell, W. F. (1962, May). Does the foreign-language teacher have to teach grammar? Twaddell, W. F. (1962, May). Does the foreign-language teacher have to teach grammar? PMLA, 77(2), Retrieved from PMLA, 77(2), Retrieved from sici?sici= (196205)77%3A2%3C18%3ADTFTHT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y The Spiritus Temporis Web Ring Community. (n.d.). Great vowel shift. Retrieved June 28, The Spiritus Temporis Web Ring Community. (n.d.). Great vowel shift. Retrieved June 28, 2008, from , from