1. The Development of English Middle English

2. Stages of development of the English language Old English (OE) from about 450 to about 1150 Middle English (ME) from about 1100 to about 1500 Modern English (ModE) from about 1500 to the present Present-day English (PDE) – within living memory

3. Invasions Celts inhabited Britain until the coming of the Romans, and during Roman occupation 55 bc – 410 AD Jutes, later Angles and Saxons – from 449 Vikings (Danes, Scandinavians) – from 793 Normans - from1066

4. The Viking Invasion A mingling of common people of the same class, occupation, mentality Phenomenon of simplification as a result of mingling of languages ‘pidginization’ – simplification of some aspects of grammar side by side with additions of vocabulary Viking words: they, them, their replaced English hi, are replaced synt – latter only towards end of C10, former only in C12. Other words such as egg, guess, leg, sky, window – only entered in later centuries, as did –s for –eth. skin replaced hide; elsewhere, parallel words survived side by side: kirk/church; skirt/shirt.

5. The Norman Invasion Conquest, but the native population was dominated, not exiled. Ruling classes were almost exclusively French; the laborers – Saxon. Later, there was mingling – and a parallel mingling of languages: but quite differently from the Viking / English combination.

6. Why did English survive, and eventually dominate, and not Celtic? Well-established, with a rich literature Sheer numbers of speakers English speakers were not killed or exiled, but remained and flourished Loss of Normandy 1204 More and more intermarriage The Black Death (1340s) meant that laborers could demand higher wages, buy land etc. - a rise in the prestige of English speakers

7. English re-established By 1425 – English widely used Increasingly used in the law-courts and parliament Henry IV (1399) In the 14th – 15th century – there was a flourishing English literature (Chaucer, d.1400)

8. Middle English: The Sounds /i:/ for /ai/; guttural /x/ sound; no silent e; /a:/ for /eı/; o pronounced / ɔ /; /oi/ from french; a→o e.g. ban, stane, swa→so

9. Henry IV 'In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I, Henry of Lancaster, challenge this realm of England, because I am descended by right line of blood from the good lord King Henry III, and through that right, that God of his grace had sent me, with help of my kin and of my friends, to recover it; the which realm was in point to be undone for default of government and undoing of the good laws.

10. Spelling Look at the prologue to The Canterbury Tales, p. 39: what do you notice?

11. Middle English: spelling no magic e sh coming in for sc th for θđ ch for c soft c g gh for sounded h

12. long e, o, u indicated often by ee, oo, ow long vowel sounds marked with an extra letter e.g. soote, goon short vowels indicated by double consonant, e.g. croppes, sonne, yronne,thanne separate f and v e marks consonantal value of u (have) (euery) loss of h as in hlaf, hring;

14. Standardization Increasing standardization through Chancery documents, and later through printing Still dialectal diversity, but gradually London English predominating Sometimes spelling adopted from one dialect, pronunciation from another (one, bury, busy)

15. Vocabulary A lot from French, especially in 2nd half of C14: law, administration, medicine, art, fashion. 70% nouns. Affixes such as trans, con, pre, - ance,-tion, -ment. Often supplanted old words: either one won, or both continued, or one changed its meaning. a)leod gave way to people, stow to place b)wish/desire, freedom/liberty, meal/repast, hearty/cordial, begin/commence c) doom + judgement, house + mansion, wedding/marriage; wish/desire; calf/veal etc.;, child/infant

16. Grammar Less inflection, but still more than today Beginning of transition from inflection to word order as chief indicator of syntax first use of shall, will to indicate future beginnings of use of auxiliaries such as have, be, later do beginning of progressive forms

17. Oddities busy: spelling according to western English, sound according to London pronunciation: /bızı/ bury: spelling according to western English, sound according to Kentish pronunciation /berı/ one: spelling according to east midland English, sound according to southern pronunciation /w ʌn /

18. But the language remained basically English The basic words and grammar are Anglo- Saxon; French and Latin added only ‘content’ words. The mixture of Anglo-Saxon and French is exemplified in the work of Chaucer

19. How much of this can you understand? þus com lo engelond in to normandies hond. & þe normans ne couþe speke þo bote hor owe speche. & speke french as hii dude at om & hor children dude also teche. so þat heiemen of þis lond þat of hor blod come. holdeþ alle þulk speche þat hii of hom nome. vor bote a man conne frenss me telþ of him lute. ac lowe men holdeþ to engliss & to hor owe speche ute. ich wene þer ne beþ in al þe world contreyes none. þat ne holdeþ to hor owe speche bote engelond one. ac wel me wot uor to conne boþe wel it is. vor þe more þat a mon can þe more wurþe he is.