A history of the english language

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1. LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN OLD ENGLISH AND MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD 1.1 The development of Futhark 1.1.1 The runic alphabet as an Old Germanic writing tradition 1.1.2 Old English literature in the period of Anglo-Saxon ethnic extension 1.2 Linguistic situation in the Middle English 1.2.1 Linguistic situation in Medieval England after the Norman Conquest 1.2.2 Dialectal Diversity in the Middle English Period 1.3 The Middle English corpus 1.3.1 Geoffrey Chaucer and his lending support of the London Standard’s diffusion 1.3.2 The role of the printing in the formation of the English language 1.3.3 Principal Middle English written records as a reflection of ongoing changes in Standardization CHAPTER 2. CHANGING CONDITIONS IN THE PERIOD OF

STANDARDISATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2.1 Origins of Standard English 2.1.1 The Rise of Standard English 2.1.2 The importance of London English 2.1.3 The importance of Chancery Line 2.2 Middle English Spelling and Sounds 2.2.1 Changes in Spelling due to the introduction of French scribal tradition 2.2.2 Middle English Pronunciation 2.3 Changes in Grammar in Middle and Early New English 2.3.1 Middle English Noun 2.3.2 Middle English and Early New English Adjective and Pronoun 2.3.3 Middle English and Early New English Verb 2.4 The complexity of Middle English Vocabulary 2.4.1 French factor in the development of Middle English Vocabulary 2.4.1.1 French influence on the English Vocabulary 2.4.1.2 Core semantic spheres of loanwords from French 2.4.2 Latin borrowings in the Middle

and Early New English 2.4.3 Other sources of borrowings in the Middle English CONCLUSION REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 INTODUCTION linguistic history english language The English language has had a remarkable history. When we first catch it in historical records, it is a language of none-too-civilized tribes on the continent of Europe along the North Sea. From those murky and undistinguished beginnings, English has become the most widespread language in the world, used by more peoples for more purposes than any language on Earth. The early part of the Modern English saw the establishment of the Standard written English we know today. Its standardization was first due to the need of the central government for regular procedures by which to conduct its business, to keep its records and to

communicate with the citizens of the land. Standard languages are often the by-products of bureaucracy, developed to meet a specific administrative need, rather than spontaneous developments of the populace or the artifice of writers and scholars .A standard language is spread widely over a the large region, is respected, because people recognize its usefulness and is codified in the sense of having been described so that people know what it is [27; 54]. A standard language has to be described before it is fully standard. The purpose of the paper in question is to retrace development of the Standard English language formation as well as to study linguistic background of its establishment. The purpose of the research stipulated the arrangement and consecutive solving of the

following tasks: 1. to review written records in an early stage of the English language development that is of Old English Period; 2. to inspect the origins of the Standard English language; 3. to analyze linguistic situation in the Middle English Age before the Standardization; 4. to consider the main factors contributing to the Standard English language development; 5. to examine changes in the English language on all levels during its standardization. The topicality of the paper given can be explained by the following fact: in the course of its history the English language has changed a lot, in other words it has been globalized. Additionally, it gave birth to many regional varieties. And although most people nowadays speak a variety of regional English or an admixture of