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The English Language The English Language Version 5.0 Eala ðu lareow, tæce me sum ðing. [Aelfric, Grammar] Prof. Dr. Russell Block University of Applied Sciences - München Department 13 – General Studies Winter Semester 2008 © 2008 by Russell Block Um eine gute Note in der Klausur zu erzielen genügt es nicht, dieses Skript zu lesen. Sie müssen auch die “Show” sehen! Dieses Skript ist der Entwurf eines Buches: The English Language – A Guide for Inquisitive Students. Nur der Stoff, der in der Vorlesung behandelt wird, ist prüfungsrelevant. Unit 1: Language as a system ................................................8 1 Introduction ...................................... ...................8 2 A simple example of structure ..................... ......................8 Unit 2: The English sound system ...........................................10 3 Introduction..................................... ...................10 4 Standard dialects ................................ ....................10 5 The major differences between German and English . ......................10 5.1 The consonants ................................. ..............10 5.2 Overview of the English consonants . ..................10 5.3 Tense vs. lax .................................. ...............11 5.4 The final devoicing rule ....................... .................12 5.5 The “th”-sounds ................................ ..............12 5.6 The “sh”-sound .................................. ............. 12 5.7 The voiced sounds / Z/ and / dZ / ...................................12 5.8 The liquid /l/.................................. ................12 5.9 The liquid /r/ .................................. ...............13 5.10 The glide /w/ ................................. ................13 5.11 The glottal stop / // .............................................13 6 Vowels ............................................ ................13 7 The English vowels............................... ...................15 7.1 Diphthongization of tense vowels ............... ..................16 7.2 Vowel length................................... ..............16 7.3 The schwas ..................................... ............. 16 7.4 The vowel / Q/ ................................................16 7.5 The diphthongs / aI / and / aU / .....................................16 7.6 The diphthong / çI / .............................................16 8 Intonation........................................ ..................17 8.1 Stress timing................................... ...............17 8.2 Rhythm.......................................... ............ 17 8.3 Prefixed verbs .................................. ..............18 9 Sound change...................................... .................18 9.1 Evidence for sound change ....................... ...............18 9.1.1 Misspellings as evidence of sound change . ..............19 9.1.2 Rhymes as evidence of sound change . ............ 19 9.1.3 Expert opinions ............................... .......... 19 9.1.4 Loan words.................................... ......... 19 - 3 - 9.1.5 Dialects ...................................... ......... 20 9.2 Kinds of sound change........................... ...............21 9.3 Loss of sound ................................... ..............21 9.4 Addition of sound ............................... ..............21 9.5 Assimilation.................................... ..............21 9.6 Dissimilation ................................... ..............21 9.7 Lengthening ..................................... ............. 21 9.8 Shortening ...................................... ............. 22 9.9 Rounding ........................................ ............ 22 9.10 Unrounding ..................................... ............. 22 9.10.1 Short- o in BE and AE ....................................22 9.11 Metathesis ..................................... ..............23 9.12 Breaking....................................... ..............23 9.13 Smoothing ...................................... ............. 23 9.14 Umlaut ......................................... ............. 23 9.15 The vowel “joy stick” .......................... ................24 9.16 Ablaut......................................... ..............24 9.17 Vowel Harmony.................................. ............. 25 9.18 Laxing ......................................... ............. 25 9.19 Tensing........................................ ..............26 9.20 Palatalization ................................. ................26 9.21 Nasalization ................................... ...............26 9.22 How does sound change take place? . .................26 9.23 Is sound change regular? ....................... .................27 9.24 Standard languages ............................. ...............28 9.25 Limited time for application ................... ..................28 9.26 Analogy ........................................ ............. 29 9.27 Ousting........................................ ..............29 Unit 3: English and German—affectionate sisters .............................31 1 English and German................................ ..................31 2 Obvious similarities .............................. ....................31 3 Patterned correspondences ......................... ....................31 4 Words related in meaning .......................... ...................32 5 Historical records ................................ ....................33 6 Similarities in inflection........................ .......................33 7 Parallels in syntax (‘Satzbau’) ................... .......................34 8 Semantic change ................................... .................36 8.1 Types of semantic change ........................ ...............36 - 4 - 8.1.1 Narrowing ..................................... ..............37 8.1.2 Broadening.................................... ...............37 8.1.3 Elevation ..................................... ...............37 8.1.4 Denigration ................................... ...............37 8.1.5 Transfer ...................................... ...............37 8.1.6 Hyperbole..................................... ...............38 8.1.7 Litotes ............................................ .......... 38 8.1.8 Metaphor ...................................... ..............38 8.2 The etymologist’s method ........................ ...............38 8.3 How close is close enough? ...................... ................39 Unit 4: Researching the past—the comparative method .........................40 1 Early attempts .................................... ..................40 2 The breakthrough .................................. ..................41 3 Mother – Proto-Indo-European (‘Urindogermanisch’) . ......................44 3.1 The method ...................................... ............ 44 Unit 5: The external history of English – an outline .............................46 1 Origins of the English language ................. .......................46 1.1 The Celts ..................................... ..............46 1.2 The Roman colonization ......................... ...............46 1.3 The Germanic invasion ......................... ...............46 1.4 Anglo-Saxon England ............................ ..............46 1.5 The first literary language .................... ...................47 1.6 The submergence of English ..................... ................48 1.7 The re-emergence of English .................... ................49 1.8 The London standard ........................... ...............51 1.9 The Renaissance ................................ ..............52 1.10 Dissociation in the vocabulary ................. ...................53 1.11 Codification of the Received Standard English . .....................54 1.12 The modern period .............................. ...............56 1.13 Other varieties of English ..................... ..................56 2 The problem of “style”............................ ....................56 2.1 National style .................................. ...............57 2.2 Origins of the Anglo-American style . ..................57 2.3 Influence of the English essayists .............. ...................58 Unit 6: The chaos of English spelling .........................................59 1 The origins of writing ............................ ....................59 2 Sounds and Sumerians .............................. ..................59 - 5 - 3 Syllabaries and alphabets ......................... .....................59 4 The alphabet...................................... ..................60 5 Writing among the Germanic tribes ................. .....................62 6 Norman spellings .................................. ..................63 7 The phonemic principle ............................ ...................63 8 The conservatism of writing systems ............... ......................64 8.1 Reading and writing as a privilege .............. ...................65 8.2 Resistance to change on the part of the literate .......................65 8.3 The difficulties arising from the structure of the language .............. 66 8.4 Middle English vowel system ..................... ...............67 8.4.1 The Great Vowel Shift ......................... ........... 68 8.4.2 The Third-Syllable Shortening Rule . ............. 69 8.4.3 Lengthening in words of two syllables . ..............69 8.4.4 Silent- e ................................................70
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