Sound Changes in the History of English
Emnekode: DLV250
Vekting (SP): 5
Semester undervisningsstart: Vår
Antall semestre: 1
Vurderingsemester: Vår
Undervisningsspråk: Engelsk
Tilbys av: Det humanistiske fakultet, Institutt for kultur- og språkvitenskap
Læringsutbytte
Kunnskaper
The student will gain knowledge of:
 The major phonological developments that distinguish English from other Germanic languages
and that distinguish early English dialects from one another
 The chronology of the major phonological developments that took place between Common
Germanic and Early Modern English
 The main controversies about the evolution of the English sound system in modern scholarship
 The particular problems in interpreting the evidence for sound systems and sound change in
historical periods
 The relationship between traditional philology and linguistic theory
Ferdigheter
 Comment in detail on the language of older English texts, and place the language of an unseen
text in the correct historical period and geographical/social setting
 Refer to well-known theories and controversies about the major phonological changes in the
history of English
 Understand better the complexities of present-day English language and introduce a historical
awareness into her/his own research and teaching of English
Generell kompetanse
By the end of the course, the student will be able to:
 Describe the major characteristics of the English sound system in the different periods
 Make informed and critical comments on the evidence for the specific historical sound changes
Innhold
The course deals with the evolution of the English sound system, tracing it from Common
Germanic. Major dialectal variation are traced, and specific debates and problem areas are selected
for discussion. Such areas may include all or some of the following: the Old English diphthongs,
the voicing of initial fricatives, i-mutation and h-dropping in the history of English, quantitative
changes, the Great Vowel Shift and other chain shifts, lengthening in open syllables, trisyllabic
shortening, or homorganic cluster lengthening. Basic theoretical assumptions and problems relating
to sound change are discussed, including problems of evidence and explanation. No comprehensive
coverage of current theoretical approaches to sound change is feasible within the course. However,
the student will study debates relating to different theoretical standpoints and should be able to
make sense of the main assumptions and arguments.
Forkunnskapskrav
Anbefalte forkunnskaper
To benefit from the course, the student should have a master’s degree in a relevant subject area. An
undergraduate curriculum in philology traditionally included the major sound changes that have
taken place within varieties of English, as well as within the Germanic varieties ancestral to
English. However, relatively few institutions routinely include these developments in their curricula
today. Familiarity with early English sound changes informed by theoretical perspectives on
historical phonology is crucial not only for understanding the premises of historical phonology
themselves, but also for appreciating the spelling conventions in use today, regularities and
irregularities in past and present grammatical and lexical developments, and dialect characteristics.
A course aimed at providing this knowledge isessential for a doctoral student who lacks such a
background.
Eksamen/vurdering
Vekting
Varighet
Karakter
Hjelpemiddel
Two written
Bestått – Ikke
1/1
3000 +/- 10%
essays
bestått
Two short essays (each 3,000 words ± 10 percent, excluding bibliography and footnotes) on topics
agreed with the course conveners. Both essays are assessed on a pass/fail basis. The student has the
possibility to revise and resubmit an essay until the contents are satisfactory.
In addition, the student should demonstrate his/her command of the material through active
participation in the workshops.
Vilkår for å gå opp til eksamen/vurdering
Attendance at the sessions is obligatory. A student who, for whatever reason, is absent from 25% or
more of the sessions will not be permitted to submit the essays. The student has to be present for at
least 2/3 of the duration of a session for attendance to be recorded. In addition, the student has to
hand in the two essays in a timely manner and give a short presentation on a topic agreed with the
conveners.
Fagperson(er)
Emneansvarlig
Hanna Rutkowska, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
Jeremy J. Smith, University of Glasgow
Jacob Thaisen, University of Stavanger (ansvarlig)
Arbeidsformer
The taught part of the course comprises a series of workshops over a period of five working days.
The essays are individually supervised and are due some three weeks after the end of course.
Åpent for
Students enrolled on a doctoral programme.
Emneevaluering
The course convener will seek student feedback on the quality of the course, both continuously
during the course and at its end.
Litteratur
1) Required (610 p)
GUZMÁN-GONZÁLEZ, T. 2003 ‘Revisiting the Revisited: Could We Survive without the Great
Vowel Shift? Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 39: 121-131.
JOHNSTON, P.A. 1992 ‘English Vowel Shifting: One Great Vowel Shift or Two Small Vowel
Shifts?’. Diachronica 9 (2): 189-213.
JONES, C. 1989 A History of English Phonology. London: Longman. (Section 4.2.2, pp. 230-236)
KRETZSCHMAR, W. (2009). The Linguistics of Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
LASS, R. 1988 ‘Vowel Shifts, Great and Otherwise: Remarks on Stockwell and Minkova’, in:
Kastovsky, D. and G. Bauer (eds.) Luick Revisited: Papers Read at the Luick Symposium at Schloss
Liechtenstein. 15-18.9.1985. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 395-410.
LASS, R. 1999 ‘Phonology and Morphology’, in: R. Lass (ed.) The Cambridge History of the
English Language. Vol. III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 56-137.
MCMAHON, A. and R. MCMAHON, 2005. Language Classification by Numbers. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. [Chapters 1-3, pp. 1-89]
SCHENDL, H. and N. RITT 2002 ‘Of Vowel Shifts Great, Small, Long and Short’. Language
Sciences 24. 409-21.
SMITH, J. 1996 An Historical Study of English: Function, Form, and Change. London: Routledge.
(Chapter 5, pp. 79-111)
STOCKWELL, R.P. and D. MINKOVA. 1988 ‘The English Vowel Shift: Problems of Coherence
and Explanation’ & ‘A Rejoinder to Lass’, in: Kastovsky, D. and G. Bauer (eds.) Luick Revisited:
Papers Read at the Luick Symposium at Schloss Liechtenstein. 15-18.9.1985. Tübingen: Gunter
Narr, 355-394 & 411-417.
2) Recommended literature
To be announced.