Universität Bayreuth
Institut für Anglistik
Dr. Thomas Schönweitz
History of the English Language
(WS 2014/2015)
(REVISED AND UPDATED)
TOPICS:
1. PRE-HISTORY
2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY
3. HISTORICAL MORPHOSYNTAX
4. HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY
5. HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING
6. STANDARIZATION AND WORLD-WIDE SPREAD
Appendix:
• Diachronic Varieties Illustrated
• Selective Bibliography
Version 4.0
Copyright  Thomas Schönweitz 2000
Mail to: [email protected]
1. PRE-HISTORY
1.1. THE INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY OF LANGUAGES
(1) THE FAMILY TREE (cf. ALGEO 2010, pp. 56-57)
(2) MODERN EXAMPLES
Reconstructed IE *dwo
Reconstructed IE *dekm
English: two, German: zwei,
Dutch: twee, Danish: to
English: ten, German: zehn,
Dutch: tien, Danish: ti
Latin: duo, French: deux,
Spanish: dos, Italian: due
Latin: decem, French: dix,
Spanish: diez, Italian: dieci
Irish: do, Welsh: dau
Irish: deich, Welsh: deg
Greek: duo
Greek: deka
Russian: dva, Polish: dwa,
Bulgarian: dva
Russian: desyat, Polish: dziesiec,
Bulgarian: deset
Lithuanian: du
Lithuanian: desimt
Persian: do
Persian: dah
Hindustani: do
Hindustani: das
1.2. THE GERMANIC LANGUAGE FAMILY
(1) OVERVIEW
Language
Cognates for head
Cognates for mouth
Old English
heafod
muÞ
head
mouth
Old High German
houbit
mund
Modern German
Haupt
Mund
Gothic
haubiÞ
munÞs
Old Saxon
hobid
muth
Old Frisian
haved
muth
Dutch
hoofd
mond
Old Norse
hofu
munnr
Icelandic
[hOfyD]
[mynnyr]
Danish
[ho:D«]
[mon/]
hode
munn
Modern English
Norwegian
2
(2) THE FIRST SOUND SHIFT (“Grimm´s Law”)
Sound
Change
Indo-European
Germanic
/p/ → /f/
Sanskrit: p«ter / Latin: pater
Sanskrit: pisk- / Latin: piscis
English: father / German: Vater
English: fish / German: Fisch
/t/ → /T/
Sanskrit: treyes / Latin: tres
Sanskrit: tu / Latin: tu
English: three / German: drei
EModEng: thou / German: du
/k/ → /h, x/
Sanskrit: kerd- / Latin: cordis
Sanskrit: okto / Latin: octo
English: heart / German: Herz
English: eight / German: acht
/b/ → /p/
? / Latin: labium
? / Ancient Greek: kannabis
English: lip / German: Lippe
English: hemp / German: Hanf
/d/ → /t/
Sanskrit: ed- / Latin: edere
Sanskrit: dem«- / Latin: domare
English: eat / German: essen
English: tame / German: zahm
/g/ → /k/
Sanskrit: genu- /Latin: genu
Sanskrit: agro- / Latin: ager
English: knee / German: Knie
English: acre / German: Acker
1.3. ENGLISH AND GERMAN
THE SECOND SOUND SHIFT (“High German Consonant Shift”)
Sound
Change
Examples
/p/ → /f/
open / offen, sleep / schlafen, ripe / reif, help / helfen, sharp / scharf, up / auf
/p/ → /pf/
pound / Pfund, pan / Pfanne, pipe / Pfeife, drop / Tropfen, apple / Apfel
/t/ → /s/
eat / essen, hot / heiß, that / daß, water / Wasser, white / weiß, let / lassen
/t/ → /ts/
town / Zaun, sit / sitzen, tell / (er)zählen, tame / zahm, tongue / Zunge, tide / Zeit
/k/ → /x/
make / machen, seek / suchen, book / Buch, break / brechen, sick / siech(en)
/d/ → /t/
drive / treiben, day / Tag, lead / leiten, side / Seite, flood / Flut, word / Wort
/T, D/ → /d/
three / drei, think / denken, thing / Ding, thick / dick, earth / Erde, oath / Eid
/f/ → /b, p/
wife / Weib, deaf / taub, thief / Dieb, life / Leben, loaf / Laib, leaf / Laub
/v/ → /b/
love / Liebe, seven / sieben, live / leben, have / haben, dove / Taube, heave / heben
3
2. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY
2.1. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (cf. map from SCHELER 1977, p.164)
(2) CHARACTERIZATION OF ENGLISH NATIVE VOCABULARY
n Approach 1: Functional and lexical fields with a very low number of loan-words (according to
SCHELER 1977, pp.75ff)
n function words (articles, pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, numerals etc.)
n the most frequent verbs (particularly those which are used to form phrasal verbs)
n irregular verbs
n words for parts of the human body
n basic colour terms, the four seasons, the points of the compass
n basic vocabulary of farming, flora, and fauna
n Approach 2: The general relationship of English and German cognates
n Group 1: no difference in (basic) meaning between English and German words (e.g.
cow / Kuh, mother / Mutter, laugh / lachen, house / Haus, stone / Stein, etc.)
n Group 2: differences in (basic) meaning between related English and German words (e.g.
town / Zaun, strike / streichen, dog / Dogge, cough / keuchen, read / raten, write / ritzen reißen, chicken / Küken, play / pflegen, etc.)
n Group 3: etymological relationship between modern English and extinct German words
(e.g. little - OHG luzil, smile - MHG smielen, know - OHG chnaan, etc.)
n Group 4: modern Standard English vs. archaic words in German (e.g. smoke /
Schmauch(en), breath / Brodem, ask / heischen, etc.)
n Group 5: etymological relationship between modern Standard English and regional
German words (e.g. womb / Wampe, pull / pulen, tail / Zagel, etc.)
n Group 6: native vocabulary, which is peculiar to English, not present in German, but not
borrowed from other languages (e.g. bad, kill, buy, keep, bird, etc.)
(3) EARLY INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH VOCABULARY
• Latin influence on Germanic languages (“Latin influence of the zero period”, also called
“continental borrowing”, before 5th century):
e.g. street (< L via strata), wall (< L wallum), wine (< L vinum), kitchen (< L cocina), dish
(< L discus), cup (< L cuppa), butter (< L butyrum), cheese (< L caseus), mile (< L milia
passum), pound (< L pondo), mill (< L molina), anchor (< L ancora), ...
• Latin influence through Celtic transmission (“Latin influence of the first period”, approx. 5 th
century):
e.g. -chester / -caster / -cester (< L castra), mount (< L montem), port (< L portus)
• Direct Celtic influence (approx. 5th century):
e.g. down (as N., later Adv./Prep.), lead /led/ (N.), ass, bin, rich
4
• Latin influence due to the christianization of the Anglo-Saxons (“Latin influence of the se-cond
period”, sometimes of Ancient Greek origin, approx. 7th century)
e.g. noon (< L nona hora), clerk (< L clericus), mass, demon, organ, psalm, church, devil,
angel, disciple, master, temple, priest, school, hymn, bishop, ...
e.g. cat, fork, plum, rose, candle, cock, mule, plant, sock, (prob.) beer, ...
(4) SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE (8th century and after)
• Examples of Scandinavian (Old Norse) loan-words:
• frequent everyday words: give (pronunciation only), get, fellow, husband, law, wrong,
want, window, low, die, sister, skin, sky, awe, ugly, call, hit, cast, bank (of river), egg, leg,
anger, dirt, race (competition), odd, scare, sly, trust, wing, ...
• function words: they, till, though, same, both, (prob.) she
• verbal endings: (prob.) -s in 3rd Person Sg. Present Tense
• place name elements: -by, -thorpe, -thwaite, -toft
• (Northern) dialect words: kirk (vs. church), garth (vs. yard), lake (vs. play), skere (vs.
sheer), big (vs. build), hoast (vs. cough), benk (vs. bench), ...
• Native words passing out of use:
ON LOAN
NATIVE WORD
ON LOAN
NATIVE WORD
sister
take
anger
window
† sweostor
† nimman
† torn
† fenester
bank
egg
cut
birth
† ofer
† Qg [aI, QI]
† snifan
† gebyrde
ON LOAN
NATIVE WORD
ON LOAN
NATIVE WORD
want
sky
skin
ill
die
will (V.)
heaven
hide (N.)
sick
starve
skirt
leg
skill
hit
call
shirt
foot
craft
strike
name (V.)
• Semantic differentiation:
2.2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) EXAMPLES OF FRENCH LOAN-WORDS
• Government and Administration
e.g. government, state, empire, reign, rule, council, people, budget, tax, property, constable,
marshal, office, country, city, citizen, minister, crown, majesty, sovereign, power, police,
messenger, peasant, village, ...
• Military terms
e.g. war, peace, truce, arms, army, soldier, navy, battle, enemy, danger, peril, treaty, alliance,
armour, castle, fortress, company, regiment, defence, conquest, command, obey, sergeant,
lieutenant, attack, …
• Law and jurisdiction
e.g. judge, judgement, justice, court, jury, crime, accuse, condemn, prison, counsel,
complain, fraud, adultery, evidence, charge, sentence, verdict, advocate, jail/gaol, liberty,
heir, estate, arrest, cause, heritage, marry, prove/proof ...
5
• Church and religion
e.g. saviour, sermon, prayer, service, charity, pity, mercy, grace, chapel, faith, miracle,
repent, devotion, temptation, abbey, preach, pray, sacrifice, confess, envy, saint, virgin,
desire, …
• Courtly life
e.g. palace, tower, table, chamber, curtain, ceiling, couch, pleasure, dance, melody, flute,
romance, chronicle, mirror, recreation, gentle, ...
• Fashion
e.g. fashion, robe, coat, button, fur, pearl, gown, cloak, diamond, jewel, dress, costume,
garment, lace, veil, wardrobe, ...
• Hunting
e.g. chase/catch, track, lure, falcon, leash, scent, harness, ...
• Food and cookery
e.g. dinner, supper, taste, sausage, salad, boil, roast, orange, salmon, feast, vinegar, oyster,
sauce, salad, juice, fruit, appetite, biscuit, mustard, ...
• Art and science
e.g. art, beauty, figure, colour, story, paint, music, medicine, pain, proof, study, university,
college, comedy, volume, title, page, image, design, ...
• Everyday life
e.g. age, face, air, flower, beast, hour, river, arrive, enter, change, pay, money, carry, charge,
move, large, poor/poverty, nice, coast, forest, lake, mountain, example, danger, exercise,
honour, labour, marriage, foreign, sure, manner, nourish, place, point, price, fault, number,
easy, safe, simple, ...
• Limited areas
• nobility: sir, (ma)dame, count(ess), baron(ess), duke/duchess, prince(ss), ... (vs. native
nobility: king, queen, lord, lady, earl, etc.)
• family relations: aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, ... (vs. direct relations: mother, father,
son, daughter, brother, child, etc.)
• animals/meat: veal (vs. calf), beef (vs. cow/bull), bacon (vs. ham), pork (vs. pig/swine),
venison (vs. deer), poultry (vs. hen/chicken), mutton (vs. sheep), ...
• crafts and trades: tailor, butcher, barber, carpenter, chandler, mason, painter, ... (vs. native
crafts/trades: baker, miller, smith, cook, brewer, saddler, hatter, etc.)
(2) DOUBLETS: Anglo-Norman vs. Old French
• VL /ka-/ → OF /tS-/
VL /ka-/ → AN /ka-/
chase, chattel(s), chieftain, charge
catch, cattle, captain, carry
• Germ. /w-/ → OF /g-/
Germ. /w-/ → AN /w-/
guardian, regard, guarantee, (en)gage
warden, reward, warrant, wage(s)
6
(3) NATIVE WORDS PASSING OUT OF USE
OF LOANWORD
saviour
duke
letter
age
prayer
custom
country
strange
beautiful
save
NATIVE WORD
† hQland
† hertoge
† bokstaf
† Qldu
† gebed
† sidu
† rice
† fremed
† scene
† hreddan
OF LOANWORD
NATIVE WORD
army
peace
hour
air
victory
people
uncle
poor
catch/chase
forge
† here
† friÞ
† stund
† lyft
† sige
† leode
† eam
† earm
† fangan
† smiÞian
OF LOANWORD
chamber
language
aid
guide
city
saint
commence
conceal
nourish
NATIVE WORD
room
speech
help
lead
town
holy
begin, start
hide
feed
(4) SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIATION
OF LOANWORD
liberty
sense
cordial
marriage
arms
people
solitude
mansion
question
NATIVE WORD
freedom
meaning
hearty
wedding
weapon(s)
folk
loneliness
house
ask
2.3. THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) EXAMPLES OF LATIN AND (ANCIENT) GREEK LOAN-WORDS DURING THE
RENAISSANCE (cf. “Fremdwörter” in Modern German)
• Latin: area, abdomen, absurd, anticipate, contradict, compensate, data, decorum,
delirium, denominate, disrupt, editor, emancipate, folio, gradual, imitate, interest, lapse,
medium, notorious, obnoxious, orbit, peninsula, quota, resuscitate, series, strict,
superintendent, transient, ultimate, urban, urge, vindicate, ...
• Ancient Greek (sometimes through Latin transmission): allegory, anaemia, anaesthesia,
aristocracy, barbarous, chaos, climax, dilemma, drama, enthusiasm, epithet, epoch,
metaphor, paradox, phenomenon, rhapsody, rhetoric, spasm, stratagem, symmetry,
tyrant, ...
(2) DOUBLETS: French vs. Latin
OF LOAN
LATIN LOAN
OF LOAN
LATIN LOAN
royal
treason
purvey
blame
ransom
sure
regal
tradition
provide
blaspheme
redemption
secure
loyal
ray
count
fancy
caitiff
respite
legal
radius
compute
fantasy
captive
respect
7
2.4. THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) FURTHER SOURCES OF ENGLISH WORDS (selective)
Language / Group of Examples
Languages
Modern Celtic
whiskey, collie, banshee, brogue, leprechaun, slogan, shamrock, druid
Modern Scandinavian ski, rune, ombudsman, fjord, geyser, saga, lemming, slalom
Modern French
fiancee, limousine, negligee, garage, etiquette, hors d’oeuvre, rouge
Spanish
cannibal, potato, tortilla, sherry, banana, rodeo, canyon, junta
Portuguese
flamingo, buffalo, commando, palaver, teak, veranda, marmalade
Italian
concerto, gondola, gorgonzola, opera, soprano, volcano, malaria
Dutch / Low German
cruise, smuggle, booze, coleslaw, boss, dope, sleigh, stoop, yacht
High German
zinc, cobalt, noodle, waltz, Weltanschauung, blitzkrieg, leitmotif, yodel
Arabic
alchemy, assassin, hashish, sultan, harem, almanac, alcohol, coffee
Hebrew
hallelujah, rabbi, kosher, kibbutz, Sabbath, shekel, Satan, shibboleth
Turkish
yoghurt, fez, caftan, kebab, jackal, kiosk, pasha, turban, effendi
Persian
bazaar, caravan, mogul, shah, divan, baksheesh, dervish, sofa
Sanskrit
swastika, yoga, karma, mahatma, nirvana, indigo, tantra
Hindustani
bungalow, maharaja, pyjamas, guru, jungle, shampoo, sahib
Chinese; Tibetan
silk, ketchup, ginseng, tea, typhoon, chop suey; Sherpa, yeti, yak
Japanese
kimono, soy, samurai, judo, geisha, karaoke, kamikaze, tycoon, tofu
Malay-Polynesian
taboo, tattoo, ukulele, orang-utan, amok/amuck
Australian
kangaroo, boomerang, budgerigar, wombat, koala, aborigine, kiwi
African
voodoo, jazz, gumbo, safari, gnu, chimpanzee, zebra
Russian
steppe, samovar, vodka, rouble, czar, Bolshevik, glasnost, sputnik
Hungarian
paprika, goulash, vampire, hussar
Native American
(North) moccasin, opossum, squaw, woodchuck, tomahawk, totem,
hickory; (Inuit) anorak, igloo; (South) guano, llama
For further information on foreign words in English and additional examples see:
SCHELER 1977, Part I; ALGEO 2010, Chapter 12.
8
2.5. SUMMARY: THE ORIGINS OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY
Language(s)
CED (80096)
OALD (27241)
GSL (3984)
GERMANIC
• Native
• Scandinavian
• Dutch/Low German
• High German
(26.2%)
22.2%
2.1%
1.4%
0.5%
(31.7%)
27.4%
2.5%
1.6%
0.2%
(50.8%)
47.0%
3.1%
0.7%
---
ROMANCE
• French
• Other Romance
(30.3%)
28.4%
1.9%
(37.4%)
35.9%
1.5%
(38.2%)
38.0%
0.2%
LATIN
• (Classical) Latin
• Anglo-Latin
(28.4%)
28.3%
0.1%
(22.1%)
22.0%
0.1%
(9.6%)
9.5%
0.1%
GREEK
5.3%
1.6%
0.3%
CELTIC
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
OTHER EUROPEAN
0.1%
0.1%
---
NON-EUROPEAN
2.0%
1.1%
0.1%
∅-ETYMOLOGY
4.0%
3.8%
0.9%
PROPER NAMES
3.3%
1.9%
---
(Table based on SCHELER 1977, p.72; percentages have been rounded)
Legend: CED Chronological English Dictionary (based on the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary); OALD Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary; GSL General Service List of English Words (by Michael West)
2.6. LEXICOLOGICAL ISSUES
(1) HOMOPHONES, HOMOGRAPHS AND HOMONYMS
(a) HOMOPHONES:
sea - see, meat - meet, beach - beech, made - maid, tale - tail, plane - plain, roe - row, sole soul, sloe - slow, dew - due, threw - through, two - too - to, caught - court, alms - arms, sauce
- source, forth - fourth, write - right - rite, knight - night, sight - site, know - no, axis - axes, I eye, you - ewe, here - hear, Wales - whales, weather - whether - wether, witch - which, flower flour, metal - mettle, draft - draught, etc.
9
(b) HOMOGRAPHS:
sow:
read:
wound:
wind:
slough:
live:
bass:
minute:
resume:
etc.
/U/ (N.)
/:/ (Inf.)
/wu:nd/ (N.)
// (N.)
// (N.)
// (V.)
// (N.)
// (N.)
/:/ (V.)
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
/«U/ (V.)
/red/ (Past)
// (V./Past)
/waInd/ (V.)
// (N.)
// (Adj.)
// (N.)
/:/ (Adj.)
// (N.)
(c) HOMONYMS:
I.
ear:
last:
bear:
meal:
hide:
bank:
race:
seal:
arms:
file:
II.
III.
OE eare
OE latost (Adj.)
OE beran (V.)
OE mele
OE hydan (V.)
ON banca
ON ras
OE sele
OE earmas
OE feol
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
OE ear
OE lQstan (V.)
OE ber (N.)
OE mQl
OE hyd (N.)
OF banque
OF race
OF seel
OF armes
OF file
(2) SYNONYMY
NATIVE
FRENCH
CLASSICAL
womanish, womanly
female
feminine
manly, mannish
male
masculine
speech, tongue
language
discourse, diction
ask
question
interrogate
folk
people
population
holy
sacred
consecrated
gift
present
donation
word-hoard
vocabulary
lexicon
help
aid
assistance
fair
beautiful
attractive
foe, fiend
enemy
adversary
10
(3) DISSOCIATION
NOUN
mouth
mind
eye
moon
ear
house
hand
dog
NATIVE
-
ADJ.
oral
mental
ocular
lunar
aural
domestic
manual
canine
LOAN
NOUN
town
nose
sight
sun
word
tooth
cat
horse
NATIVE
-
ADJ.
urban
nasal
visual
solar
verbal
dental
feline
equine
LOAN
(4) THE BASIC TYPES OF SEMANTIC CHANGE
• Generalization / Extension: development of a wider range of meanings
e.g.
OE dogga ‘Dogge’
→
ModE dog ‘Hund’
OE brid ‘Nestling’
→
ModE bird ‘Vogel’
OE mann ‘Mensch’
→
ModE man ‘Mann’ + ‘Mensch’
• Specialization / Reduction: development of a narrower range of meanings
e.g.
OE hund ‘Hund’
→
ModE hound ‘Jagdhund’
OE fugol ‘Vogel’
→
ModE fowl ‘Geflügel’
OE steorfan ‘sterben’
→
ModE starve ‘verhungern’
• Amelioration: development of a (more) positive association / meaning
e.g.
OE cniht ‘Knecht’
→
ModE knight ‘Ritter’
ME nice ‘dumm’
→
ModE nice ‘nett, hübsch’
ME minister ‘Diener’
→
ModE minister ‘Staatsdiener’
• Pejoration: development of a (more) negative association / meaning
e.g.
OE sQlig ‘glücklich’
→
ModE silly ‘dumm’
OE knapa ‘Knabe, Diener →
ModE knave ‘Schurke’
ON slQgr ‘schlau, geschickt’ →
ModE sly ‘gerissen’
• Transfer: shift of meaning from one concept to another
e.g.
ME carre ‘Karren’
→
ModE car ‘Auto’
ME paper ‘Papyrus’
→
ModE paper ‘Papier’
OE tun ‘Gehöft, (Zaun)’
→
ModE town ‘Stadt’
11
(5) WORD-FORMATION
Process
Description
Example
Historical Status
major types
Compounding
(usually) free + free morpheme classroom prob. Indo-European
Derivation
free + bound morpheme(s)
unfriendly prob. Indo-European
Zero-Derivation
free + zero morpheme
clean (V.) Early Middle English
minor types
Back-Derivation shortening / class-changing
edit (V.)
approx. 13th century
Clipping
shortening / class-maintaining
phone
approx. 16th century
Blending
blending of two words
smog
approx. 17th century
Acronymy
initial words
NATO
approx. 19th century
Eponymy
words from proper names
Reduplication
repetition; rhyming; ablaut
zeppelin
approx. 14th century ??
Ping-Pong approx. 16th century
3. HISTORICAL MORPHOSYNTAX
3.1. OVERVIEW: loss of inflection and its reasons
3.2. NOUNS
(1) SOME OLD ENGLISH NOUN DECLENSIONS
adeclension
odeclension
udeclension
ndeclension
rdeclension
rootdeclension
cyning
‘king’
giefu
‘gift’
sunu
‘son’
tunge
‘tongue’
fQder
‘father’
mann
‘man’
Sg. Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
cyning
cyninges
cyninge
cyning
giefu
giefe
giefe
giefe
sunu
suna
suna
sunu
tunge
tungan
tungan
tungan
fQder
fQder
fQder
fQder
mann
mannes
menn
mann
Pl. Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
cyningas
cyninga
cyningum
cyningas
giefa
giefena
giefum
giefa
suna
suna
sunum
suna
tungan
tungena
tungum
tungan
fQderas
fQdera
fQderum
fQdera
menn
manna
mannum
menn
12
(2) GENERALIZATION OF ONE FORM
Old English had the following possibilities of marking the plural of nouns (cf. Modern German,
Latin):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
-as
-u
-∅
-a
-an
‘umlaut’
-ru
-e
stan
scip
word
giefu
tunge
fot
cild
cwen
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
stanas ‘stones’
scipu ‘ships’
word ‘words
giefa ‘gifts’
tungan ‘tongues’
fet
‘feet’
cildru ‘children’
cwene ‘girls’
Similar: generalisation of the -s ending in the Genitive case.
(3) GRAMMATICAL GENDER
(a)
OLD ENGLISH
Masc.
se mann
Masc.
se wifman
Masc.
se mona
Masc.
se grund (‘soil’)
MODERN ENGLISH
the man
the woman
the moon
the ground
Masc.
Fem.
Neut.
Neut.
(b)
Fem.
Fem.
Fem.
Fem.
seo cwen (‘girl’)
seo hlQfdige
seo sunne
seo eorÞe
the queen
the lady
the sun
the earth
Fem.
Fem.
Neut.
Neut.
(c)
Neut.
Neut.
Neut.
Neut.
ÞQt mQgden
ÞQt wif
ÞQt tungol
ÞQt land
the maiden
the wife
the star
the land
Fem.
Fem.
Neut.
Neut.
(4) PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES CONTRIBUTING TO THE LOSS OF ENDINGS
(in chronological order)
• -a, -e,-o, -u (NOT -i) in final/inflectional syllables change to unstressed /«/, mostly spelt -e;
• -n in final syllables vanishes;
• /«/ in final syllables is deleted;
(for further information on these processes see Chapter 5 ‘Historical Phonology’)
13
(5) CONSEQUENCES: FIXATION OF WORD ORDER
OLD ENGLISH
(a) se hunta sloh Þone beran (SVO)
(b) Þone beran sloh se hunta (OVS)
(c) se hunta Þone beran sloh (SOV)
(d) Þone beran se hunta sloh (OSV)
(e) sloh se hunta Þone beran (VSO)
(f) sloh Þone beran se hunta (VOS)
MODERN ENGLISH
the hunter killed the bear
the bear killed the hunter
* the hunter the bear killed
* the bear the hunter killed
* killed the hunter the bear
* killed the bear the hunter
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(a) - (f) grammatically acceptable
(a) - (f) identical in meaning
(a) and (b) grammatically acceptable
(a) and (b) NOT identical in meaning
(SVO)
(SVO)
3.3. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
(1) TYPICAL DECLENSION OF AN OLD ENGLISH ADJECTIVE
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Strong declension
Weak declension
Masc.
Fem.
Neut.
Masc.
Fem.
Neut.
blind
blindes
blindum
blindne
blind
blindre
blindre
blinde
blind
blindes
blindum
blind
blinda
blindan
blindan
blindan
blinde
blindan
blindan
blindan
blinde
blindan
blindan
blinde
Plural
Strong declension
Weak declension
Masc./Fem.
Neut.
Masc./Fem./Neut.
blinde
blindra
blindum
blinde
blinda
blindra
blindum
blind
blindan
blindra
blindum
blindan
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
NOTE: the strong declension was used after indefinite articles, numerals, and ∅; the weak declension after definite articles/demonstratives and possessives; cf. ModG ein braver Junge vs. der
brave Junge.
(2) COMPARISON
• synthetic (“Germanic”) comparison: use of endings; cf. big, bigger, biggest
• analytic (“Romance”) comparison: use of grade adverbs; cf. important, more important, most
important (imitation of French)
14
(3) REGULARLY DERIVED ADVERBS
• OE -lice
• OE -e
→
→
ModE -ly
ModE -∅
e.g. quickly, fairly, hardly, etc.
e.g. fast, hard, etc. (more frequent in American English)
3.4. PRONOUNS AND ARTICLES
(1) PERSONAL PRONOUNS
OE
ME
EModE
ModE
1st Person Sg.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
ic
me
min
I / ik
me
mi / min
I
me
my / mine
I
me
my
2nd Person Sg.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
Þu
Þe
Þin
thou
thee
thi / thin
thou / you
thee / you
thy / thine / your
you
you
your
he
him
his
he
him
his
he
him
his
3rd Person Sg. M.
Subject
he
Object
hine / him
Possessive Adj
his
3rd Person Sg. F.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
heo
hiere
hiere
she / sho
hir / her
hir / her
she
her
her
she
her
her
3rd Person Sg. N.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
hit
him / hit
his
hit / it
hit / it
his
it
it
his / its
it
it
its
1st Person Pl.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
we
us
ure
we
us
oure
we
us
our
we
us
our
2nd Person Pl.
Subject
Object
Possessive Adj
ge
eow
eower
ye
you
your
ye / you
you / ye
your
you
you
your
they
them
their
they
them
their
3rd Person Pl.
Subject
hi / hie
hi / they
Object
him / hem hem / them
Possessive Adj
hiera /
her / their
hira
15
(2) MAJOR PROBLEM AREAS
• 2nd person in general: thou, thee, thy vs. ye, you, your: imitation and generalisation of the French
honorific (vous, votre, etc.), leveling of the ye - you distinction;
• 3rd person plural: hie, him, hiera vs. they, them, their: borrowing from Scandinavian;
• 3rd person singular feminine: heo vs. she: (most probably) internal borrowing.
(3) ARTICLES AND DEMONSTRATIVES
Declension of the Old English weak and strong demonstratives
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Plural
Weak demonstrative
Strong demonstrative
Masc.
Fem.
Neut.
Masc.
Fem.
Neut.
se (1)
ÞQs
ÞQm
Þone
seo (1)
ÞQre
ÞQre
Þa
ÞQt (4)
ÞQs
ÞQm
ÞQt
Þes
Þisses
Þissum
Þisne
Þeos
Þisse
Þisse
Þas
Þis (2)
Þisses
Þissum
Þis
Weak demonstrative
Strong demonstrative
Masc./Fem./Neut.
Masc./Fem./Neut.
Þa (5)
Þara
ÞQm
Þa
Þas (3)
Þissa
Þissum
Þas
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Development:
(1) OE se / seo
(2) OE Þis
(3) OE Þas
(4) OE ÞQt
(5) OE Þa
→
→
→
→
→
ModE definite article
ModE demonstrative/proximity
ModE demonstrative/proximity
ModE demonstrative/distance
ModE demonstrative/distance
the
this
these
that
those (analogy: ME tho)
3.5. VERBS
(1) BASIC VERB CLASSIFICATION
• Modern:
Regular
Irregular
• Historical: Weak
Strong
add -(e)d to the stem of the verb
any other pattern
ending (incl. vowel/consonant alternation plus ending)
ablaut
NOTE: Regular/weak and irregular/strong do NOT overlap !!!
16
(2) HISTORICAL VERB CLASSIFICATION
(a) WEAK VERBS: the traditional weak verb classes
Class
Infinitive Preterit
Past Participle
1
-an
-(e)de or -te
-ed or -t
2
-ian
-ode
-od
3
-an
-de
-d
Class 1:
fyllan, fylde, (ge)fylled
cyssan, cyste, (ge)cyst
wyrcan, worhte, (ge)worht
settan, sette, (ge)seted
sendan, sendde, (ge)sended
hieran, hierde, (ge)hiered
cepan, cepte, (ge)cept
metan, mette, (ge)meted
Þencan, Þohte, (ge)Þoht
Class 2:
lufian, lufode, (ge)lufod
endian, endode, (ge)endod
macian, macode, (ge)macod
Class 3:
habban, hQfde, (ge)hQfd
libban, lifde, (ge)lifd
secgan, sQgde, (ge)sQgd
fill
kiss
work
set
send
hear
keep
meet
think
regular
regular
regularised
irregular: zero alternation
irregular: consonant alternation
irregular: vowel alternation + ending
irregular: vowel alternation + ending
irregular: vowel alternation
irregular: vowel/consonant alt. + ending
love
end
make
regular
regular
irregular: agglutination of stem and ending
have
live
say
irregular: agglutination of stem and ending
regular
pseudo-regular
(b) STRONG VERBS: the traditional strong verb classes
Class Ablaut
Stem ends in:
1
i-a-i-i
---
2
eo - ea - u - o
---
3a
3b
3c
i-a-u-u
e - ea - u - o
eo - ea - u - o
nasal + consonant
lateral + consonant
r/h + consonant
4
e-Q-Q-o
single nasal, lateral, r
5
e-Q-Q-e
single consonant (not nasal, lateral, r)
6
a-o-o-a
---
7a
7b
a - eo - eo - a
Q-e-e-Q
-----
17
Class 1:
Class 2:
ridan, rad - ridon, (ge)riden
fleogan, fleah - flugon, (ge)flogen
leosan, leas - luron, (ge)loren
drincan, dranc - druncon, (ge)druncen
swellan, sweall - swullon, (ge)swollen
helpan, healp - hulpon, (ge)holpen
feohtan, feaht - fuhton, (ge)fohten
ceorfan, cearf - curfon, (ge)corfen
stelan, stQl - stQlon, (ge)stolen
sprecan, sprQc - sprQcon, (ge)sprecen
standan, stod - stodon, (ge)standen
wascan, wosc - woscon, (ge)wascen
cnawan, cneow - cneowon - (ge)cnawen
rQdan, red - redon, (ge)rQden
slQpan , slep - slepon, (ge)slQpen
Class 3a:
Class 3b:
Class 3c:
Class 4:
Class 5:
Class 6:
Class 7a:
Class 7b:
ride
fly
lose
drink
swell
help
fight
carve
steal
speak
stand
wash
know
read
sleep
(strong → weak)
(regularisation)
(regularisation)
(regularisation)
(strong → weak)
(c) PRETERITIVE-PRESENT VERBS (cf. modal auxiliaries)
e.g.
cunnan, cann - cunnon, cuÞe
sculan, sceal - sculon, scolde
magan, mQg - magon, mihte
can, could
shall, should
may, might
(d) SUPPLETIVE VERBS
n go:
n be:
go, went, gone
be, being, been
was, were
am, are, is
¬
¬
¬
¬
OE gan - eode - gan; OE wenan - went
OE beon (no preterit, present meaning)
OE wesan (no preterit, but past meaning)
PrOE sindan (already suppletive, rivaling
with forms of beon)
(3) VERBAL ENDINGS (Indicative only)
OLD ENGLISH
MIDDLE ENGLISH
weak
strong
weak
strong
Infinitive
fyllan
singan
fillen
singen
Present Sg. 1.P.
2.P.
3.P.
fylle
fyllest
fylleÞ
singe
singest
singeÞ
fille
fillest
filleth
singe
singest
singeth
Present Pl. all P.
fyllaÞ
singaÞ
fillen
singen
Past Sg.
1.P.
2.P.
3.P.
fylde
fyldest
fylde
sang
sunge
sang
fillede
filledest
fillede
sang
sunge
sang
Past Pl.
all P.
fyldon
sungon
filleden
sangen
-iende, -enne
-iende, -enne
filling
singing
(ge)fylled
(ge)sungen
(y)filled
(y)sung
Present Participle
Past Participle
18
NOTE: The subjunctive forms in both present and past in OE and ME were generally not as
numerous as the indicative forms (OE and ME: singular -e, plural -en, both weak and strong verbs).
The use of the subjunctive has already been strongly reduced in the EModE period.
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
MODERN ENGLISH
weak
strong
weak
strong
fill
sing
fill
sing
Present Sg. 1.P.
2.P.
3.P.
fill
fillest / fill
filleth / fills
sing
singest / sing
singeth / sings
fill
fill
fills
sing
sing
sings
Present Pl. all P.
fill
sing
fill
sing
Infinitive
Past Sg.
1.P.
2.P.
3.P.
filled
filledest / filled
filled
sang
sang
sang
filled
filled
filled
sang
sang
sang
Past Pl.
all P.
filled
sang
filled
sang
Present Participle
filling
singing
filling
singing
Past Participle
filled
sung
filled
sung
(4) MODAL AUXILIARIES
Consider the following Early Modern English examples:
(a) Most of the inhabitants can no word of Cornish. (travel report, 1603)
(b) She could the Bible in the holy tongue. (Ben Johnson, 1632)
(c) You may away by night ... (Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet)
(d) I must to Coventry ... (Shakespeare, King Richard II)
(e) I will tomorrow (...) to the weyard [= weird] sisters. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
(f) I will after straight and tell him so. (Shakespeare, King Henry IV Part 2)
(g) What would these strangers? (Shakespeare, Love’s Labour Lost)
(h) I am not mad, I would to heaven I were. (Shakespeare, King John)
(i) Thou shalt not from this grave till I torment thee for this injury. (Shakespeare, Midsummer
Night’s Dream)
19
3.6. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLISH SYNTAX
The process of grammaticalisation: lexical content words developing into grammatical items; here
especially the OE verbs don, beon and habban becoming the ModE primary auxiliaries do, be and
have.
(1) NEGATION
• OE:
• ME and EModE:
• EModE and ModE:
ic ne ride
ic ne ride nat
I ride not
I do not ride
(S + Part + LV; neutral)
(S + Part + LV + Part; emphasis)
(S + LV + Part)
(S + Aux + Part + LV)
(2) INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
• OE, ME, and EModE:
• EModE and ModE:
inversion
Seest thou these things?
periphrasis
Do you see these things?
(LV + S + O)
(Aux + S + LV + O)
(3) EXPANDED FORM (progressive aspect)
• OE:
• ME:
• EModE and ModE:
(a) he wQs huntiende
S + beon + (often) inflected participle as AGENTIVE NOUN
‘he was (one who) hunted’
(b) he wQs on huntunge
S + beon + Prep + inflected gerund as NOUN
‘he was (involved in the process of) hunting’
(a) he was hunting
(b) he was a-hunting (difference in meaning is obscure)
(a) he was hunting
S + be + uninflected participle
(b) he was a-hunting (only in regional/social dialects)
(4) COMPOUND TENSES (perfective aspect)
• OE:
(a) ic hQfde hit gebunden (Sg./Neut.)
ic hQfde him gebundenne (Pl.)
S + habban + O + inflected participle as ADJECTIVE
‘I had (possessed) it/them (in the state of being) bound’
(b) he wQs gecumen (Sg.)
hie wQron gecumene (Pl.)
S + beon/habban + inflected participle as ADJECTIVE
‘he/they was/were (one(s) who) came’
• ME, EModE, and ModE: (a) restricted use (cf. I had my hair cut)
(b) he/they has/have come
S + have (generalized) + uninflected participle
(decreasing frequency of be + verbs of movement)
20
(5) THE PASSIVE
• OE:
he wearÞ gebroht to Þam bisceope (Sg.)
hie wurdon gebrohte to Þam bisceope (Pl.)
S + beon/weorÞan + inflected participle as ADJECTIVES
‘he/they was/were (one(s) who was/were) brought ...’
• ME, EModE, and ModE: he/they was/were brought to the bishop
S + be + uninflected participle
3.7. GRAMMATICAL VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH (AND MODERN DEVE LOPMENTS)
The following major syntactic/grammatical structures still variable in Shakespeare’s days have been
fixed in the development from EModE to ModE mostly due to the influence of prescriptive/normative grammar.
a) Accordance between noun and verb (mostly) after collective nouns (e.g. government, police,
etc.).
b) Word order: SVO vs. VSO in adverbial clauses; the latter was reduced to negative adverbs in
initial position (e.g. never have I heard such a stupid question).
c) Generalisation of the do-periphrasis in negative and interrogative sentences.
d) Avoidance of double (or multiple) negation.
e) Differentiation of use between the s-genitive and the periphrastic of-genitive.
f) Avoidance of redundant pronouns used to repeat (or anticipate) subjects and objects in written
language (e.g. my brother, he ...).
g) Differentiation of use between who and which as personal/non-personal relative pronouns.
h) Personal pronouns: variation between thou and you/ye.
i) Variation between Germanic and Romance comparison (e.g. fitter, more fit); avoidance of double
(or multiple) comparison (cf. ... the most unkindest cut of all; Shakespeare, Julius Caesar).
j) Consistent marking of adverbs regularly derived from adjectives (-ly).
k) Stronger differentiation in meaning between past tense and present perfect.
l) Present perfect: use of be with verbs of movement (e.g. they are come).
m)Progressive aspect becomes obligatory when it is required.
n) Rules for the use of shall and will as auxiliaries of the prospective aspect (1 st person vs. all the
other persons; mostly abandoned by the end of the 20th century, except in very formal styles).
o) Reduction of the use of the subjunctive (some exceptions, cf. I wish class were over).
p) Verb endings: -st vs. Ø in 2nd person sg., -th vs. -s in 3rd person sg. (e.g. thou dost, he doth),
q) Different irregular verb forms of the same verb (e.g. spoke/spake, wrote/writ).
21
4. HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY
4.1. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
(1) A significant Old English sound change: THE I-UMLAUT (FRONT MUTATION)
(approx. 8th century)
SOUND
CHANGE
Early Old English
Late Old English
Modern English
/u/ → /y/, later /i/
Sg. mus, Pl. musis
Adj. ful, V. fuljan
Sg. mus, Pl. mys
Adj. ful, V. fyllan
mouse / mice
full / fill
/o/ → /O/, later /e/
Sg. fot, Pl. foti
PT tolde, Inf. tolljan
Sg. fot, Pl. fet
PT tolde, Inf. tellan
foot / feet
told / tell
/a/ → /Q/
Num. an, Pron. anig
Adj. hal, V. haljan
Num. an, Pron. Qni
Adj. hal, V. hQlan
one - an / any
whole / heal
/Q/ → /e/
Sg. mQnn, Pl. mQnni
Sg. mQnn, Pl. menn
man / men
/e/ → /i/
V. beran, (heo) beriÞ
V. beran, (heo) birÞ
bear / birth
(2) Starting Point: PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF OLD ENGLISH (9th century)
(following LASS 1987, p.121)
VOWELS
SHORT
/I/, /y/, /U/, /e/, /O/, /o/, /Q/, /A/
LONG
/i:/, /y:/, /u:/, /e:/, /O:/, /o:/, /Q:/, /A:/
DIPHTHONGS
/QA/, /QA:/, /eo/, /eo:/
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
FRICATIVES
/f/, /T/, /s/, /S/, /x/
AFFRICATES
/tS/, /dZ/
NASALS
/m/, /n/
OTHER
/w/, /r/, /l/, /j/
NOTE: Old English consonants (with the exception of /S/, /w/, and /j/) could be both short and long.
22
4.2. THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD (incl. the transition from OE to ME)
4.2.1. VOWEL CHANGES
(1) THE LOSS OF INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS
• STEP 1: (LATE OLD ENGLISH) -a, -e, -o, -u (NOT -i) in inflectional endings are reduced to /«/
(mostly spelt -e).
• STEP 2: (LATE OLD ENGLISH) final -n in inflectional endings is lost.
• STEP 3: (approx. 14th century) -e /«/ in inflectional syllables is lost.
EXAMPLE
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3 (ME)
sunu ‘the son’ (Nom. Sg.)
sune /sUn«/
---
son /sUn/
stanas ‘the stones’ (Nom. Pl.)
stanes /sta:n«s/
---
stones /sto:nz/
ridan ‘to ride’ (Inf.)
riden /ri:d«n/
ride /ri:d«/
ride /ri:d/
tungan ‘(to) the tongue’ (Acc. Sg.) tungen /tUng«n/ tunge /tUng«/
tongue /tUng/
• The reduction of vowels in unstressed syllables did not only affect inflections but also the second
or final syllables of a number of compounds; in OE these had long vowels in both stressed and
unstressed syllables, the latter was then reduced to /«/ or /®/ in ME,
e.g. wisdom (OE /wi:zdo:m/), husband (OE /hu:zbu:nda/), shepherd (OE /Se:phe:rde/), lady (OE
hlafdige /hla:fdi:je/), daisy (OE dQges eage /dQ:jesQ:je/), and a number of others.
(2) LENGTHENING I (9th to 10th century)
Short vowels are lengthened before certain groups
words in German still have the short vowel).
e.g.
OE haldan /a/ → ME holden /o:/
OE feld /e/
→ ME feeld /e:/
OE findan /I / → ME finden /i:/
OE grund /U/ → ME grund /u:/
OE climban /I/ → ME climben /i:/
OE camb /a/
→ ME camb /a:/
of consonants, esp. -ld, -nd, -mb (most cog-nate
(ModE hold, cf. ModG halten)
(ModE field, cf. ModG Feld)
(ModE find, cf. ModG finden)
(ModE ground, cf ModG Grund)
(ModE climb, cf. ModG (er)klimmen)
(ModE comb, cf. ModG Kamm)
(3) SHORTENING I (10th to 11th century)
Long vowels are shortened in checked syllables while remaining long in open syllables, esp. in
weak verbs (cf. historical verb classification).
e.g.
OE cepan (open syllable) →
ME ff. keep (long vowel)
OE cepte (checked syllable) →
ME ff. kept (short vowel)
OE rQdan (open syllable) →
ME ff. read (long vowel)
OE rQdde (checked syllable) →
ME ff. read (short vowel)
OE fife (open syllable)
→
ME ff. five (long vowel)
OE fiftig (checked syllable) →
ME ff. fifty (short vowel)
23
(4) SHORTENING II (at about the same time as (3))
Long vowels are shortened when followed by two syllables (‘tri-syllabic shortening’); they re-main
long in simple(r) words.
e.g.
OE suÞ (one syllable)
→
ME ff. South (long vowel)
OE suÞerne (three syllables) →
ME ff. Southern (short vowel)
OE crist (one syllable)
→
OE cristendom (three syll.) →
OE halig (two syllables)
OE halig dQg (three syll.)
→
→
ME ff. Christ (long vowel)
ME ff. Christendom (short vowel)
ME ff. holy (long vowel)
ME ff. holiday (short vowel)
(5) LENGTHENING II (13th century)
The mid and low vowels /e, Q, a, o/ are lengthened in open syllables (‘Middle English Open
Syllable Lengthening’, MEOSL).
e.g.
OE nama /a/ →
ME name /a:/, (ModE name)
OE metan /e/ →
ME meten /e:/, (ModE meet)
OE stQlan /Q/ →
ME stealen /Q:/, (ModE steal)
OE nose /o/ →
ME nose /o:/, (ModE nose)
(6) MONOPHTHONGIZATION OF OE DIPHTHONGS (11th century)
OE /Qa/ → ME /Q, e/ e.g. OE beamu (> beam), OE eahta (> eight)
OE /eo/ → ME /e, o/ e.g. OE deop (> deep), OE ceosan (> choose)
e.g. OE steorfan (> starve), OE eorÞe (> earth)
OE /ie/ → ME /e, I/ e.g. OE hiere (> her), OE giefu (> gift)
(7) DEVELOPMENT OF CLOSING DIPHTHONGS (at about the same time as (6))
Postvocalic /j/ and /w/ merge with preceding vowels to produce a new kind of diphthongs: the
closing diphthongs ending in /I/ and /V/.
ME /aU/
e.g. OE clawu /klawU/
→
ME /oU/
e.g. OE cnowan /knowen/ →
ME /IU/
e.g. OE niwe /nIwe/
→
ME /EU/
e.g. OE feawe /feawe/
→
ME /aI/
e.g. OE dag /daj/
→
ME /I/ is (mostly) of French origin (imitation)
24
ME clawe /klaU«/
ME knowen /knoU«n/
ME newe /nIU/
ME fewe /fEU/
ME day /daI/
(8) “SÜDHUMBRISCHE BESEITIGUNG” (12th century)
South of the river Humber /a:/ changes to /:/ (Modern English /«V/).
e.g.
→
→
→
OE ban
OE stan
OE gast
ME bon (ModE bone)
ME ston (ModE stone)
ME gost (ModE ghost)
North of the river Humber /a:/ developed similarly to the Great Vowel Shift (see below), which
resulted in either /Q:/ or /e:/ in these words, a typical characteristic of (some) Northern English and
(most of all) Scottish dialects.
4.2.2. CONSONANT CHANGES
(1) PARTIAL LOSS OF /x/ (12th century; also see below)
The fricative /x/ is lost in certain environments, esp. occurring before /t/.
e.g.
OE nict /ni:xt/
→
ME night /ni:t/, ModE /naIt/, etc.
(2) PHONEMIZATION OF FRICATIVES AND AFFRICATES (approx. 14th century)
• In OE only the voiceless fricatives /f/, /T/, and /s/ can be called phonemes, the voiced variants
/v/, /D/, and /z/ already existed, but only as allophones in certain environments (complementary
distribution): the voiceless fricatives only occurred in initial and final position (never in medial
position), the voiced variants only occurred in medial/intervocalic position. Minimal pairs were
therefore not possible.
PHOMEME ALLOPHONE
INITIAL
MEDIAL
FINAL
/f/
/f/
e.g. ful
/v/ e.g. lifes
/f/
/T/
/T/
e.g. ÞQt
/D/
/s/
/s/
e.g. sellan /z/
e.g. lif
e.g. baÞian /T/ e.g. baÞ
e.g. leosan
/s/
e.g. leos
• Due to the influence of French loan-words with initial /v/ and /z/ the voiced variants became
phonemes in ME (cf. few vs. view, seal vs. zeal, etc.).
Due to the dropping of inflectional endings all the voiced variants gained phonemic status in
final position in ME (cf. leaf vs. leave, teeth vs. teethe, lose vs. loose, etc.).
• The influence of French loan-words also resulted in a new consonant phoneme /Z/ as a voiced
partner for the fricative /S/, which already existed in OE; in this case the French consonant
group /-zj-/ merged to /-Z-/.
e.g.
OF vision /vIzjon/
→
ME /vIZn/
OF mesure /mezjyr/ →
ME /meZ«/
25
• Again due to the influence of French loan-words the affricates /t S/ and /dZ/, which existed as
positional allophones in OE (the voiceless variant only occurred in initial position, the latter only
in medial and final position), became phonemes in initial position (cf. chest vs. jest, and other
OF loan-words like gentle, just, judge, etc.)
4.2.3. PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF MIDDLE ENGLISH (end of 13th century)
(following LASS 1987, p.128)
VOWELS
SHORT
/I/, /U/, /e/, /o/, /A/
LONG
/i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/, /:/, /Q:/, /A:/
DIPHTHONGS
/aI/, /I/, /IU/, /EU/, /aU/, /U/
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
FRICATIVES
/f/, /v/, /T/, /D/, /s/, /z/, /S/, /x/
AFFRICATES
/tS/, /dZ/
NASALS
/m/, /n/
OTHER
/w/, /r/, /l/, /j/
4.3. THE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD (and later developments)
4.3.1. THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT (GVS)
(1) OVERVIEW
• FIRST STAGE (approx. 15th and 16th century): ME mid and low long vowels move one step
upwards in the vowel diagram, high vowels are diphthongized; this first stage, which is often the
only stage included in diagram descriptions of the GVS, gives this sound change a regular and
symmetric look.
• SECOND STAGE (approx. 17th century, during the rest of the EModE period): After the first
stage some ME mid-low and low vowels still continue to rise in the vowel diagram (esp. B1 and
B3).
• FINAL STAGE (approx. 18th and 19th century): two long vowels of EModE are diphthongized in
their development toward ModE; this process is not yet finished in most national varieties
outside RP (B2 and B3).
26
(2) DESCRIPTION OF THE GVS
ME 1st stage 2nd stage final stage Examples
Spelling
A1
/i:/
/aI/
/aI/
/aI/
time, write, by, right <iCe, y, igh>
A2
/u:/
/aU/
/aU/
/aU/
house, proud, cow
<ou, ow>
A3
/e:/
/i:/
/i:/
/i:/
field, chief, see
<ee, ie>
A4
/o:/
/u:/
/u:/
/u:/
moon, cool, tooth
<oo>
B1
/Q:/
/e:/
/i:/
/i:/
deal, beast, sea
<ea>
B2
/:/
/o:/
/o:/
/«U/
stone, coat, rose
<oCe, oa>
B3
/a:/
/Q:/
/e:/
/eI/
name, case, tale
<aCe>
(3) EXCEPTIONS
Although the GVS is normally considered a strongly regular and comprehensive sound change,
there occurred a small number of more or less systematic exceptions, in which ME long vowels
were shortened:
ME e. EModE
EModE / ModE Examples
A4
/o:/
/u:/
/U/ or /Ã/
B1
/Q:/
/e:/
/e/
Spelling
look, good, blood, flood
<oo>
head, breast, breath, dead <ea>
(4) DIPHTHONGS AND THE GVS
Most of the diphthongs “produced” during the GVS were not new; words on these positions moved
to different places (often those which were left “vacant” by preceding changes) and in some cases
followed the original development of these particular vowels.
ME EModE Development
ModE Examples
Spelling
C1
/aI/
/a:/
cf. B3
/eI/
day, play, tail
<ai, ay>
C2
/«U/
/:/
cf. B2
/«U/
grow, low, soul
<ow, ou>
C3
/aU/ /a:/
/a:/
/:/
cf. B3
cf. B3 (in part)
arrested
/eI/
change
/a:, Q/ dance, aunt
law, cause
/:/
new diphthong
/eI/
C4
<anCe,
au, aw>
Diphthongs not involved in the GVS include /IU/, /EU/, /I/, and the rare /UI/.
27
4.3.2. OTHER VOWEL CHANGES
(1) ME short /a/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• ME /a/ changed quite regularly to EModE /Q/; this did not change any further in the development
toward ModE in most cases: cf. cat, bad, man, happy, catch, etc.
• Important exceptions:
(a) EModE /Q/ changed to ModE /a:/ in several environments:
before nasals + a following plosive (cf. can´t - but NOT can or cannot - dance, aunt, etc.),
before fricatives (cf. path, last, class, half, etc.); this only happened in RP not in GA;
(b) ME /a/ changed to ModE // after /w/ (cf. was, what, watch, want, etc.);
(c) ME /a/ changed to ModE /:/ before /l/ (cf. all, walk, fall, salt, etc.).
(2) ME short // (Phoneme split, approx. 17th/18th century)
• In ME /U/ and /Ã/ were allophones of the phoneme /U/, it did not really matter which vowel was
used in those days (no minimal pairs).
• Due to the shortening of /u:/ during the GVS (see above) some words with ME /u:/ came to be
pronounced either with /U/ (cf. good, look) or /Ã/ (blood, flood) in EModE.
• In a very small number of cases words with short / V/ and similarly structured words which were
already pronounced with /Ã/ began to coexist, so that the first minimal pairs came into existence:
cf. look vs. luck, could vs. cud (one of a very small number of modern minimal pairs includes
put vs. putt). Both vowels are consequently considered phonemes in ModE.
4.3.3. PHONOLOGICAL INVENTORY OF EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
(end of 16th century; following GÖRLACH 1991, p.65 and GÖRLACH 2002, p. 37)
VOWELS
SHORT
/I/, /U/, /e/, /Q/, //, /Ã/, /«/, /A/
LONG
/i:/, /u:/, /e:/, /o:/, /:/, /Q:/, /A:/
DIPHTHONGS
/aI/, /I/, /UI/, /eI/, /IU/, /EU/, /aU/, /U/
CONSONANTS
PLOSIVES
/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
FRICATIVES
/f/, /v/, /T/, /D/, /s/, /z/, /S/, /Z/, /h/
AFFRICATES
/tS/, /dZ/
NASALS
/m/, /n/, /N/
OTHER
/w/, /r/, /l/, /j/
28
4.3.4. CONSONANT CHANGES
(1) COMPLETE LOSS OF /x/ (17th century)
• /x/ → ∅ as in night, light, etc. (see above), but also in high, sigh, etc.
• /x/ → /f/ as in enough, cough, rough, tough, etc.
(2) LOSS OF /l/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• /l/ in postvocalic position is lost, cf. walk, half, calm, would, etc.
• exceptions (unpredictable): bulk, wolf, film, cold, etc.
(3) LOSS OF /r/ (approx. 17th/18th century)
• /r/ is lost in postvocalic position during the 17th century: this resulted in
(a) the lengthening of the preceding vowel as in car /kar/ → /ka:/, etc.,
(b) the occurrence of centring diphthongs ending in /«/ (NEW PHONEMES !!!)
as in beer /bIr/ → /bI«/, bear /ber/ → /be«/, sure /SUr/ → /SU«/, etc.,
(c) schwa only in unstressed syllables as in father /fa:D«r/ → /fa:D«/, etc.
This sound change occurred in RP only, not in GA.
• During this period a new vowel phoneme /Î:/ (only occurring in the environment of /r/) emerged
in both British and American English:
e.g.
ME /-er-/ (as in German)
ME /-Ir-/ (as in first)
ME /-or-/ (as in world)
ME /-Ur-/ (as in burst)
→
EModE /-Îr-/
(4) SIMPLIFICATION OF CONSONANT GROUPS (during EModE period)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
nasal + consonants:
nasal + nasal:
k / g + nasal:
w + r:
s / t + w:
f / s + t:
wh-:
thumb, sing
autumn, column
knee, gnaw
write, wrong
sword, two, answer
listen, castle, often
which, whale
and many more.
29
5. HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING
(1) SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
(a)
Phoneme (RP) vs. Grapheme:
/:/ <aw> as in law, <au> as in autumn, <al> as in walk, <a> as in fall, <ar> as in war, <or>
as in order, <ore> as in store, <oa> as in broad, <oor> as in door, <our> as in four, <aur> as
in dinosaur, <ough> as in bought, <augh> as in caught
(b)
Grapheme vs. Phoneme (RP):
<ea> /i:/ as in clean, /e/ as in dead, /eI/ as in great
<ear> /Î:/ as in heard, /I«/ as in fear, /e«/ as in bear, /a:/ as in heart
(2) OVERVIEW
(a) Old English roots: most letters (with some exceptions like <j, k, q, v, x, z>) are of native origin,
but some combinations and phonetic values were different:
e.g. <c> for /k/ or /t/ (cat, OE cild), <sc> for // (OE scip), <g> for /g/ or /j/ (get, OE dragan),
<y> for /j/ (yield)
some typical OE graphemes: <æ, Þ>
(b) Franco-Latin elements:
e.g. <c> for /s/ (city), <ch> for /t/ (chief), <g> and <j> for /d/ (gentle, just), <ph> for /f/
(trophy), <sh> for // (ship), <y> for vowels (cry)
generally: <qu, th, v, x, z>
(c) Greek contributions:
e.g. <ch> for /k/ (chaos), <rh, ae, oe, eu> (rhythm, archaeology, amoeba, eucharist)
(d) Exotic spelling practices in single words:
e.g. aardvark, czar, Buddha, khaki, llama, schnapps, muezzin, shih-tzu and many others.
(3) PROBLEM OF EARLY FIXATION: later sound changes had no consequences
(a) Lengthening and shortening ov vowels im ME: crime/criminal, please/pleasant, etc.
(b) Development of homophony due to the GVS: sea/see, mail/male, soul/sole, etc.
(c) Simplification of consonant clusters: knot/not, write/rite, etc.
(d) Loss of consonant phonemes: write/right, sauce/source, caught/court, etc.
30
(4) VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
English orthography has been fixed quite strongly beginning in the 15 th century due to the introduction of the printing press (Caxton 1476); the following spelling problems still existed during
the EModE period and have been fixed in the development to ModE (prescriptive grammar):
• <i> vs <y>:
• single vs. double consonant:
• silent <e> vs. ∅:
spirit, spyrit, spyryt
spirit, spiritt
spirit, spirite (and all possible combinations)
Often a silent <e> or a double consonant (or both) were inserted in texts by the printers in order to
produce right margins.
Another printers´ convention: the letters <u> and <v> could be used to represent vowels, i.e. mostly
/u:, V/ as well as combinations (e.g. <ou>), and the consonant /v/; <u> occurred only in the interior
of words, e.g. court, neuer, <v> only in initial position, e.g. vnto, vain.
(5) VARIATION IN MODERN ENGLISH
(a) British-American spelling differences: simplification and regularisation:
e.g. programme/program, traveller/traveler, catalogue/catalog, encyclopaedia/encyclopedia, etc.
e.g. theatre/theater, gaol/jail, draught/draft, recognise/recognize, etc.
(b) Spelling of certain compounds:
e.g. paintbrush, paint-brush, paint brush; girlfriend, girl-friend, girl friend, etc.
(c) Spelling of foreign words:
e.g. kebab/cabob, lychee/lichee/litchi, tzar/tsar/czar, adzuki/adsuki/aduki, pyjamas/pajamas,
orang-utan/orang-utang, yogurt/yoghurt/yoghourt, etc.
6. STANDARDIZATION AND WORLD-WIDE SPREAD
6.1. STANDARDIZATION
(1) RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION (British English)
The East Midlands dialect of Middle English as the historical precursor of RP.
(2) GENERAL AMERICAN (North-western or Network English)
Northern and North Midland (“General American”) vs. Eastern New England, South Midland, and
Southern (Regional Standards).
31
6.2. ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
(1) ENGLISH AS A NATIVE LANGUAGE (ENL)
The great majority of people in ENL-societies have English as their first and, in very many cases,
their only language.
This category can be subdivided into two groups - without major competition (e.g. in England,
Australia and New Zealand, Caribbean), and coexisting with one or more other major languages
(e.g. in Wales, Scotland, Ireland - Gaelic; in the US - Spanish, French, German; in Canada - French,
Inuit; in South Africa - Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu and some others)
ENL-societies: UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Rep. of South
Africa.
(2) ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL)
Many people in ESL-societies use English for specific purposes, and in some places it has an
official, educational or other role (e.g. in India: means of communication for speakers of different
languages in multilingual societies; English vs. Hindi, Bengali, Malay, Urdu, Tamil, etc.)
Competence may vary greatly, from a native-like fluency to ‘broken English’. The language may be
generally accepted or may to varying degrees be a controversial issue.
ESL-Societies: Colonial West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, etc.),
Colonial East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, etc.), South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, etc.), Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, etc.), Pacific (esp.
Papua New Guinea).
(3) CONTACT LANGUAGES: English-based Pidgins and Creoles, esp. in the Caribbean,
West Africa and Australasia
- Pidgin: a simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages; it has a
rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language; e.g. trade, slavery, military, construction, etc.
- Creole: a language derived from a pidgin but more complex in grammar and vocabulary than the
ancestral pidgin because it has become the native tongue of a community. Grammar and pronunciation are usually based on the system of the native languages while the vocabulary is largely
adapted from English.
(4) ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL)
Many people in EFL-societies learn English (using a British or American model of the standard
language) for occupational reasons, usually as part of their education. Competence varies from
basic survival to native-like fluency. This category can be subdivided into two groups - English as a
virtual second language (e.g. in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden; always the first in
foreign language teaching) and English learned as the global lingua franca (e.g. in Germany, France,
Italy and Spain; not necessarily the first in foreign language teaching).
32
DIACHRONIC VARIETIES ILLUSTRATED
The Gospel according to Luke (XV, 11-17 and 20-24)
Old English
(approx. 10th century, source is obscure)
Middle English
(approx. 1380, Wycliffe Bible)
Early Modern English (1611, King James Bible)
(11) SoÞlice sum man hQfde twegen suna.
(11) A man hadde twei sones.
(11) A certaine man had two sonnes:
(12) Þa cwQÞ se gingra to his fQder, “FQder, syle me minne dQl minre Qhte Þe me to gebyreÞ.” Þa dQlde he
him his Qhta.
(12) And the yonger of hem seide to the fadir, “Fadir yiue me the porcioun of catel that fallith to me.”
And he departide to hem the catel.
(12) And the yonger of them said to his father, Father, giue me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he
diuided vnto them his liuing.
(13) Þa Qfter feawum dagum ealle his Þing gegaderode se gingra sunu and ferde wrQclice on feorlen rice
and forspilde ÞQr his Qhta, lybbende on his gQlsan.
(13) And not aftir many daies, whanne alle thingis weren gederid togider, the yonger sone wente forth
in pilgrymage in to a fer cuntre; and there he wastide hise goodis in lyuynge lecherously.
(13) And not many dayes after, the yonger sonne gathered al together, and tooke his iourney into a farre
countrey, and there wasted his substance with riotous liuing.
(14) Þa he hy hQfde ealle amyrrede, Þa wearÞ mycel hunger on Þam rice and he wearÞ wQdla.
(14) And aftir that he hadde endid alle thingis, a strong hungre was maad in that cuntre, and he bigan
to haue nede.
(14) And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he beganne to be in want.
(15) Þa ferde he and folgode anum burhsittendum men ÞQs rices; Þa sende he hine to his tune ÞQt he heolde
his swin.
(15) And he wente, and drough hym to oon of the citeseyns of that cuntre. And he sente hym in to his
toun, to fede swyn.
(15) And he went and ioyned himselfe to a citizen of that countrey, and he sent him into his fields to feed
swine.
(16) Þa gewilnode he his wambe gefyllan of Þam beancoddum Þe Þa swyn Qton, and him man ne sealde.
(16) And he coueitide to fille his wombe of the coddis that the hoggis eeten, and no man yaf hym.
(16) And he would faine haue filled his belly with the huskes that the swine did eate: and no man gaue vnto
him.
(17) Þa beÞohte he hine and cwQÞ, “Eala hu fela yrÞlinga on mines fQder huse hlaf genohne habbaÞ, and ic
her on hungre forwurÞe! ...”
(17) And he turnede ayen to hym silf, and seide, “Hou many hirid men in my fadir hous han plente of
looues; and Y perische here thorough hungir. ...”
(17) And when he came to himselfe, he said, How many hired seruants of my fathers haue bread inough, and
to spare and I perish with hunger. ...
33
(20) And he aras Þa and com to his fQder. And Þa gyt Þa he wQs feorr his fQder, he hine geseah and wearÞ
mid mildheortnesse astyred and ongean hine arn and hine beclypte and cyste hine.
(20) And he roos vp, and cam to his fadir. And whanne he was yit afer, his fadir saigh hym, and was
stirrid bi mercy. And he ran, and fel on his necke, and kisside hym.
(20) And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ranne, and fell on his necke, and kissed him.
(21) Þa cwQÞ his sunu, “FQder, ic syngode on heofon and beforan Þe. Nu ic ne eom wyrÞe ÞQt ic Þin sunu
beo genemned.”
(21) And the sone saide to hym, “Fadir, Y haue synned in to heuene, and bifor thee; and now Y am not
worthi to be clepid thi sone.”
(21) And the sonne said vnto him, Father, I have sinned against heauen, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy sonne.
(22) Þa cwQÞ se fQder to his Þeowum, “BringaÞ hrQÞe Þone selestan gegyrelan and scrydaÞ hine, and
syllaÞ him hring on his hand and gescy to his fotum.
(22) And the fadir seide to his seruauntis, “Swithe brynge ye forth the firste stoole, and clothe ye hym,
and yiue ye a ryng in his hoond, and schoon on hise feet.
(22) But the father saide to his seruants, Bring foorth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his
hand, and shooes on his feete.
(23) And bringaÞ an fQtt styric and ofsleaÞ, and uton etan and gewistfullian.
(23) And brynge ye a fat calf, and sle ye, and ete we, and make we feeste.
(23) And bring hither the fatted calfe, and kill it, and let us eate and be merrie.
(24) For Þam Þes min sunu wQs dead, and he geedcucode; he forwearÞ, and he is gemet.”
(24) For this my sone was deed, and hath lyued ayen; he perischid, and is foundun.”
(24) For this my sonne was dead, and is aliue againe; hee was lost, and is found.
34
SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. History of the English language: overviews
Algeo, John. 2010. The origins and development of the English language. Boston: Wadsworth.
Barber, Charles. 2005. The English language: a historical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Baugh, Albert C.; Thomas Cable. 2002. A history of the English language. London: Routledge.
Berndt, Rolf. 1989. A history of the English language. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie.
Brinton, Laurel J.; Leslie K. Arnovick. 2006. The English language: a linguistic history. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Fennell, Barbara A. 2001. A history of English: a sociolinguistic approach. Oxford: Blackwell.
Freeborn, Dennis. 1992. From Old English to Standard English: a course book in language variation
across time. London: Macmillan.
Görlach, Manfred. 2002. Einführung in die englische Sprachgeschichte. Heidelberg: Quelle & Mayer.
Gramley, Stephan. 2012. The history of English: an introduction. London: Routledge.
Hogg, Richard; David Denison (eds.). 2006. A history of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Jucker, Andreas H. 2000. History of English and English historical linguistics. Stuttgart: Klett.
Knowles, Gerry. 1997. A cultural history of the English language. London: Arnold.
Lass, Roger. 1987. The shape of English: structure and history. London: Dent.
McIntyre, Dan. 2009. History of English: a resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Millward, Celia M. 1989. A biography of the English language. Fort Worth, TX.: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Momma, Haruko; Michael Matto (eds.). 2008. A companion to the history of the English language.
Oxford: Blackwell.
Moessner, Lilo. 2003. Diachronic English linguistics: an introduction. Tübingen: Narr.
Mugglestone, Lynda (ed.). 2006. The Oxford history of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shay, Scott. 2008. The history of English: a linguistic introduction. San Francisco: Wardja Press.
Singh, Ishtla. 2005. The history of English: a student's guide. London: Hodder Arnold.
Smith, Jeremy. J. 1999. Essentials of early English. London: Routledge.
Van Gelderen, Elly. 2006. A history of the English language. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
2. Old English
Baker, Peter S. 2003. An introduction to Old English. Oxford: Blackwell.
Campbell, A. 1983. Old English grammar. Oxford: Clarendon.
Hogg, Richard M. (ed.). 1992. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 1: The Beginnings to
1066. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hogg, Richard M. 2002. An introduction to Old English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Lass, Roger. 1994. Old English: a historical linguistic companion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mitchell, Bruce; Fred C. Robinson. 2007. A guide to Old English. Oxford: Blackwell.
Moore, Samuel; Thomas A. Knott; James R. Hulbert. 1977. The elements of Old English. Ann Arbor,
MI.: Wahr.
Obst, Wolfgang; Florian Schleburg. 2004. Lehrbuch des Altenglischen. Heidelberg: Winter.
Quirk, Randolph; Charles L. Wrenn. 1994. An Old English grammar. DeKalb, IL.: Northern Illinois
University Press.
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3. Middle English
Blake, Norman (ed.). 1992. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 2: 1066-1476. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Fulk, Robert D. 2012. An Introduction to Middle English: grammar, texts. Peterborough: Broadview Press.
Horobin, Simon; Jeremy Smith. 2002. An introduction to Middle English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press.
Markus, Manfred. 1990. Mittelenglisches Studienbuch. Tübingen: Francke.
Moessner, Lilo; Ursula Schäfer. 1987. Proseminar Mittelenglisch: Lehrbuch mit Texten, Grammatik und
Übungen. Tübingen: Francke.
Mossé, Fernand. 1988. Mittelenglische Kurzgrammatik: Lautlehre, Formenlehre und Syntax. München:
Hueber.
Obst, Wolfgang; Florian Schleburg. 1999. Die Sprache Chaucers: Ein Lehrbuch des Mittelenglischen auf
der Grundlage von 'Troilus and Criseyde'. Heidelberg: Winter.
4. Early Modern English
Barber, Charles. 1997. Early Modern English. London: Deutsch.
Görlach, Manfred. 1991. Introduction to Early Modern English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lass, Roger (ed.). 1999. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 3: 1476-1776. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Nevalainen, Terttu. 2007. Introduction to Early Modern English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scheler, Manfred. 1982. Shakespeares Englisch: Eine sprachwissenschaftliche Einführung. Berlin: Schmidt.
5. Modern English
Beal, Joan C. 2004. English in modern times. London: Arnold.
Görlach, Manfred. 1999. English in nineteenth-century England: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Görlach, Manfred. 2001. Eighteenth-century English. Heidelberg: Winter.
Mair, Christian. 2006. Twentieth century English: history, variation, standardization. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Romaine, Suzanne (ed.). 1998. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. 4: 1776-1997.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6. Historical Phonology and Morphology
Faiß, Klaus. 1989. Englische Sprachgeschichte. Tübingen: Francke.
Faiß, Klaus.1992. English historical morphology and word-formation: loss vs. enrichment. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.
Jones, Charles. 1989. A history of English phonology. London: Longman.
Minkova, Donka. 2014. A historical phonology of English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Welna, Jerzy. 1996. English historical morphology. Warschau: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
7. History of Spelling
Upward, Christopher; George Davidson. 2011. The history of English spelling. Chichester: WileyBlackwell.
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8. Historical Syntax
Dension, David. 1993. English historical syntax: verbal Constructions. London: Longman.
Fischer, Olga et al. 2000. The syntax of early English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9. Etymology
Durkin, Philipp. 2009. The Oxford guide to etymology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hughes, Geoffrey. 2000. A history of English words. Oxford: Blackwell.
Scheler, Manfred. 1977. Der englische Wortschatz. Berlin: Schmidt.
Stockwell, Robert; Donka Minkova. 2001. English words: history and structure. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
10. Varieties of English
Algeo, John (ed.). 2001. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. VI: English in North America.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Burchfield, Robert (ed.). 1994. The Cambridge history of the English language Vol. V: English in Britain
and overseas: origins and development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, David. 1997. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hansen, Klaus; Uwe Carls; Peter Lucko. 1996. Die Differenzierung des Englischen in nationale
Varianten. Eine Einführung. Berlin: Schmidt.
11. Dictionaries
An Anglo-Saxon dictionary, ed. Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller, 2 Vols., Oxford: Clarendon, 1972-76.
Middle English dictionary [MED], eds. Hans Kurath et al., Ann Arbor, MI.: University of Michigan Press,
1952-2001.
The Barnhart dictionary of etymology, eds. Robert K. Barnhart, Sol Steinmetz, New York: H.W. Wilson
Company, 1988.
The Oxford dictionary of English etymology [ODEE], eds. Charles T. Onions et al., Oxford: Clarendon,
1966.
The Oxford English Dictionary [OED], eds. John A. Simpson, E.S.C. Weiner. 20 Vols. Oxford: Clarendon,
1989 [also available on CD-ROM and online].
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