PdF:AJc305 Historical Development of Engl - Course Information

AJc305 Historical Development of English Language

Extent and Intensity

0/0/2. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

doc. Mgr. Světlana Hanušová, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

• English Language Teacher Education for Secondary Schools (programme PdF, C-CV)

Course objectives

The course gives the phonological development from Indo-European into Modern English, with occasional examples from Czech. Old English and Middle English are taught synchronically, as foreign languages, with a few diachronic excursions. The grammatical system of Old English is then compared with that of Modern English and Modern Czech. A similar pattern is applied on lexis, mentioning the Latin, Scandinavian and Norman/French influences. The core of the work in the seminars is in the reading of texts: after a few Old English texts the main attention is paid to Middle English, to "Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer. A specimen of Shakespearan English is included.
The main objectives of the course are to familiarise students with the development of English from the original synthetic to the present-day analytic language, to make them realise the sources of its lexical heterogeneity, and to understand the complex processes leading to its current phonological system.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students will be able to:
understand and describe the development of English from the original synthetic to the present-day analytic language,
identify the phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical phenomena that were typical of the individual historical stages of English;
understand the complex processes leading to the New English phonological system.

Syllabus

• 1. Grimm s laws.
• 2. Indo-European vowels.
• 3. Vowel changes in Old English.
• 4. Lengthening and shortening of stressed vowels.
• 5. The formation of new diphthongs.
• 6. The Great Vowel Shift.
• 7. Foreign influences on English: Norman French, Scandinavian, Latin.
• 8. Old English syntax.
• 9. Middle English and Early New English syntax.
• 10. Analysis of three Old English texts.
• 11. 200 lines of "Canterbury Tales".
• 12. William Shakespeare, an extract from "As You Like It".

Literature

required literature
• HLADKÝ, Josef. An Old English, Middle English, and Early-New English reader. 4. opr. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1998, 286 s. ISBN 8021018550. info

recommended literature
• CRYSTAL, David. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, vii, 499. ISBN 0521530334. info
• VACHEK, Josef. Historický vývoj angličtiny. Edited by Jan Firbas. 8. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1994, 276 s. ISBN 8021004878. info
• BAUGH, A. C. and Thomas CABLE. A history of the English language. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 1993, xiv, 444. ISBN 0415093791. info

Teaching methods

Explanation and seminar discussion; reading and analysis of OE, ME and ENE texts in class; set reading.

Assessment methods

Completion prerequisites:
- attendance at seminars (minimum 80%);
- homework (assigned at seminars and via Moodlinka);
- final test (to pass: min. 65%) and oral colloquy (if the test score is below 70%).

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 24 hodin.

Teacher's information

http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=3540

• Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2024/AJc305