AJ3DC_HVAJ Historical Development of English Language

Faculty of Education
Spring 2017
Extent and Intensity
0/0/12. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Olga Dontcheva-Navrátilová, 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
Timetable
Fri 24. 2. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58, Fri 10. 3. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58, Fri 24. 3. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58, Fri 7. 4. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58, Fri 28. 4. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58, Fri 12. 5. 16:40–18:20 učebna 58
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
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.
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
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
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2017/AJ3DC_HVAJ