History of English Language
Study of the origin and development of English: its sounds, word-forms, and syntax.
Outcomes: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history of English and some understanding of linguistic theory.
Study of the origin and development of English: its sounds, word-forms, and syntax.
Outcomes: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history of English and some understanding of linguistic theory.
Pre-requisites: UCWR 110 and one 200-level English course.
The English language originated in migration and settlement. The area of settlement was subsequently named ¿England,¿ a region with a complex linguistic ecology where English developed into a kaleidoscope of local dialects. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the language began to spread beyond the British isles; during the same period, the language contracted into a standard written form. Today, after a long period of standardization, English is diversifying again, on account of its worldwide use by some 2 billion people, most of whom are multilingual.
In this seminar we study the development of the English language from Indo-European to the internet. Topics include speech sounds and writing systems; words as units of meaning and structure; concepts of variation, standardization, dialect, and register; diachrony and synchrony; language contact and multilingualism; socio-linguistic status and domains of use; technologies of communication (writing, print, audio broadcast, `social media,¿ etc.); and tools for language study (the International Phonetic Alphabet, the Oxford English Dictionary, linguistic corpora). Assessment is by written assignments, a class presentation, and midterm and final exams.
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