Home Random Page


CATEGORIES:

BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism






GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NE

in New English there emerged one nation and one national language. But the English literary norm was formed only at the end of the 17th century, when there appeared the first scientific English dictionaries and the first scientific English grammar. In the 17th and 18th centuries there appeared a great number of grammar books whose authors tried to stabilize the use of the language. Thus Samuel Johnson, the author of the famous Dictionary (1755). Many famous writers also greatly contributed to the formation of English, and among them, first and foremost, the great Shakespeare.

Early New English (15th - beginning of the 18th century) - the establishment of the literary norm. The language that was used in England at that time is reflected in the famous translation of the Bible called the King James Bible (published in 16th). A great influence was also connected with the magazine published by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele called The Spectator (1711—1714), the authors of which discussed various questions of the language, including its syntax and the use of words.

Late New English - since the 18 century. If the gradual acceptance of a virtually uniform dialect by all writers is the most important event in the emergence of Modern English, Nevertheless, despite the persistence of wide varieties in pronunciation, the basic phonetic changes that distinguish Modern English from Middle English are profound, though they are not reflected in a similar modification of spelling.

 

24. NEW ENGLISH PHONETICS

The system of stress

In native words the stress is fixed and falls on the first root syllable (as in Old English and Middle English). Some of the borrowed words were not fully assimilated phonetically, that is why the stress falls on another syllable, those fully assimilated have the stress on the first root syllable, like in native words. Native English words are short — they have one or two syllables, that is why it is a norm, a rhythmic tendency of the language to have one stressed syllable and one unstressed one =»in borrowed words there developed a system of two stresses. Sometimes the stress is used to differentiate the words formed from the same root by the process called conversion (to pro'duce - 'produce).

Consonants

a) A new [3] was introduced in borrowed words. Otherwise the changes were not so great as in Middle English.

b) Vocalisation of consonants (some consonants in some positions were vocalised — they disappeared, influencing the preceding vowel).Ex.: [r] disappeared at the end of the words and before consonants changing the quantity of the vowel immediately preceding it:

Middle English New English

for [for] [fo:]

form [form] [fo:m]

Vowels

a) In the unstressed position the vowels that were levelled in Middle English generally disappeared at the end of the words. Some of them were preserved for phonetic reasons only, where the pronunciation without a vowel was impossible. Compare, for example, the plural forms of nouns:



Old English Middle English New English

-as -es [z] dogs

[s] cats

[iz] dresses

b) All Middle English long vowels underwent the Great Vowel' Shift. They became more narrow and more front. Some of them remained monophthongs, others developed into diphthongs.

Middle English New English

h e [he:] [hi:] e: => i:

name [na:me] [neim] a: => ei

 

 


Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1654


<== previous page | next page ==>
MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX | THE MORPHOLOGY
doclecture.net - lectures - 2014-2024 year. Copyright infringement or personal data (0.007 sec.)