Germanic Rhotacism

The consonant /z/ that resulted from the voiceless fricative /s/ by Verner’s Law developed into /r/ in North and West Germanic Languages.

/r/ in North Germanic (e.g. OIcl – dagr)

/ z /

/s/ in East Germanic

(e.g. Gothic dags)

–

West Germanic

(e.g. OE dxg)

Periods of the History of the English Language

1. Traditional Periodisation.

2. Henry Sweet’s division of the History of the Language.

3. Approach of Yuri Kostyuchenko.

Recommended Books:

Rastorguyeva T.A. A History of English. – M., 1983. – P. 49 – 55

Blake N.F. A History of the English Language. – New York University Press, 1996. – P. 1 - 24

1. Traditional Periodisation

Traditionally histories of the English have divided their account into three main periods:

- Old English (sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxon, 449 – 1066);

- Middle English (1066 - 1475/1485);

- Modern English (1476/1485 – up to now).

The last period is divided into 2: Early Modern English and Late Modern English. The reasons for this division are as much political as linguistic. Old English differs from Middle English in that the Norman Conquest of 1066 introduced new settlers who spoke a variety of Old French and thus changed the nature of English. But there was an equally important series of invasions by Scandinavians (the so-called Viking invasions and settlements) from the end of the 8^th century onwards. Middle English differs from Early Modern English, and the transition from one to the other is traditionally dated at 1485 when the Tudors replaced the Yorkists after the Battle of Bosworth. Both 1066 and 1485 are political dates whose familiarity has forced historians of the language to accept then as significant for the development of the language as well.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1582