Part IV The Modern English Period

Check-up questions:

1. What events of this period launched the process of forming the National English Language?

2. What important changes in phonetic system happened in Early ModE?

3. What was the Nature of the Great Vowel Shift?

4. Describe the main changes in grammar system in Modern English:

a) Changes in the categories of noun. What old forms of substantive plural survived in ModE?

b) Changes in the categories of adjectives.

c) Changes in the pronoun system.

d) Changes in the categories of verb.

e) Changes in syntax

5. Describe the main changes in vocabulary system in Early Modern English. Which languages did new word come to English from?

Practical Assignment

Task 1. Try to guess the languages from which the following words were introduced into the English language. The approximate date of the borrowing of the word is given in brackets. What historical events or tendencies do you think the borrowing was connected with?

Here is the list of the names of some languages for reference:

Ancient Greek, Afrikaans, Arabic, Australian native, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Irish Gaelic, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Maori, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Tibetan, Turkish.

Task II. Explain how changed the pronunciation of the following words in Early Modern English:

Task III: Project. Study the Timeline (see Appendix), choose the period in the British history for further investigation and provide a detailed account on how certain events in the British History influenced the English Language.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1037