Тема: Genre Stratification of the Old English Texts

Discussion points:

1. The genres of OE texts.

Speak on the main genres of OE texts (literary and non-literary) and their peculiarities.

2. OE prose.

Discuss the distinguishing features of OE texts of religious, legal, philosophical

and scientific character.

3. OE poetry.

Speak on the most noticeable lexical and semantic features of OE poetry: synonyms;

metaphoric circumlocutions (“kennings”); repetitions; alliteration).

Practical assignments:

I. Read the two extracts from “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” (A.D. 896 and 1013).

Make a phonetic analysis and a grammatical of all the inflected parts of speech.

Translate the texts into MnE. Find examples of different types of word order and of

multiple negation. Point out prototypes of analytical forms of the verb. Pick out derived

and compound words and analyse their structure. Comment on the meaning of

verb prefixes. Note the loan-words from Latin.

II. Read the extract from “Beowulf” (837-852). Point out the alliteration in each line.

Point out the synonyms and metaphoric circumlocutions. Make a phonetic and a

grammatical analysis of the text.

Discussion points:

1. The Scandinavian invasions.

Speak on the Scandinavian invasions and the Scandinavian contribution to the

English language (the first onslaughts from the Vikings; the Treaty of Wedmore and

the Danelaw; the intermingling between the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavian in33

vaders; the political annexation of England under Canute; the incorporation of the

Scandinavian element in OE and Early ME dialects).

2. The Norman Conquest and its effect on the linguistic situation.

What were the historical and social conditions operative at the time of the

French influence? In what way did the French influence differ from the earlier influences?

How can you characterize the general impact of the Norman Conquest on the

English language? What was the outcome of the struggle between English and

French? What is your opinion as to the effect of the large-scale adoption from French

on the means of vocabulary extension in English? What groups of borrowed words

can be distinguished? What is the proportion of native words to foreign?

3. Spelling changes and reading rules in ME.

Study the reading rules in ME and say what new letters and digraphs denoting

consonants and what new spelling devices denoting vowels appeared in ME.

4. Phonetic system of ME: vowel changes.

What phonetic conditions affected the length of vowels in ME? What change affected

the OE monophthongs in ME? Were the changes positional or independent?

What changes did the unstressed vowels undergo in ME? How did it affect the

grammatical endings?

5. Phonetic system of ME: consonant changes.

Speak on the consonant changes in ME (the growth of affricates and sibilants,

the new phonological treatment of fricatives).

6. Phonetic system of ME: development of diphthongs.

Speak on the loss of OE diphthongs and the development of new diphthongs in

ME.

I. Read the words with the letters a and o:

was tale throte cumen

appel maken stolen sone

hath haven brother some

al waken dores wonder

ladder same open aboven

II. Read the words with the digraphs ow and ou:
ou [u:] ow [u:] ow [ou]

out < ūt town < tūn owen < āʒen

mous < mūs how < hū bowe < boʒa

wound < wūnd now < nū knowen < cnāwan

our < ūr cow < cū snow < snāw

III. Read the words with the letter e:

feet ноги chief главный receiven получать

street улица field поле deceiven обманывать

breed хлеб shield щит obeisaunce послушание

heath вереск thief вор receipt рецепт

ea [e:] ey [ei] ew [eu]

year год wey < weʒ дорога knew знал

dead мертвый grey < ʒrēʒ серый trewe истинный

meat мясо key < c ключ dew роса

IV. Read the following ME words and explain the employment of the italicized letters:

certainly, pacient, carrie, killen, geste, gold, was, seson, ese, sory, other,

thinken, the, that, natheless, both, afere, every, fight, thief, very, yonge, sonne, not,

hose, mous, low, loud, toun, how, knowen, whether, straunge, what, knight, taughte.

V. Comment on the changes of the short monophthongs [æ] and [y] and long monophthongs

[ā], [ , [ ].

VI. Give the corresponding ME words and account for the shortening of the OE vowels:

sōft, mīn, w sc, līc, dūst, ʒōd, fēdde, fīf, fl sc, fīftiʒ.

VII. What is the origin of the MnE consonant phonemes [ʃ], [tʃ], [dʒ] in native words?

VIII. Account for the underlined consonants in:

IX. What is the origin of the diphthongs [ai], [au], [ou] in day, now, owe?

X. Write and read the ME words originated from the following OE words:

seʒl парус, reʒn дождь, heʒ сено, ʒnaʒan грызть, saʒu сказание, laʒu закон.

XI. Classify the following borrowings into two groups: a) the French borrowings, b)

the Scandinavian borrowings:

крестьянин, windoe окно, skye небо, were война, mountain гора, sergeaunt сер-

жант, low низкий, ill плохой, frère монах, loos просторный, chamber комната,

pencil кисть, fellawe товарищ, carpenter плотник, table стол, egg яйцо, mercer

торговец, pleasure удовольствие.

element:

words

деревня

ручей

деревушка

загороженное

место

English placenames

and the Scandinavians from the nature of Scandinavian loan words?

XIV. Comment on the English-Scandinavian etymological doublets:

skirt – shirt; scatter – shatter.

XV. Comment on the following fragment from “Ivanhoe” by W. Scott:

‘Why, how call you those grunting brutes running about on their four legs?’ demanded

‘Swine, fool, swine, …’

‘… And swine is good Saxon,’ said the Jester; ‘but how call you the sow when

she is flayed, and drawn, and quartered, and hung up by the heels, like a traitor?’

‘Pork,’ answered the swine-herd.

‘I am very glad every fool knows that too,’ said Wamba, ‘and pork, I think, is

good Norman-French; and so when the brute lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave,

she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman and is called pork, when she is

carried to the Castle hall to feast among the nobles; that dost thou think of this,

friend Gurth, ha?’
СЕМИНАРСКОЕ ЗАНЯТИЕ № 1

Тема: MIDDLE ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY

Discussion points:

1. The noun in Middle English.

What kinds of change in the morphological system did the ME phonetic changes

involve? Describe and account for the loss of inflexions in ME nouns. Point out the

remaining inflexions.

2. The adjective in Middle English.

What kinds of change in the adjective paradigm can be distinguished in ME?

Note the growth of analytical forms of the degrees of comparison.

3. The pronoun in Middle English.

Speak on the lexical and grammatical changes in the personal and possessive

pronouns in ME. What are the two directions of the development of the demonstrative

pronouns? Comment on the simplifying changes in other classes of pronouns (interrogative,

indefinite, relative).

4. The article in Middle English.
Speak on the ME system of determination. What is the origin of the indefinite

article? of the definite article? Comment on the further development of the articles in

ME.

5. The adverb in Middle English.

of ME adverbs: suffixation, mutation, suppletive and analytic forms.

Practical assignments:

I. Discuss the grammatical elements of the following words:

II. Give the ME plural forms of the following nouns and compare them with the OE

plural forms in brackets:

yeer (ʒēr), book (bēc), nut (hnyt), word (word), cou, cow (c ), moneth (mōneþ),

burg (byrʒ), thing (þinʒ).

III. Give the ME singular forms of the following nouns and comment on their declension

type:

dogges, shoon, eyen, stones, feet.

IV. Account for the development of the following nouns and adjectives:

OE lār > ME lore

OE sunne > ME sonne

OE healf > NE half

OE breoht, briht > ME bright

OE dēop > ME deep

V. Determine the form and syntactical function of the adjectives:

было свободного места в сердце, в котором могло бы находиться плотское ве-

селье.

VI. Choose the pleonastic forms of the degrees of comparison of the ME adjectives:

VII. Compare the paradigm of the personal pronouns in OE and in ME. Point out the

changes and explain their preconditions.

37

VIII. Read and translate the text. Point out the pronouns and determine their class,

IX. Compare the development of case and number in nouns, adjectives and pronouns.

X. What is the connection between the growth of articles, the history of pronouns and

the decline of adjectival declensions?

Discussion points:

1. Strong verbs.

What kinds of change in the system of the verb did the ME leveling of endings

involve? Comment on the growth of homonymy and the simplifying changes in the

conjugation of the ME verb. Describe the re-arrangement of the OE division into

classes of weak and strong verbs. Account for the degeneration of the classification

of the OE strong verbs with their regular system of form-building.

2. Weak verbs.

Speak on the tendency of the weak verbs towards greater regularity. Cite your

examples. What accounts for the greater productivity of the weak verbs in ME?

Comment on the proportion of strong and weak verbs in ME.

3. Preterite-present verbs.

Describe the ME phonetic and analogical changes which affected the forms of

the preterite-present verbs, and semantic changes which affected their functions.

4. Suppletive verbs.

What grammatical distinctions lost in other verbs did the suppletive verbs preserve?

Give the paradigms of the ME suppletive verbs.

5. Growth of analytical forms and new grammatical categories.

What is the second (after simplification) trend of the morphological development

of the ME verb? Enumerate the new grammatical forms and categories of the

verb and point out their sources. Were the developments in the verb system confined

to ME? Cite examples to prove your point. What is the connection between the

growth of analytical forms and the changes at the syntactic level?

Practical assignments:

I. Describe the development of the principal forms of the following verbs:

OE wv. 1 fēdan, sv. 7 wēpan, wv. 2 āscian, sv. 3 sincan, sv. 3 windan.

II. Compare the OE and ME forms of the following verbs and comment on the

changes:

OE ME

III. Give two examples of strong verbs which have acquired the weak-type conjugation

and two examples of weak verbs which have acquired the strong-type conjugation.

IV. Account for the present and past tense forms of the principal auxiliary verbs.

V. Write the ME forms of the following preterite-present verbs:

OE sceal – scolde; OE mæʒ - mihte; OE cann – cūðe; OE mōt – mōste; OE

VI. Mention some verbs that, being originally preterites, have come to be used as presents,

and account for their usage.

VII. Read the sentences, point out the verbs and comment on their form:

произошли.

VIII. Read the sentences, point out the preterite-present verbs and comment on their

form:

Они могут учить маленьких девочек танцевать.

более всего.

IX. Use the following quotations to describe the history of the Continuous forms:

It was not for nothing that my nose fell a-bleeding on Black Monday. (Shakespeare)

The clock struck ten while the trunks were carrying down … (J. Austen)

X. Read the following sentences and point out the Perfect form. Comment on the use

of the auxiliary ben:

But of o thing I warne thee ful right, But of one thing I warn you straight;

Be wel avysed, on that ilke night be very careful on that very night

That we ben entered in-to shippes bord that we enter the ship

That noon of us ne speke nat a word. that none of us should speak a word.

(G. Chaucer)

XI. Read the following sentences, point out the Future form and comment on its use:

Thou shalt na-more, thurgh thy flaterye,

Do me to singe and winke with min ye. (G. Chaucer)

You will no more make me sing and wink my eye with your flattery.

XII. In his “theory of progress” O. Jespersen asserted that English, being an analytical

language, was more advanced than other languages. Consider and criticize some

of his arguments:

(1) The forms are generally shorter, thus involving less muscular exertion and

requiring less time for enunciation.

(2) There are not so many of them to burden the memory.

(3) Their formation is much more regular.

(4) Their syntactic use also presents fewer irregularities.

(5) The clumsy repetitions known under the name of concord have become superfluous.

(6) A clear and unambiguous understanding is secured through a regular word

order.

СЕМИНАРСКОЕ ЗАНЯТИЕ № 12
Тема: MIDDLE ENGLISH. DISCUSSION.

Discussion points:

1. What new spelling devices appeared in Middle English?

2. What environment allowed a stressed vowel to preserve its Old English quantity?

3. What were the sources for the appearance of new categorical forms? Give examples

from the nominal and verbal paradigm.

4. Speak on the principal sources of enriching the vocabulary in Middle English.

Practical assignments:

1. Study the model of the phonetic, grammar and vocabulary analysis of the ME text.

Make analysis of the extract from Canterbury Tales (The Prologue). Read and translate

it.

СЕМИНАРСКИЕ ЗАНЯТИЯ № 13-14

Тема: MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS. THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE

Discussion points:

1. The Southern dialects.

What varieties represent the Southern dialects? What peculiarities of spelling

and phonetics distinguish them from other ME dialects? Enumerate their morphological

peculiarities.

2. The Central (Midland) dialects.

By what varieties were the Central dialects represented? Point out their principal

distinguishing features in spelling, phonetics and morphology.

3. The Northern dialect.

What are the peculiarities of the Northern dialect (spelling, phonetics, morphology)?

4. Spread of London dialect in the 15th century.

What predominant features did the London dialect exhibit? What made it the

source and the basis of the literary standard? Speak on the Early ME records. Note

the importance of the introduction of printing. Speak on the role of Chaucer and his

contemporaries in the spread of London English.

5. The Scottish language.

Describe the sources and conditions of forming the Scottish language. What are

the characteristic peculiarities of Scots?

6. The formation of the national literary language;

Discuss the following problems:

(i) national language as a historical category;

(ii) literary language and its historical relation with regional dialects;

(iii) unified language standard and the period of ‘normalization’.

7. The peculiar features of Modern English.

Describe the characteristic features of MnE in the spheres of phonetics and

morphology. Characterize the vocabulary of MnE. Point out the new ways of wordformation.

Characterize the distinguishing features of the MnE syntax.

8. Expansion of English.

Speak on the spread of English since the 17th century with the growth of colonial

expansion (North America, India and Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand, Malaysia,

Singapore, South Africa). Characterize the present-day English as the global lingua

franca.
Practical assignments:

I. Explain the divergence between the spelling and the pronunciation of the following

words:

feet, foot, road, soup, nose, by, brought, clerk, heart, some, house, way, draw,

cough, mind, debt, wag, was, know, the, thorn, solemn.

II. Read and translate the text. Point out the words having undergone the shift.

III. Read and translate the text. Pick out the legal terms and comment on their etymology.

Compare the spelling of dettes with the modern variant. What is the origin of

the word lawe? Explain the use of the verb doe in the affirmative sentence. Comment

on the spelling of the name in the title and in the signature.

Shakespear’s Will (1616)

… I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture. I gyve and bequeath

IV. Study the model of the phonetic, grammar and vocabulary analysis of the MnE

text. Make analysis of the extract from Shakespeare The Tragedie of Macbeth (Actus

Secundus, Scena Prima). Read and translate it.

1. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. История английского языка. Учеб-

ник. Хрестоматия. Словарь. – СПб., 2000. – 512 с.

2. Расторгуева Т.А. История английского языка. – М., 2003. – 248 с.

3. Резник Р.В., Сорокина Т.С., Резник И.В. A History of the English Language.

История английского языка. – М., 2003. – 496 с.

4. Аракин В.Д. История английского языка. – М.: Просвещение, 1985. – 256 с.

5. Аракин В.Д. Очерки по истории английского языка. – М.: ФИЗМАТЛИТ,

2007. – 288 с.

6. Берков В.П. Введение в германистику. – М.: Высшая школа, 2006. – 199 с.

7. Бруннер К. История английского языка: в двух томах. – М.: Едиториал

УРСС, 2003. – 720 с.

8. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. Практикум по истории английско-

го языка. – СПб.: Авалон, Азбука-классика, 2005. – 192 с.

9. Павленко Л.Г. История английского языка. Практикум для вузов. М.: ВЛА-

ДОС, 2008. – 63 с.

10. Смирницкий А.И.Лекции по истории английского языка (средний и новый

период). – М.: Добросвет, 2000. – 238 с.

11. Ярцева В.Н. Развитие национального литературного английского языка. –

М.: Едиториал УРСС, 2004. – 288 с.
VII. САМОСТОЯТЕЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА СТУДЕНТОВ
1 Происхождение английского языка. - сообщение сентябрь

2 Периодизация истории английского языка.- сообщение сентябрь

3 Древнеанглийские памятники письменности.- сообщение ноябрь

4 Фонетическая структура и орфография древнеанглийского языка- сообщение ноябрь

5 Древнеанглийская лексика и словообразование - сообщение ноябрь

6 Древнеанглийская грамматика - сообщение ноябрь

7 Древнеанглийские диалекты - контрольный опрос ноябрь

8 Среднеанглийский период. Фонетическая структура и орфография среднеанглийского языка.- сообщение декабрь

9 Среднеанглийская лексика и словообразование.- доклад декабрь

10 Среднеанглийская грамматика. - сообщение декабрь

11 Среднеанглийские диалекты - контрольный опрос декабрь

12 Новоанглийский период: английский язык в меняющемся мире - сообщение декабрь

13 Фонетические изменения в новоанглийском языке - сообщение декабрь

14 Новоанглийская грамматика - сообщение январь

15 Обогащение словаря в новоанглийский период - доклад январь
Материалы _________к самостоятельной работе

Тема № 1

Английский как язык международного общения в области науки, торговли,

культуры, туризма. Место английского языка в генеалогической классифика-

ции. Языки германской группы. Языки скандинавской, западногерманской и

восточногерманской подгрупп. Самые ранние памятники германской письмен-

ности (Евангелие Вульфилы IV века). Сопоставление древнегерманских языков

как метод их исследования. Черты общности германских языков. Соответствия

в системе согласных в индоевропейских (негерманских) и германских языках

(закон Я.Гримма). Сильные и слабые глаголы в германских языках.

Происхождение английского языка. Первые упоминания о Британии у ан-

тичных авторов. Римский период истории Британии. Вторжение англов, саксов

и ютов в середине V века. Возникновение английского языка на основе запад-

ногерманских диалектов. Первые германские государства на территории Бри-

тании. Их борьба за гегемонию. Возвышение Уэссекса в IX веке. Скандинав-

ские завоевания и их влияние на развитие английского языка. «Область датско-

го права» (Danelag). Англия под властью датских королей. Взаимодействие

английского языка и скандинавских диалектов. Реставрация англо-саксонской

власти в 1042 году.