Dates
410-1066AD
What is the date range for Old English?
Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians
Who are the Germanic tribes that came to England in 410AD from Denmark and Germany?
The vocabulary of a language
A group of people that had a significant influence on English vocabulary (and some grammar), and launched the beginning of the Middle English Period
Who are the Normans?
An object credited with facilitating the standardization and spread of the English language through texts.
What is Caxton's printing Press?
43AD
What is the year Romans invaded England?
Early Modern English Writer who gave English ~1,700 words
Who is William Shakespeare?
Chaucer's Final -e
What are the the inflectional endings (-e, -ed, -en, -es) that were pronounced in almost all cases? In Modern English the final -e has become the "silent e" (so Modern English "tale" has but one syllable, whereas in Chaucer's English tale usually had two syllables).
The linguistic influence of Celtic / indigenous British Isles peoples' languages on the development of Old English.
What is "virtually nothing?" (other than some loan words)
Pronouns in ME and EME corresponding to singular nouns, intimacy/informality/affection, and lower rank.
What is thou, thy, thine, thee?
1476
What is the end of Middle English (and the year the Caxton brought his printing press to England)?
Norman King who invaded England
Who is William the Conqueror?
A grammatically correct way to strengthen a negative statement in Middle English
What are double negatives?
A modern language that is grammatically close to English
What is German? (may accept Frisian or Dutch)
A modern equivalent of the word "thine"
What is "yours"?
~800s
What is the Late Old English period and beginning of the Viking age in the British Isles?
Alfred the Great
Who is the English Monarch who united England against the Danes in the late 800s and wrote the first substantial English law does and texts in Old English?
The Great Vowel Shift
What is a super important pronunciation change affecting the long vowels of English that happened 1500-1700s? (where the long vowels shifted upwards; that is, a vowel that used to be pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced in a different place, higher up in the mouth)
The percentage of English words are estimated to have Latin origins.
What is 40%
Person credited with creating the first comprehensive English dictionary in 1755.
Who is Samuel Johnson?
1611
What is the year the KJV bible was published?
John Wycliffe
Who was the first person to translate the Bible in 1382?
Two important syntactical changes that happened in the Early Modern English period
What are helping verbs like "do" in questions and negative statements and simplified inflections (no more -eth)?
The language that gave English 3 imp't linguistic features: “Are”; they/them/their; simpler inflections.
What is Old Norse?
The period of English that pronounced the word "sweet" as sway-teh
What is Middle English?