Show:
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Posters 6 -10
Posters 11 -15
Posters 16 - 20
Odds and Ends
100
Language evolution can be metaphorically compared to a tree. The major tree of our Mother Tongue has been called Indo-European. It shows five major branches. It is this branch that will lead us to Modern English.
What is Germanic.
100
In this Anglo Saxon work, the anonymous poet uses colorful phrases such as "peace weaver" for a woman and "light of battle" as a metaphore for a sword. This epic is the greatest example of Old English Literature.
What is "Beowulf?"
100
This greatest of all playwrights of the English Renaissance will add to the language by creating memorable phrases in his works as well as borrowing or coining new words when he needs a fine nuance of meaning. His language hits the masses from his theater in Southwerk and will later be published in the famous first Folio Editon of his plays.
Who is William Shakespeare?
100
Over the more recent centuries, English has travelled far beyond the boundaries of old Anglo-Saxon Britain. Many, many countries use English as their official language. Geographically, these are three of the largest countries in the world that use English extensively.
What are Canada, the United States, Australia, India.
100
Jutes, Angles and Saxons emigrate from Europe to the British Isles beginning in 449 AD. They bring their German tongue from the northern coast of Germany and what was known as Jutland. This modern day country was ancient Juteland.
What is Denmark?
200
While we do not know the language spoken by the Pre-Celts, we do know they needed extensive language proficiency to erect this great stone circle. This famous megalith, believed to be for astronomical calculations, still survives in Britain today and is well over 3000 years old.
What is Stonehenge?
200
About the same time as the Danelaw in England, vikings settle into Nothern France and establish a land known as Normandy, named for them (the Norsemen). Three centuries later, in 1066, these descendents of the Vikings invade with William the Conquerer and will help rule England. This is the language that these new rulers will speak.
What is French? Norman French?
200
This "Father of English Literature" who is buried in Westminster Abbey, proudly used his Middle English vernacular for his writings. He is best known for his collection of Short Stories in verse known as "The Canterbury Tales."
Who is Geoffrey Chaucer?
200
English has added words from every major language around the globe. The words "typhoon, kumquat, ketchup, and tea" all come from this, the world's most spoken language.
What is Chinese? Mandarin?
200
The historical King Arthur fought near the boarder of present day Wales in trying to fend off Germanic speaking invaders in the 6th Century. This is the language that the historical King Arthur would have spoken.
What is Celtic.
300
Only a handful of words such as whiskey, slogan, plaid, and penguin remain in Modern English from this culture that conquered the Stonehenge people. However, this group has provided hundreds of place names such as London, Trent and Thames that are still used.
Who are the Celts?
300
Words such as "knife, egg, crook, and window" enter our language from these inhabitants of The Danelaw in the 9th century. Alfred the Great draws a boundary line keeping them north of his Saxon Kingdom.
Who are the Vikings? Language of Norse/Danish?
300
French adds tremendously to the vocabulary of the developing Middle English with duplicate words (such as power for might, and cure for heal) and similar words (such as mansion for house and pork for swine) and even new words (such as court, peace, mercy, praise, and pray.) This is the typical estimate for the number of new words that enters Middle English from French.
What is 10,000?
300
Rare copies of the Bible have existed in the vernacular of the people in England since Anglo Saxon times. At any point in time it shows the evolution of the English language. These line from Matthew 8:24 below show what stage of English? Old, Middle, or Modern. "and Loo! a grete stirrrygn was maad in the sea, so that the litil ship was hilid with wavwis, but he slepte." show what stage of English. Old, Middle, or Modern.
What is Middle English?
300
Using the Wessex dialect of Old English from his capital city of Winchester,... this great King of the Anglo Saxons who lived around 800 AD is responsible for commissioning "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles", the secular history of the times which spans two centuries.
Who is King Alfred the Great?
400
While the Angles and Saxons are the best know of the Germanic invaders to Britain of the 5th century, this often ignored Germanic cultural group may have actually been the first to arrive in 449 AD.
Who are the Jutes?
400
Words for body parts such as "finger, hand, ankle"; words for family such as "man, wife, and child"; and terms from Nature such as "sun, moon, and stars" have entered Modern English from from this foundational tongue.
What is Germanic? or Old English?
400
While the German, Johann Gutenberg is credited with inventing the moveable-type printing press,... it is this entrepreneur who in 1476 will bring a press to London. He will set up shop adjacent to Westminster Abbey printing Bibles, Chaucer, and Malory. He will help set up a standardization and "one written English" due to setting writings in "Type".
Who is William Caxton?
400
English is the world's leading langage. English has become the common language of the world's airline industry. English has replaced Latin and German as the international language for scholarly matters, and it has replaced this language which has previously been considered the proper language to be used for matters of diplomacy by foreign ambassadors.
What is French?
400
"Put some Scotch tape, or even a band-aid on that ripped xerox... and while your at it grab me a kleenex." The sentence in quotes shows 4 terms added to the language through this unique manner.
What are brand names?
500
This "great" king of the Anglo-Saxons impacts the course of the English language by preventing the overthrow of Old English speaking Anglo-Saxons by Viking invaders. After establishing a boundary line for the Danelaw, he then sets about commissioning the Old English masterpiece of secular history known as "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles"
Who is Alfred the Great?
500
After 1066, the majority of the poplulation (Saxon peasants) still speak Old English. Latin is still noted in matters of scholarship. However, this is the "official" language spoken by the rulers of government, the courts of law, and the elite of the business community.
What is French?
500
These two classical languages will add a prodigious amount of words to English during the Renaissance. A re-birth of learning is kick started as scholars re-discover the brilliant works of ancient writers. The classical authors of the rediscoverd works in the arts and sciences used these two languages.
What are Latin and Greek?
500
Words come to English in many ways besides being borrowed from other languages. Words such as scuba, PC, and snafu were created by pronouncing the initial letters in a much longer phrase. Such words are known by this name.
What are acronyms?
500
"My husband and his sister cut into the rotten hard boiled dggs with steak knives." In this sentence, six of the key words derive from the language of these people.
Who are the Vikings? Norse/Danes?