Middle English Syntax
Articles developed:
a from one and pe was used for uniqueness (the sun) and definiteness/givenness (the man I know)
What made the Anglo-Saxon period come to an end?
The Norman invasion
(14 October 1066)
During the middle English period a number of very significant changes became visible, what kind of changes were they?
Major, from Old English to Middle these are the loss of inflections, therefore, the development of fixed word order.
What is an example of Middle English works?
(Mention at least one)
Havelok the Dane, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Piers Plowman, and Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
They are typically made up of possessive+ noun+noun+modifer.
This place in the timeline earned the name of: "Dark Ages."
Black Plague or also known as the Bubonic plague. it killed between 30% and 45% of the population.
(Started spreading in Europe, 24 June 1348)
Old English diphthongs were all simplified and all the diphthongs of Middle English are new formations, how were they different?
Such as the combination of a simple vowel with the following consonant ([J] or [W]), which is vocalized.
The first book ever produced on the printing press.
The bible.
By the end of this time period the Nouns had several changes such as:
The only remaining inflections for nouns were the plural and possessive markers.
The war that made French an unpopular language in England.
The hundred years war.
( 1337-1453 )
In which two environments did the Shortening occur in the Early Middle English period?
-Before double consonants and Consonant clusters except some of them.
-In the first syllable of a trisyllable word.
Referred as "the Pearl Poet.", this author and work was fairly relevant in this period.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Mention one example of Decay of Inflectional Endings seen in Middle English.
m > n in inflectional endings (e.g., muðum > muðun, godum > godun)
The new (and old) -n ending dropped (e.g., muðu, godu)
inflectional -a, -u, -e, changed to the // sound, which was usually spelled -e (e.g., muðe, gode).
This event led to the international expansion of the English language as a recognized language.
The development of the printing press.
( William Caxton prints the first book in England: 18 November, 1477)
What type of change the adjectives went through during this period?
Lost all distinction between the strong and weak declensions, except monosyllabic adjectives ending in consonants.
What meaning does it have "Magna Carta"?
"Great Charter", directly translated from Latin.
Mention one example of a change that verbs suffered.
The strong conjugation dwindled. As new verbs entered the language, they were conjugated like weak verbs.
Survival of Strong Participles (e.g., hew, hewed, hewn; melt, melted, molten; mow, mowed, mown)
The Lancaster and York Houses of the House of Plantagenet, who ruled England, entered into a rivalry, what name does this event recieve?
The War of the Roses.
( 1455-1485 )
What was the greatest influence on Middle English grammar (vocabulary)?
While the loss of inflections and the consequent simplification of English grammar were thus only indirectly due to the use of French in England, French influence is much more direct and observable upon the vocabulary.
Also named the: "Ilegal English Bible"
Wycliffe Bible, done by John Wycliffe, he was an Oxford professor.
Translated the Bible into English, as he believed that everyone should be able to understand it directly.