A Cultural History of the English Language III - Middle English Agenda Social and Political History Linguistic Development Literary Achievements The Norman Conquest 诺曼征服Origin of Normandy: It derives its name from the bands of North men who settled there in the 9th-10th centuries, at the same time that similar bands were settling in the north and east of EnglandEdward the Confessor (1003-1066)Westminster Abbey Harold GodwinsonVS. William I the ConquerorWilliam the ConquerorRobert CurthoseWilliam RufusHenry I daughterStephen of Blois William died Matilda married to Count Geoffrey Plantagenet of AnjouHenry II Defending his French porperty against French King; subjected the Welsh, Scottish and Irish to his sovereignty;Dominating nobles; Reforming legal system: Jury trials were initiated to end the old Germanic trials by ordeal or battle.Strengthen royal control over the church Henry II (1133 - 1189)Henry II Plantagenet, the very first of that name and race, and the very greatest King that England ever knew, but withal the most unfortunate . . . his death being imputed to those only to whom himself had given life, his ungracious sons. . .- From Sir Winston Churchill Kt, 1675: Richard I succeeded Henry II in 1189 and reign for 10 years. He remains one of the very few Kings of England remembered by his epithet, and is an enduring iconic figure in England.Richard the Lionheart“ The reputation of Richard . has fluctuated wildly. . Many of them admired him as a crusader and man of God, erecting an heroic statue to him outside the Houses of Parliament; Stubbs, on the other hand, thought him a bad son, a bad husband, a selfish ruler, and a vicious man. Though born in Oxford, he spoke no English. During his ten years reign, he was in England for no more than six months, and was totally absent for the last five years. ”John Gillingham, Kings and Queens of Britain:King John (1199-1216), was the least successful member of the Angevin dynasty, a complete failure both at war and at home.Quarrel with Pope over who should be Archbishop of Canterbury. Loss of NormandyHe is most associated with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.The Norman SettlementThe reign of William the Conqueror brought with it enoumous changes to the social , political, religious and linguistic fabric of the British Isles. - the introduction of a new nobility:The important positions and great estates were almost always held by Normans or men of foreign blood. - Norman changed the important positions in the church.- the language of the newcomers was Norman French; English was banished from court usage and declined into a patois (an unwritten dialect). Social Status of French Language- used by the ruling class- before long the distinction between those who spoke French and those who spoke English was not ethinic but largely social. Social Stratification : the French-speaking aristocracythe English-speaking peasantrySo not surprisingly, the linguistic influence of the Normans tended to focus on matters of court, government, fashion, and high living.Meanwhile, the English peasant continued to eat, drink, work, sleep and play in English.e.g. two tiers Anglo-Saxon names bakermiller shoemakersheepcow ox French namesmasonpaintertailor beef muttonveal baconAttitude toward EnglishBy the end of the 12th century a knowledge of English was not unusual among members of the high class.The Reestablishment of English- Why? - How - Loss of Normandy: The Norman nobility was losing its continental connections and had been led to identify itself wholly with England. England was on the way to becoming not merely a geographical term but once more a nation. - A Growth of National feelingIsolated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel, the Norman rulers graudally came to think of themselves not as displaced Frenchmen but as Englishmen.Intermarring between Normans and English contributed to the sense of Englishness.- Provincial charater of French in England NormanPicard ( in northeast) Burgundian ( in the east) the Central French of Paris Four principlal dialects of French spoken in France- The Hundred Years War The active interference of France in Englands efforts to control Scotland led Eward III finally to put forth a claim to the French throne and to invade France. It fanned English patriotism to a white heat. It is probably one of the causes contributing to the disuse of French.- The rise of the middle classThere was more incentive to individual effort and more opportunity for a person to reap the rewards of enterprise.The Black Death was to increase the economic importance of the labouring class and with it the importance of the English Language which they spoke! 1356: Use of English in the law court 1362: the Parliment enacted the Status of Pleading and set up an official recognition of Englishafter 1349: English began to be used in the schoolsLinguistic DevelopmentPhonologyMorphologySyntaxVocabuaryStandard English Consonantal changes are slight during this period. - Certain voiced consonants became voiceless and other voiceless consonants became voicedl - Some could be lost completely - Lost consonat clusters begining with /h/. OEhrof / hro:f/drivan / drivan/anlic / a:nlik/swuster / swuster/fader / fader/self /self/scipMErof / ro:f / roofdrive /dri:ve/ driveonli /o:nli/ only suster /suster/ sistervader /vader/ fatherzelf /zelf/ selfshipMiddle English Consonants 1. If a word contains the Germanic gh, sound it as a soft, nearly guttural sound between a modern g and a modern k. E.g., knight, right, bright 2. If a word begins with kn sound the k softly. E.g., knight, knave, knee, knife 3. If a word contains an r, you may roll it lightly like a Spanish or Scots r if you can. E.g., I, wrecche womman, no fors though I spille. Wommen are born to thraldom and penance.MiddleEnglishSoundslikeModerny,imyne,sightmeete,eeme,meet,mete(closee)mateebegge,rede(opene)baga,aamate,maatfatheru,ouhus,housbooto,oobote,boot(closeo)oakolof,ok(openo)boughtVowelsMorphologyloss of inflections (from synthetic to analytic) - loss of grammatical gender OESing. Plur.N stan stan-asA stan stan-asG stan-es stan-aD stan-e stan-ume.g. nounME Sing. Plur. ston ston-es ston ston-es ston-es ston-es ston ston-esPronounsSing. N A G DPlur. N A G D I thouhe, she , itmethee him, hir, hitmy, min thy, thynhis, hir, his methee him, hir, himweyetheyus yowhemoureyourehirus yowhemSyntaxArticles developed: a, the ,The of- possessivee.g. depness of sunne ( deepness of sin) Prepositions occasionally follow objects, especially if the object is a pronoun: e.g. he seyd him to ( he said to him) The progressive began to developShall and will are associated with the futureDo began explosive growthME Word OrderAs a result of the leveling of inflections, syntactic and semantic relationship that had been signaled by the endings on words now became ambiruous. The most direct way to avoid such kind of ambiguity is through limiting the possible patterns of word order. SOV order was found in dependent cluases. cf. OE VocabularyLoan words from French , and Latin Two stages of the influx of French words, with the year 1250 as the dividing line.Before 1250: words associated with church, literature, noble life. e.g. baron, noble, dame, servant, messenger, feast, minstrel吟游诗人 , juggler变戏法者, largess,赏赐,赠品, story, rime 白霜, After 1250: common French words were introduced into English. Governmental and administrative words e.g. crown, state, realm, royal , authority, majesty, scepter 节杖，王权, tyrant 暴君, usurp篡位, oppress, court, councile, parliament, assembly, treaty , alliance, record, adjourn延期，休会, tax, subsidy, revenue, reign统治时期Ecclesiastical 教会的 wordse.g. religion, theology, sermon布道, homily布道，说教, sacrament圣礼, baptism, confession, lesson, passion, clery, parson教区牧师, hermit隐士, crucifix, image, creator, savior, trinity, virgin, saint, miracle, mystery , faith, heresy异教, schism分裂，教派, devotion, temptation, redemption, immorality, piety , charity, mercy, pity, obedience, Law， army and navy terminologies Fashion, meals and social lifee.g. fashion, dress, gown, robe, garment, attire, coat, collar, veil, petticoat 衬裙, lace, embroidery, pleat褶, button, tassel, garter吊袜带, boots, fur, sable黑貂皮, beaver海狸（皮毛）, blue, brown, vermilion朱红色, scarlet, saffron桔黄色, russet黄褐色, tawny茶色, jewel, ornament, brooch胸针, ivory, enamel珐琅, ruby, turquoise绿宝石, emerald翡翠, sapphire蓝宝石, pearl, diamond, crystal, coralGermanic namesmother, father, sister, brother, son , daughter, French namesuncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, loan translation: father-in-lawmother-in-law feast, appetite, taste, viand一件食品, salmon, sardine, oyster, venison鹿肉, beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, sausage, tripe内脏, loin腰, chine脊椎骨, gravy肉汁, poultry, pigeon, toast, biscuit, cream, sugar, olives, salad, lettuce, almonds, raisin, fig, date, grape, orange, lemon, pomegranate, cherry, peach, confection, pasty馅饼, tart, jelly, clove丁香, thyme百里香, herb, mustard, vinegar, nutmeg肉豆蔻, roast, biol，parboil, stew, fry, mince,goblet, saucer, cruet调味瓶, plate, platter大浅盘curtain, couch, chair, cushion, screen, lamp, lantern, chandelier树枝形装饰灯, blanket, quilt, counterpane床罩, towel, wardrobe, closet壁橱, pantry餐具室, scullery碗碟洗涤处, dance, recreastion, leisure,melody, music, chess, conversation, art, painting, sculpture, beauty, figure, image, tone, cathedral, palace, mansion, chamber, ceiling, cellard地窖, garret顶楼, chimney, wicket边门, tower, pinnacle,porch, bay, column, pillar, base, poet, prose, romance, chronicle, tragedy, prologue序言, preface前言, title, volume, chapter, parchment羊皮纸，毕业文凭, paper, pen, logic, geometry几何学, grammar, noun, clause, gender, copy, expound详细说明, compile, study, physician, surgeon, malady疾病, pain, gout, plague, contagion, stomach, remedy, ointment药膏, alkali, poison, sulphur,Latin borrowings- Words relating to law, medicine, theology, science, and literature;- a small number - some with endings like -able, -ible, -ent, -al, -ous, -ive. Standard English- Rise of London as the centre- Standard English developed based on East Midlands dialects with some Northern and Southern influenceMiddle English LiteratureThe Period of Great Individual Writers Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) The Imitative Period : so many poems was written in emulaition of Chaucer.The major poet of England in the late Middle Ages and the most significant writer before Shakespeare. His works can be divided into three periods: - early ones based on French models, - the second period lasted to about 1387 and is characterised by his use of Italian models above all Dante and Boccaccio. The main works of this period are The house of fame, which concerns the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy, The parliament of fowls, a story about the mating of birds on St. Valentines Day.- the third period is that of greatest maturity and contains his masterpiece, The Canterbury tales, an unfinished work of approximately 17,000 lines.Geoffrey Chaucer, (c.1340-1400)Chaucer also offers much insight into medieval social attitudes to love, marriage and religion. The linguistic importance of Chaucer is that he established the dialect of London (south-east midlands) as the input form for the standard in the late Middle English period. Later modifications of this language took place with the introduction of printing in the 15th century. Timeline : The ME Period 1066Battle of Hastings, Norman Conquest1095First Crusade1170Assassination of Thomas a Becket1204King John loses lands in Normandy1258-65The Barons War1337-1453The Hundred Years War1348-1351The Black Death1362Parliament opened in English1340-1400Geoffrey Chaucer1381The Peasants Revolt1476Caxton introduces the printing press 1489French no longer used as the language of Parliament1509Henry VIII ascends the throne