Lesson 1 recapped in 3 sentences: Old English 450 - 1100
The Anglo-Saxon invasion of England brought about new vocabulary and a new language. They spelled words phonetically and had no standardization whatsoever. The most famous piece of literature that represents this period is "Beowulf" which creates the archetype of a hero that we still use today.
Words added to the language:
- house
- man, wife, child
- sheep, cow
- day, night
- universe
Thoughts on this lesson:
Well first of all, an invasion of anything or anywhere is pretty awesome by itself, can I just say. Secondly, not that I'm a nerd or anything, but I finally got to connect all my precious National Geographic articles about the Anglo-Saxons to something I could understand. It was pretty interesting to see that this invasion had such an impact on the very language I write in, I think in, that I speak in! And I finally got to see what the big deal about "Beowulf" was. To be completely honest, I thought "Seriously? That's what everyone makes such a big deal about? I can't even read it. What the heck is 'Ne sorga snotor guma!' supposed to mean?!" I was pretty convinced that it was not in fact English but a martian language. But after reviewing how much it impacted our modern day stories, I gained a little bit more respect for the anonymous author. Just a little.
Lesson 2 recapped in 3 sentences: Middle English 1100 - 1500
After a couple hundred years, the Normans invaded England, bringing their French language to the higher classes while most of the native people still spoke English. One contribution of this period was comedy and satire, created by Chaucer. He wrote the very famous "Canterbury Tales", a collections of stories that featured no violence but simply comedy and word play.
Words added to the language:
- law, judge, parliament
- confectioner, pastry
- pork, mutton, beef, veal
- music, dance, literature, poetry
Thoughts:
Okay so I actually wasn't here during this lesson because I finally got called down to the office (YES! I swear I have psychic powers) so I might have missed this entirely... However, I did indeed do my homework and after reading the pages in the text book, my first thought was that Middle Age England has to learn how to defend itself! They seem to get invaded quite frequently. Don't think that's great for the national morale... My second thought was that I had no idea English had some sort of French origin. But it does explain why mansion is so similar to maison, why labour is the same in French as it is in English. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW. (Pause to admire this revelation) After I got over that, I thought it was pretty interesting that comedy had its roots in an English author because we see satire every day in our era today.
Lesson 3 recapped in 4 sentences: Early Modern English 1500 - 1800
This is the period of time when William Caxton introduced the printing press to England and helped disperse literature throughout the region. This is also the height of the English existence, with the English navy sailing the world, importing not only products but words as well. Samuel Johnson tried to create the dictionary but it was Noah Webster that finished it and published this piece of work we still use this day. This is also the era of sonnets, the most famous written by Anne Locke and Sir Philip Sidney.
Words added to the language:
- soprano, stanza, opera, violin, solo (from Italy)
- alligator, armada, cigar, cargo (from Spain)
- algebra, sugar, tapestry, zero, assassin (from Arabia)
- silk, tea, cash (from China)
- calico, thug, veranda, bungalow, polo (from India)
- toboggan, moose, moccasin, skunk, tobacco (from North America)
Thoughts:
First of all, my Lutheran roots were very proud about the fact that the German Gutenberg created the printing press and dispersed Martin Luther's 95 These across Europe. (For those of you not so familiar with Christianity, Lutheranism is a branch of Christianity, much like being Protestant or Baptist). So when I heard that all of a sudden this Caxton guy exists and apparently invents the printing press I thought "Whoa whoa whoa. Back up. It was Gutenberg first." (sometimes I get a bit defensive about certain things...). But learning that Caxton introduced the printing press to England, it was totally cool. I was just about to start an international debate... I have to say, I liked this era of the history of the English language the best. I thought what Noah Webster did was very ambitious and I commend his dedication. Without this standardizing of the language, we would never be able to communicate with other people who speak English as well but are from different regions of the world. Bravo Noah Webster! I will definitely pick up a copy of the Merriam-Webster dictionary now. (Or just google definitions...) My favourite part of this entire unit was the Sonnets. Man, if only I had a boyfriend who would write me sonnets. (Correction. If only I had a boyfriend. Period.) He'd be a keeper for sure. And the fact that Anne Locke was the first female to write a sonnet? GIRL POWER. You show those obsessive male poets what women can do Anne/Ann/An Locke/Lock/Loch!
Lesson 4 recapped in 0 sentences: Present Day English 1800 - today
Words added to language:
- computer
- subway
Thoughts:
Oh wait. I don't believe we had a lesson on this time period. But apparently, because of advancements in technology, transportation, communication devices, the English language has obtained many more additions to its vocabulary.
All in all, I didn't think I would take a lot from this unit. But looking at this blog, I realized I really did! Although sometimes dry, learning the origins of your own language can explain many things. I will never again take the dictionary for granted.
Excellent - a very thorough and well informed post.
ReplyDelete