Introduction:
It is one of the main languages in the world and it is the international language these days. English language is the language that faced many changes that affects in several things. For example, some changes occur in writing system, phonological system and other changes during many centuries. English language is about four stages: Old English, Middle English, Modern English, and Early Modern English. In each era, there is an affection of other tribe’s languages on English language. As an example, Germanic tribes who moved into Britain and have an impact on Old English language are (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes). In the same way, the effects of the tribes lead to have many changes in vowel system, which calls the Great Vowel Shift .In this paper, I will discuss the Great Vowel Shift and the the process of that huge change.
The meaning of Great Vowel Shift:
The Great Vowel Shift happened in Modern English between 1500- 1800 which make some changes from Middle English to Modern English. Otto Jespersen is a Danish linguist and he is the discoverer of The Great Vowel Shift. He is the first person who studied the Vowel system and Great Vowel Shift. Furthermore, that period called The Great Vowel Shift because of the huge shift that occurred in vowel system at that time. Additionally, the changes appear in pronunciation during 15th -18th century. Moreover, The Great Vowel Shift is a huge change in the sound system and affects the long vowel of English in 15th to 18th centuries. The meaning of the Great Vowel Shift is "racial change in pronunciation during 15th century as a result of which long vowel sound began to be made higher and further forward in the mouth short round sound were largely unchanged".(The...
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...fi:f) five Ĩ
(mi:d) (med:ₔ)meed Ē
(go:t) (gᵓ:to) goat Ā
(ru:t) (ro:to) root Ō
(daun) (du:n)down Ū
According to the table above, there is an obvious difference between Chaucer and Shakespeare at their way of writing .Moreover, the differences in the way of producing, all of that is as a result of the Great Vowel Shift that occur at 16th century.
Conclusion:
To summarize, The Great Vowel is one of the huge shifts that happened in English language. The Great Vowel Shift change the way of producing the words from Middle English into Modern English .In addition, The Great Vowel Shift makes an effect on the linguistics and English literature. For example, the differences between Chaucer and Shakespeare in their writing anf=d producing the words. Finally, I think, The Great Vowel Shift makes the English language modern after the affection that the language faced .
In the article “Do You Speak American?,” Robert MacNeil is trying to reach the american public, especially those who do not have a complete understanding of the ongoing changes that are happening to the English that is spoken throughout the United States. He uses a multitude of examples to prove this very fact. For one he wants to inform the people that one reason for this change is that average people now have more influence in the way language is spoken.Which to him is a good thing. He enjoys the new evolution that American English has undertaken. He believes that it is a step in the right direction. Another, example he uses are the changes different regions and/or group of people have made on the English language. He uses the different accents and dialect to show the growth and improvement that occurred. Even though, some linguist view these changes as wrong, MacNeil views them as necessary and as something that is unique to the United States. In essence, a necessary growth that only makes the United States grow into a better country. Thus, making it more diverse.
...gger and better brought a completely new way of life that was exported. World-wide (Marling) including the domination of English as the language of science and a whole lot more (Keniston), until it became the main language of the Internet and other things we enjoy today.
Bunyan, John, and L. Edward. Hazelbaker. The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. Alachua, Florida: Bridge-Logos, 1998. Print.
The English language has been in constant transition throughout its history, but the most significant transformation in modern English can be credited to William Shakespeare. With Shakespeare’s invention of commonly used expressions, his creation of new words, and his use of iambic pentameter, he was able to affect the language in a way that no person since has. Shakespeare’s influence on modern English is not only visible in everyday speech, but also in the fact that his work has survived over four hundred years and it continues to be performed and read worldwide.
...somewhat to fit the modern English language. William Shakespeare was truly a legendary author that helped expand the English language we speak today. His remarkable work will help teach and influence English for many years to come.
Shift is defined as the movement of one linguistic unit from its position to another position. An example of shift is when a speaker says, “in case she decide to hits it” while he intended to say “decides to hit it.” In the previous example, the suffix “s” disappears from its place and it is added...
One example of this is in Falstaff’s use of prose instead of rhyming iambic pentameter. When Falstaff speaks it resembles the way a commoner would speak, he uses small words in short sentences without the formal poetic style of King Henry. In his honor speech Falstaff conveys his message in choppy, conversational style, with no word longer than four syllables (“catechism”), and no sentence longer than eight words (“Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on?”) (Shakespeare 101). When King Henry speaks it is in iambic pentameter, he uses larger words, and more lofty subject matter. This divergence in speech style helps intensify the rhetorical divide between these two men, and remind the reader of their juxtapositional traits in the play.
how the English language has changed in the many years from then until now. The
Shakespeare has perhaps contributed the most to the English language of any writer known to man – literally. Over 1000 words and phrases that he coined as part of his plays and prose are now in common use across the globe. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, added on previously unheard-of prefixes and suffixes and in some cases made words out of nothing. Even culturally sensitive words such as ‘ode’ (The ANZACS) and scientific jargon (‘epileptic’) are in fact products of Shakespeare. Bernard Levin probably summed this up best when he wrote: “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle… had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, … - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;…” (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking: 1986).
Bibliography GRADDOL, D., LEITH, D., and SWANN, J., (eds) (1996) English: history, diversity and change, Routledge in association with The Open University (course book) University College of London Phonetics department website (www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/queen2.htm) entered on 23/3/03
The English language has evolved remarkably. The Great Vowel Shift between 1400 and 1700 shows a great discontinuity in pronunciation alone. Different attitudes towards language reached a height during the 17th and 18th Centuries with Prescriptivists such as Defoe, Swift and Louth. Prescriptivists believe that there is an approach which sets out rules for what is regarded as correct in language. Some prescriptivist rules for English include not splitting infinitives, resulting in sentences such as 'to go boldly where no man has gone before', rather than 'to boldly go'.
As its name suggests, Middle English is the language that was spoken in the country of England around the 12th to 15th centuries. Middle English became the prominent language in England near the end of the 11th century shortly after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066. Unlike England's preceding language, Old English, Middle English evolved into much more of a written language. There were many writers and educated English scholars who worked to translate Old English texts into the new Middle English language. There were also writers, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, who used the Middle English language to write new works which employed new and creative literary techniques. One such work, The Canterbury Tales, is a work that has been recognized as having an extreme significance on the development of the Middle English language. This work is argued to be the greatest literary contribution to the Middle English language and is credited with popularizing the language among literary scholars. However, despite its historical influence on the Middle English language, the significance of the work is less seen today because of the evolution of Modern English. As a result, it is important to investigate the origins of this work and in so doing, make an effort to realize the overall importance of reading the text in its original Middle English language.
The settlement of the British Isles by north Europeans followed by Norman French paints the backdrop to this essay which will focus on the period between the early 15th and 17th centuries, when a'standard' English language evolved. It will show that modern-day English is very different to that first introduced to the British Isles, but by identifying changes through time, its continuity can be demonstrated. Finally, it will suggest that present day English is in a position analogous to that which existed before the Norman invasion, when there were many varieties and dialects, and that this may lead to its decline as a global language, due to decreasing intelligibility. The beginnings of English can be found in the occupation of England from the 5th century by north and west German ethnic groups who brought their 'indigenous dialects' (Seargeant, P. 2012, p. 1). The Oxford English Dictionary defines English as 'Of or related to the West Germanic language spoken in England and used in many varieties throughout the world' (Seargeant, P. 2012, p. 7).
The Political, social and cultural impacts on the English language during its Old English phase.
Nevertheless, some may find that the Old English is uncomplicated and a more consistent language since with it every letter specifically and invariably relates to a single sound. Unlike the modern English there are not silent letters or phonetic inconsistencies to confuse them. Several of the commonly used words today in English have their roots in Old English. Such words as water, strong, house, earth and many more can be traced to Old English. Also at some point in the 6th Century the Old English “sk” consonant cluster changed to “sk” consequentially changing words “skield” to “shield”. This change affected all “sk” words in existence in the language at that time. Therefore, any “sk” clusters in modern English became part of the English language after the 6th Century. Followed by, around the 7th Century, a shift in vowel pronunciation took place. With this vowels began to be pronounced more to the frontal area of the mouth. Consequently, the plural of several nouns also began to have modified vowel pronunciation instead of changes in inflection. This resulted at times in revised spelling which lead to the inconsistent modern English word pairing for example goose/geese, mouse/mice or blood/bleed to name a few. Late in the 8th Century the Viking from Scandinavia began to make raids on