ENGLISH: LINGUISTICS
22/09/2025
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Practical information
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| Structure of the course
1. Historical linguistics: Old, Middle & Modern
2. Sociolinguistics: variation in (use of) English
3. The language system: phonology, (sounds), morphology and semantics, (words), pragmatics,
(conversations), grammar, syntactic analysis
| Don’t forget
● student ID (for student number + permutation code)
● Black or dark blue pen (fill box completely!)
● pens, pencils, etc. in a small transparent bag
● optional: water + snack
● write your name on all answering sheets
● ask for new answer sheet if mistaken (no coverup)
● do not leave any squares open, answer every question
○ when in doubt → guess !!! (wrong answer doesn't lose any points)
● return all documents when submitting (including scrap paper)
→ exam folder: information sheet, questions, answering sheet, 1 sheet of scrap paper
→ 50 multiple choice questions (need 32/50 to pass) with 4 options (A, B, C, D) (3 hours)
| Practical information
If class is missed, it is missed → email for appointment if necessary
Longer questions → email appointment
PowerPoints uploaded after class
Practical questions: students, PowerPoints, Ufora, TimeEdit
| Course organisation
5 credits, 12 weeks
8:30 – 11:15
Connect to wooclap.com (interactive platform)
| Study materials
PowerPoint slides (Ufora)
Notes
Hand-outs (possibly Ufora)
Exercises
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (David Crystal)
→ don’t study all the details not mentioned in class!
→ use it to read up/check
| Century annotation
,---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson 1: Historical Linguistics: Old, Middle and Modern English
Old English
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| Old English: The name of the language
Old English Anglo-Saxon
emphasizing continuity emphasizing differences
emphasizing language (rather than culture) emphasizing culture (rather than language)
● Celtic
● Anglo-Saxon
● Anglo-Norman
● English
Old → Middle → Modern
In Old English texts: englisc
(word used to refer to the language)
| Periodisation
social/political linguistic
5th C [449] (beginning) 5th C [400-500] (beginning)
Anglo-Saxon Invasion Development of continental to insular (spoken in Britain on island)
11th C [1066](end) 12th C [1100-1150]
Norman Invasion Developments in phonology & syntax
→ language evolves gradually, containing arbitrary breaks
⚠ study centuries & gradual shifts (not specific dates or years)
|| Where did the language come from?
| Sources
1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
● originally written in Old English
● written in South-West of England
● around 9th century
● annals: annual lists describing past and current events (c.f. “medieval newspaper”)
● 8 separate manuscript versions
○copied by monks from different regions
○reflects local (dialectal and regional) variation as well as local interests
2. Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
● English title: Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People
● originally written in Latin
● location: written in Northumbria
● completed in 731 (8th century)
● content: history of Christianity in England from beginning to Bede’s day (8th)
● author: a monk referred to as the Venerable (honourable) Bede
| The Language of Celts in Britain
● Celts (from continental Europe): earliest inhabitants of Britain about whose language we know something
● native language in Britain: British
○ a Celtic language
■ part of Proto-Indo-European Language (not Germanic)
■ proto = early and reconstructed
, ○ Modern descendants: (still spoken today)
■ Welsh (best prospect of surviving)
■ Breton (very few speakers)
■ Cornish (very few speakers)
■ Irish Gaelic
■ Scots Gaelic
[PPT] ‘British’ on graphic is not British English, but a variety of Celtic spoken in Britain
[PPT] Blue/purple: Celts were there: they spread from centre of Europa to (also) Britain
| Roman Invasion (and rule)
● Roman invasion of Britain under Emperor Claudius
c.f. Asterix Cartoons in Gaul, now France
● 1st - 5th C [43 AD – 406AD] Roman Rule
● official language: Latin, spoken by:
○ Roman civil officials
○ Military officers and settlers
○ Britons (Celts) who had dealings with Romans
→ Romano-British
● The Parker Chronicle (Text A>The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)
43. Claudius, second Roman emperor who invaded Britain, conquered most of the land
→ Julius Caesar attempted before, but failed due to a storm, logistical issues and urgent political troubles
back in Gaul
● Hadrian’s Wall
○ built in the 2nd C AD
○ purpose: Emperor of Rome ‘Hadrian’ wanted to defend Roman Empire
○ defend Roman Britain from the Picts (who had previously tried to invade Britain)
○ early 5th C [406] the Romans left
○ reason: they had trouble ‘at home’ which were more important than Britain
→ fighting invading tribes threatening the borders of the Roman Continent
[e.g. Visigoths (blue), Vandals (red)]
→ Fall of Roman Empire
| Trouble in Britain
● Celts lacked a well-organised army to fight off the Picts
● The Peterborough Chronicle (>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) - 433
○ Celts asked Romans for forces against Picts, but they refused since they were at war with Attila
○ Celts also sent a request to the (prince of) Angles
● The Peterborough Chronicle (>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) - 449
○ King Vortigern invited (existence uncertain) the Angles who came to Britain.
○ Vortigern offered them land in exchange for military support against the Picts.
○ The Angles sent for more forces and reported on both the cowardice of Britons as the fertility of land.
○ Result: more Germanic tribes arrived to help or because it seemed like a good place to live
→ (3 Germanic nations) Angles, Old-Saxons, Jutes arrived in England in different waves of migration
○ They brought Germanic languages with them to the island and English developed there
○ Gradual displacement of native Celts, who were pushed back to western regions (Cornwall, Wales)
○ Native population feared the invited tribes
○ Germanic tribes demanded more provisions (land and food)
→ they threatened to end the treaty and ravage the island
○ little influence of the indigenous language in Old English: Celts were killed, enslaved or fled to
mountainous part of the country
○ no cultural interaction/exchange between Celts & incoming tribes (‘language of the slaves’)
↔ contrary to Roman-British cultural and linguistic exchange
, ● indigenous (Celtic) lexical influences that did survive:
○ geographical names [e.g. Avon (water)], Carlisle (fortified city of Luel)]
○ geographical features [e.g. cumb (small valley) → Batcombe, Cumwhitton, etc.]
● languages of Angles + Saxons = base of Old English
○ King Alfred (9th C) played important role in language
■Christian texts available to everyone
■translations of Latin into Old English
■during his reign: start of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
= year-by-year list of events from Christ until ‘present’ events
● but: also influences from other languages
|| Influences on the language
| Roman (Latin) influence
● Romans returned to Britain to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity
● 6th C: Christian missionaries
○ led by Augustine [AD 597]
○ sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Anglo-Saxons
● beginning of the literary age
○ in rapidly growing number of monastic centres
○ Monks: translated and copied manuscripts
■ Latin manuscripts (Bible and other religious texts)
■ Old English manuscripts
■ Glossaries (Latin–Old English)
■ early poems and inscriptions (6th C [AD 700]) e.g. Cædmon’s Hymn
■ Beowulf: manuscript (11th C [AD 1000]) probably composed 8th century
● Latin: lasting source of influence
○ Early loans: many due to contact & trade with Romans
e.g. candle, belt, street, mass, etc.
○ Later loans: many related to conversion to Christianity
e.g. chalice, priest, grammar, hymn, etc.
| Invasion of the Vikings - 8th C
● Wars from within (internal)
○ several “kings of England” in different parts country
○ not united country → frequent internal wars with one another
○ eventually: King Alfred of Wessex nominated as overarching king (9th C)
● Wars from without (outside border)
○ Viking invasion from 8th C onwards, initially: ‘just’ raids
○ 9th C: gradually permanent settlements
○ Treaty of Wedmore 9th C [886]
■peace truce between King Alfred (Anglo-Saxons) and King Guthrum (Vikings)
■Creation of the Danelaw: area where Danes could settle and practice their own laws and
legal practices
■Danes were allowed to settle into that specific part of the country on condition to stop
invading the rest of the country
■remnants: Scandinavian place names concentrated in Danelaw area
e.g. -by (village) Whitby, -thorpe (outlying farm) Copmanthorpe, -kirk: (church) Ormskirk
○ 10th century:
■King Cnut (Canute) ruled England, Denmark and Norway
22/09/2025
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Practical information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Structure of the course
1. Historical linguistics: Old, Middle & Modern
2. Sociolinguistics: variation in (use of) English
3. The language system: phonology, (sounds), morphology and semantics, (words), pragmatics,
(conversations), grammar, syntactic analysis
| Don’t forget
● student ID (for student number + permutation code)
● Black or dark blue pen (fill box completely!)
● pens, pencils, etc. in a small transparent bag
● optional: water + snack
● write your name on all answering sheets
● ask for new answer sheet if mistaken (no coverup)
● do not leave any squares open, answer every question
○ when in doubt → guess !!! (wrong answer doesn't lose any points)
● return all documents when submitting (including scrap paper)
→ exam folder: information sheet, questions, answering sheet, 1 sheet of scrap paper
→ 50 multiple choice questions (need 32/50 to pass) with 4 options (A, B, C, D) (3 hours)
| Practical information
If class is missed, it is missed → email for appointment if necessary
Longer questions → email appointment
PowerPoints uploaded after class
Practical questions: students, PowerPoints, Ufora, TimeEdit
| Course organisation
5 credits, 12 weeks
8:30 – 11:15
Connect to wooclap.com (interactive platform)
| Study materials
PowerPoint slides (Ufora)
Notes
Hand-outs (possibly Ufora)
Exercises
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (David Crystal)
→ don’t study all the details not mentioned in class!
→ use it to read up/check
| Century annotation
,---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson 1: Historical Linguistics: Old, Middle and Modern English
Old English
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Old English: The name of the language
Old English Anglo-Saxon
emphasizing continuity emphasizing differences
emphasizing language (rather than culture) emphasizing culture (rather than language)
● Celtic
● Anglo-Saxon
● Anglo-Norman
● English
Old → Middle → Modern
In Old English texts: englisc
(word used to refer to the language)
| Periodisation
social/political linguistic
5th C [449] (beginning) 5th C [400-500] (beginning)
Anglo-Saxon Invasion Development of continental to insular (spoken in Britain on island)
11th C [1066](end) 12th C [1100-1150]
Norman Invasion Developments in phonology & syntax
→ language evolves gradually, containing arbitrary breaks
⚠ study centuries & gradual shifts (not specific dates or years)
|| Where did the language come from?
| Sources
1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
● originally written in Old English
● written in South-West of England
● around 9th century
● annals: annual lists describing past and current events (c.f. “medieval newspaper”)
● 8 separate manuscript versions
○copied by monks from different regions
○reflects local (dialectal and regional) variation as well as local interests
2. Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
● English title: Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People
● originally written in Latin
● location: written in Northumbria
● completed in 731 (8th century)
● content: history of Christianity in England from beginning to Bede’s day (8th)
● author: a monk referred to as the Venerable (honourable) Bede
| The Language of Celts in Britain
● Celts (from continental Europe): earliest inhabitants of Britain about whose language we know something
● native language in Britain: British
○ a Celtic language
■ part of Proto-Indo-European Language (not Germanic)
■ proto = early and reconstructed
, ○ Modern descendants: (still spoken today)
■ Welsh (best prospect of surviving)
■ Breton (very few speakers)
■ Cornish (very few speakers)
■ Irish Gaelic
■ Scots Gaelic
[PPT] ‘British’ on graphic is not British English, but a variety of Celtic spoken in Britain
[PPT] Blue/purple: Celts were there: they spread from centre of Europa to (also) Britain
| Roman Invasion (and rule)
● Roman invasion of Britain under Emperor Claudius
c.f. Asterix Cartoons in Gaul, now France
● 1st - 5th C [43 AD – 406AD] Roman Rule
● official language: Latin, spoken by:
○ Roman civil officials
○ Military officers and settlers
○ Britons (Celts) who had dealings with Romans
→ Romano-British
● The Parker Chronicle (Text A>The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)
43. Claudius, second Roman emperor who invaded Britain, conquered most of the land
→ Julius Caesar attempted before, but failed due to a storm, logistical issues and urgent political troubles
back in Gaul
● Hadrian’s Wall
○ built in the 2nd C AD
○ purpose: Emperor of Rome ‘Hadrian’ wanted to defend Roman Empire
○ defend Roman Britain from the Picts (who had previously tried to invade Britain)
○ early 5th C [406] the Romans left
○ reason: they had trouble ‘at home’ which were more important than Britain
→ fighting invading tribes threatening the borders of the Roman Continent
[e.g. Visigoths (blue), Vandals (red)]
→ Fall of Roman Empire
| Trouble in Britain
● Celts lacked a well-organised army to fight off the Picts
● The Peterborough Chronicle (>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) - 433
○ Celts asked Romans for forces against Picts, but they refused since they were at war with Attila
○ Celts also sent a request to the (prince of) Angles
● The Peterborough Chronicle (>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) - 449
○ King Vortigern invited (existence uncertain) the Angles who came to Britain.
○ Vortigern offered them land in exchange for military support against the Picts.
○ The Angles sent for more forces and reported on both the cowardice of Britons as the fertility of land.
○ Result: more Germanic tribes arrived to help or because it seemed like a good place to live
→ (3 Germanic nations) Angles, Old-Saxons, Jutes arrived in England in different waves of migration
○ They brought Germanic languages with them to the island and English developed there
○ Gradual displacement of native Celts, who were pushed back to western regions (Cornwall, Wales)
○ Native population feared the invited tribes
○ Germanic tribes demanded more provisions (land and food)
→ they threatened to end the treaty and ravage the island
○ little influence of the indigenous language in Old English: Celts were killed, enslaved or fled to
mountainous part of the country
○ no cultural interaction/exchange between Celts & incoming tribes (‘language of the slaves’)
↔ contrary to Roman-British cultural and linguistic exchange
, ● indigenous (Celtic) lexical influences that did survive:
○ geographical names [e.g. Avon (water)], Carlisle (fortified city of Luel)]
○ geographical features [e.g. cumb (small valley) → Batcombe, Cumwhitton, etc.]
● languages of Angles + Saxons = base of Old English
○ King Alfred (9th C) played important role in language
■Christian texts available to everyone
■translations of Latin into Old English
■during his reign: start of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
= year-by-year list of events from Christ until ‘present’ events
● but: also influences from other languages
|| Influences on the language
| Roman (Latin) influence
● Romans returned to Britain to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity
● 6th C: Christian missionaries
○ led by Augustine [AD 597]
○ sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Anglo-Saxons
● beginning of the literary age
○ in rapidly growing number of monastic centres
○ Monks: translated and copied manuscripts
■ Latin manuscripts (Bible and other religious texts)
■ Old English manuscripts
■ Glossaries (Latin–Old English)
■ early poems and inscriptions (6th C [AD 700]) e.g. Cædmon’s Hymn
■ Beowulf: manuscript (11th C [AD 1000]) probably composed 8th century
● Latin: lasting source of influence
○ Early loans: many due to contact & trade with Romans
e.g. candle, belt, street, mass, etc.
○ Later loans: many related to conversion to Christianity
e.g. chalice, priest, grammar, hymn, etc.
| Invasion of the Vikings - 8th C
● Wars from within (internal)
○ several “kings of England” in different parts country
○ not united country → frequent internal wars with one another
○ eventually: King Alfred of Wessex nominated as overarching king (9th C)
● Wars from without (outside border)
○ Viking invasion from 8th C onwards, initially: ‘just’ raids
○ 9th C: gradually permanent settlements
○ Treaty of Wedmore 9th C [886]
■peace truce between King Alfred (Anglo-Saxons) and King Guthrum (Vikings)
■Creation of the Danelaw: area where Danes could settle and practice their own laws and
legal practices
■Danes were allowed to settle into that specific part of the country on condition to stop
invading the rest of the country
■remnants: Scandinavian place names concentrated in Danelaw area
e.g. -by (village) Whitby, -thorpe (outlying farm) Copmanthorpe, -kirk: (church) Ormskirk
○ 10th century:
■King Cnut (Canute) ruled England, Denmark and Norway
