Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

See "Learning activities " and "Syllabus".

More information will be provided on the first day of class.

5.2. Learning tasks

• Theoretical lectures.
• Practical lectures.
• Individual work.
• Personal study.
• Assessment activities.

5.3. Syllabus

(27835) History of the English Language

 1. INTRODUCTION

The internal and external history of a language. Synchrony vs. diachrony. The importance and diversity of English. The discovery of Sanskrit. Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law. English within the Indo-European family. Main characteristics. From Pre-Roman Britain to the Scandinavian invasions.

2. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD

Early English writing: the Germanic runes, the Anglo-Saxon Roman Alphabet Spelling and pronunciation. Vocabulary. Grammar, concord and inflection. Nouns, modifiers, pronouns, verbs. Syntax.

3.THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD

External History. The Norman Conquest and Settlement. The loss of Normandy. Proggressive reestablishment  of English and its general adoption in the 14th century.

General characteristics of Middle English: ME spelling. Foreign Influences on Vocabulary. ME Phonology: changes in pronunciation. ME Morphology: Changes in grammar. The rise of a London Standard.

4. THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD

Key events in the Modern English Period. Expansion of the Vocabulary. The orthography of Early Modern English. Modern English Phonology. The Great Vowel Shift and other changes. Forms, Syntax and Uses. Some key events in the Late Modern period. National Varieties of English.

OTROS RECURSOS PARA EL APRENDIZAJE:

Lecturas obligatorias:

BAUGH, A. & T. CABLE. 1993. A History of the English Language. Londodn: Routledge

FREEBORN, Dennis.1998. From Old English to Standard English. MacmiIllan Press.

Bibliografía Recomendada:

BLAKE, Norman (ed.) 1992. The Cambridge History of the English Language. Vol. II: 1066-1476. Cambridge University Press

HOGG, Richard (ed.) 1992. The Cambridge History of the English Language. Vol. I: The Beginnings to 1066. Cambridge University Press

HOGG, Richard & David DENISON (eds.) 2006.  A History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press.

MUGGLESTONE, Lynda. (ed.) 2006. The Oxford History of English. O.U.P.

NEVALAINEN, Terttu & Helena RAUMOLIN- BRUNBERG. 2003. Historical Sociolinguistics: Language Change in Tudor and Stuart England. London: Longman.

PYLES, Thomas  & John ALGEO. 2010 (6^th ed.) The Origins and Development of the English language. Cengage Learning.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

See the academic calendar of the University of Zaragoza (http://academico.unizar.es/calendario-academico/calendario) and the website of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts (Schedule of classes: https://fyl.unizar.es/horario-de-clases#overlay-context=horario-de-clases; Examination schedule: https://fyl.unizar.es/calendario-de-examenes#overlay-context=)

More information will be provided on the first day of class.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources