BMNAN-10500A
Monday 8:15–9:45 (lecture), 10:15–11:45 (consultation) D 215
In this course we will discuss selected issues in the history of the English language at an advanced level. The course consists of two parts: the lecture part in the morning session, and a consultation part in the afternoon, the latter on an individual basis. For the consultation students must choose readings from the list at the bottom of the page and prepare from them for the session. There is a schedule into which all students need to enter the dates at which they come for consultation (at least twice per person during the term, preferably one person at a time).
Topics covered in the lectures:
Fundamental issues of historical and comparative linguistics. Slides
The Indo-European family of languages; Relatedness, Comparative and Internal reconstruction. Slides; Germanic dentals; Slides2
The family tree model; The development of the Germanic languages and some aspects of their structure. Slides
Exercises in reconstruction: Verner's Law and Umlaut. Slides
The external history of the Old English period. Slides
Structural and lexical properties of Old English. Slides
The external history of the Middle English period. Slides
Major sound changes in Middle English; grammatical change. Slides
Aspects of the external history of early Modern English; changes in the grammatical system. Slides1, Slides2
Reanalysis and analogical change; grammaticalisation; on words Slides1; Slides2
Readings for the consultation:
Ritt, Nikolaus (2004) Selfish sounds and linguistic evolution. Cambridge: CUP., esp. chapters 2 & 3.
Keller, Rudi (1994) On language change (originally Sprachwandel. Tübingen & Basel: Francke)
Green, Dennis H. (1998) Language and history in the early Germanic world. Cambridge: CUP.
The Cambridge history of the English language vol. 1. (=the Old English period), ed. Richard M. Hogg: Introduction (Ch1) and Literary language (Ch8).
The Cambridge history of the English language vol. 2. (=the Middle English period), ed. Norman Blake: Introduction (Ch1) and The literary language (Ch6).
The Cambridge history of the English language vol. 3. (=the Early Modern English period), ed. Roger Lass: Introduction (Ch1) and Literary language (Ch7).
Crystal, Davis (2012) Spell it out. The singular story of English spelling. London: Profile Books.
Crystal, Davis (2015) Making a point. The persnickety story of English punctuation. London: St Martin's Press.
Nevalainen, Terttu & Helena Ramoulin-Brunberg (2014) Historical sociolinguistics. Language change in Tudor and Stuart England. London–New York: Routledge.
Further recommended readings:
Marsden, Richard (2015) The Cambridge Old English reader. 2nd ed. Cambridge: CUP.
Lass, Roger (1997) Historical linguistics and language change. Cambridge: CUP.
Campbell, Alistair (1959) Old English grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clackson, James (2007) Indo-European linguistics. An Introduction. Cambridge: CUP.