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The seminar describes the development of the English language between 1500 and 1750. In its initial part students familiarise themselves with basic problems and methods of historical language description. Then the different levels of the Early Modern English language system are studied. Peculiarities of this period and the major structural changes are demonstrated by examples taken from phonology, spelling, and noun and verb morphology as well as from syntax. In addition, students study the development of the linguistic situation in England, the processes of standardisation and codification of the English language and the rapid expansion of its lexicon. Typical texts produced in the period are read, analysed and compared to their Present-Day English equivalents to give students an impression of important differences between the two stages in the development of English. Considering standard and non-standard dialects, the seminar studies their influence on Present-Day English and its variability. |
