LECTURE 6 Middle English: language (II)

1
LECTURE 6Middle Englishlanguage (II)
ISTORY OF ENGLISH

• Lei ZHU
• Shanghai International Studies University

2
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Evidence
• 1. Spelling
• 2. Poetry meter
• e.g. a. Scots dialect a/e/oi/ya/e/o
• haiff half
• neid need
• noyne noon
• b. Ormulum (late 12th century)
• c. The Pentacost Play (c. 1470)

3
Ormulum
4
Ormulum
5
Ormulum
6
Ormulum
7
Ormulum
8
The Pentacost Play
x / x / x / x /
9
4 Orthography and sound changes
10
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Vowels in unstressed syllables

11
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Vowels in stressed syllables

12
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Vowels in stressed syllables

13
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Vowels in stressed syllables

French influence
Latin influence
14
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Vowels in stressed syllables

15
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Consonants

16
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Consonants

French influence
17
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Consonants

18
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Consonants

French influence
19
4 Orthography and sound changes

• Summary of French and Latin influences
• 1. OE c gt ME ch
• leoflice gt leofliche lovingly
• 2. OE c gt ME c/k/ck
• boc gt bock book
• macode gt makede made
• 3. OF c/s s gt ME c/s s
• cité gt cité/sité city
• 4. OE cw gt ME qu
• cwene gt quene queen
• cwic gt quic quick
• 5. OE u gt ME ou/ow
• cuþe gt couþe knew
• nu gt now now
• 6. OE u gt ME o
• sunu gt sone son

20
5 Grammar

• Declension

21
5 Grammar

• Conjugation

OE Strong verbs 1/3 were lost in time 40 became
weak verbs.
22
5 Grammar

• 3rd person pronouns

23
5 Grammar

• Double/multiple negation
• His moder nes na?t þer
• his mother ne-was not there
• (Michael of Northgate Ayenbite of Inwyt)
• That noon of us ne speke noght a word
• that none of us ne speak not a word
• (Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales)
• ne dropped in time
• not standard particle of negation

24
5 Grammar

• Periphrasitic expressions
• have done
• he hath a thousand slayn
• he has a thousand slain
• be on/in doing
• he was on hunting
• this church was in building

25
6 Vocabulary

• Germanic
• 1. Native English words
• 2. Scandinavian/Old Norse loan words
• OE fisc gt ME fisch fish
• ON fiskr gt ME fisk fish
• (See list of ON loan words)

26
6 Vocabulary

• French
• 1. Old Northern French (ONF) loan words
• (11th 12th centuries)
• 2. Parisian (and other) French loan words
• (13th century )
• (See list of French loan words)

27
6 Vocabulary

• French

28
6 Vocabulary

• French
• Stress pattern
• left-handed vs. right-handed
• Germanic Romance
• dominant (14th cen.)
• In divers art and in diverse figures.
• (Chaucer CT 2 1460)

/ x x /
29
6 Vocabulary

• French
• faux amis false friends
• Actuellement "at the present time Actually
• Assister à attend Assist
• Attendre à wait for Attend
• Avertissement warning Advertisement
• Blesser wound, injure, or offend Bless
• Bras arm Bras
• Caractère nature/temperament Character
• (but never a person in a play)
• Cent hundred Cent
• Chair flesh Chair
• Chance luck Chance
• Christian a masculine French name Christian
• Coin corner Coin
• Collège high school College

30
6 Vocabulary

• French
• words and expressions of mixed origins
• French Germanic hybrid
• gentle man gentleman (1275)
• false -hood falsehood (1290)
• gentle -ness gentleness (1300)
• gentle -ly gently (1330)
• doubt un- -ed -ly undoubtedly (1500)
• -ry husband husbandry (1290)
• -ess god goddess (1340)
• -able eat eatable (1483)

31
6 Vocabulary

• French
• words and expressions of mixed origins
• French Germanic hybrid
• pray beseech pray and beseech
• permission leave by leave and by permission
• source head head and source
• hazard hap haphazard (1575)
• court yard courtyard (1552)

32
7 Describing dialect differences

• Scandinavian influence
• geographical variation
• French influence
• variation through time

33
8 Reading practice (IV)

• South Eastern dialect / Kentish dialect
• Ayenbit of Inwyt (1340) by Michael of Northgate
• Northern dialect
• The Bruce (ca.1375) by John Barbour
• West Midland dialect
• Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Kny?t
• (late 14th century)
• East Midland dialect
• The Canterbury Tales
• (late 14th century)
• by Geoffrey Chaucer

34
South Eastern dialect

• Efterward saint gregori telþ þet saint boniface
  uram þet he wes child / he wes zuo piteuous þet
  he yaf ofte his kertel and his sserte to þe poure
  uor god. þa? his moder him byete ofte þeruore.
  Þanne be-vil þet / þet child yze? manie poure þet
  hedden mezeyse. he aspide þet his moder nes na?t
  þer. an haste he yarn to þe gerniere / and al þet
  his moder hedde y-gadered uor to pasi þet yer he
  hit yaf þe poure. and þo his moder com and wyste
  þe ilke dede hy wes al out of hare wytte. Þet
  child bed oure lhorde and þet gernier wes an
  haste aluol.
• Michael of Northgate Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340)

35
South Eastern dialect

• Efterward saint gregori telþ þet saint boniface
  uram þet he wes child / he
• wes zuo piteuous þet he yaf ofte his kertel and
  his sserte to þe poure uor god,
• þa? his moder him byete ofte þeruore. Þanne
  be-vil þet / þet child yze?
• manie poure þet hedden mezeyse. he aspide þet his
  moder nes na?t þer.
• an haste he yarn to þe gerniere / and al þet his
  moder hedde y-gadered uor
• to pasi þet yer he hit yaf þe poure. and þo his
  moder com and wyste þe
• ilke dede hy wes al out of hare wytte. Þet child
  bed oure lhorde and þet
• gernier wes an haste aluol.

36
Northern dialect

• A! Fredome is a noble thing!
• Fredome mays man to haiff liking
• Fredome all solace to man giffis,
• He levys at ese that frely levys!
• A noble hart may haiff nane ese,
• Na ellys nocht that may him plese,
• Gyff fredome fail for fre liking
• Is yarnyt our all othir thing.
• Na he that ay has levyt fre
• May nocht knaw weill the propyrtè,
• The angyr, na the wretchyt dome
• That is couplyt to foule thyrldome.
• Bot gyff he had assayit it,
• Than all perquer he suld it wyt
• And suld think fredome mar to prise
• Than all the gold in warld that is.
• Thus contrar thingis evirmar
• Discoweryngis off the tothir ar.

37
Northern dialect

• A! Fredome is a noble thing!
• Fredome mays man to haiff liking
• Fredome all solace to man giffis,
• He levys at ese that frely levys!
• A noble hart may haiff nane ese,
• Na ellys nocht that may him plese,
• Gyff fredome fail for fre liking
• Is yarnyt our all othir thing.
• Na he that ay has levyt fre
• May nocht knaw weill the propyrtè,
• The angyr, na the wretchyt dome
• That is couplyt to foule thyrldome.
• Bot gyff he had assayit it,
• Than all perquer he suld it wyt
• And suld think fredome mar to prise
• Than all the gold in warld that is.
• Thus contrar thingis evirmar
• Discoweryngis off the tothir ar.

38
West Midland dialect
Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Kny?t (late 14th century)
39
West Midland dialect

• The grene kny?t vpon grounde grayþely hym
  dresses,A littel lut with þe hede, þe lere he
  discouere?,His longe louelych lokke? he layd
  ouer his croun,Let þe naked nec to þe note
  schewe.Gauan gripped to his ax, and gederes hit
  on hy?t,Þe kay fot on þe folde he before
  sette,Let him doun ly?tly ly?t on þe naked,Þat
  þe scharp of þe schalk schyndered þe bones,
  schrank þur? þe schyire grece, and scade hit in
  twynne,Þat þe bit of þe broun stel bot on þe
  grounde.

Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Kny?t (late 14th century)
40
West Midland dialect

• The grene kny?t vpon grounde grayþely hym
  dresses,A littel lut with þe hede, þe lere he
  discouere?,His longe louelych lokke? he layd
  ouer his croun,Let þe naked nec to þe note
  schewe.Gauan gripped to his ax, and gederes hit
  on hy?t,Þe kay fot on þe folde he before
  sette,Let him doun ly?tly ly?t on þe naked,Þat
  þe scharp of þe schalk schyndered þe bones,
  schrank þur? þe schyire grece, and scade hit in
  twynne,Þat þe bit of þe broun stel bot on þe
  grounde.

Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Kny?t (late 14th century)
41
West Midland dialect

• In a somur sesoun whan softe was the sonne
• Y shope me into shroudes as y a shep were
• In abite as an heremite, vnholy of werkes,
• Wente forth in the world wondres to here,
• And say many sellies and selkouthe thynges.
• Ac on a May morning on Maluerne hulles
• Me biful for to slepe, for werynesse of-walked
• And in a launde as y lay, lened y and slepte
• And merueylousliche me mette, as y may telle.

Piers Plowman (14th century)
42
East Midland dialect
The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) by
Geoffrey Chaucer
43
East Midland dialect
The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) by
Geoffrey Chaucer
44
East Midland dialect

• This worthy lymytour / this noble Frere
• He made alwey / a manere louryng cheere
• Vp on the Somonour / but for honestee
• No vileyns word / as yet to hym spak he
• But atte laste / he seyde vn to the wyf
• Dame quod he / God yeue yow right good lyf
• Ye han heer touched / also moot I thee
• In scole matere / greet difficultee
• Ye han seyd muche thyng / right wel I seye
• But dame here as we ryden by the weye
• Vs nedeth nat / to speken / but of game
• And lete auctoritees / on goddes name
• To prechyng / and to scoles of clergye
• But if it like / to this compaignye
• I wol yow / of a somonour telle a game

The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) by
Geoffrey Chaucer
45
East Midland dialect
Chaucers portrayal of the Northern dialect
The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) by
Geoffrey Chaucer