ME Phonology. ME Morphology

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I. Main historical events of the ME period. II. ME dialects.

I. Main historical events of the ME period.
II. ME dialects.

Rise of the London dialect.
III. ME vowel system. General characteristics.
IV. ME Noun.
V. ME Verbal System
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Middle English (1066-1485) 1066 the Norman Conquest. the Normans were descendants

Middle English (1066-1485)
1066 the Norman Conquest.
the Normans were descendants of Danish

Vikings who settled in northern France (Normandy) in the 9th and 10th c.
1485 – the accession of Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch
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1066 the Norman Conquest The new overlords spoke a dialect of

1066 the Norman Conquest
The new overlords spoke a dialect of Old

French known as Anglo-Norman.
Anglo-Saxon earls were deprived of property, killed; many French nobles made their home in Britain;
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French was used in official documents, court; was the language of

French was used in official documents, court; was the language of

upper class
(till the 13th c.)
Latin was the language of the church, of scholarship, and of international communication;
English - at the spoken level (except in court), among lower classes (peasants and slaves) (the 14th c. its thriumph).
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1204 King John Lackland lost Normandy to the French; 1215 Magna

1204 King John Lackland lost Normandy to the French;
1215 Magna Carta

(Latin “Great Paper”) was written in Latin;
1258 the first royal proclamation of Henry III issued in English since the conquest;
the Hundred Year's War (1337-1453);
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The Black Death (the Plague. 1348-1351); By 1362 CE, the Statute

The Black Death (the Plague. 1348-1351);
By 1362 CE, the Statute of

Pleading (although written in French) declared English as the official spoken language of the courts;
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), an English author, poet, diplomat, the father of English language, his narrative Canterbury Tales (1386-1400).
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War of the Roses (1455-1485), York (white rose) vs. Lancaster (red

War of the Roses (1455-1485), York (white rose) vs. Lancaster (red

rose);
1476 William Caxton brought a printing press to England from Germany. Beginning of the long process of standardization of spelling.
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ME dialects. Rise of the London dialect. the Northern The Central the Southern

ME dialects. Rise of the London dialect.

the Northern
The Central
the Southern


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In England the new standard language which arose in the late

In England the new standard language which arose in the late

Middle Ages was not descended from the West Saxon literary language. It was based on the East Midland dialect (OE Mercian)
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ME vowel system. General characteristics. French influence: The new diagraphs of

ME vowel system. General characteristics.

French influence:
The new diagraphs of French origin:

“ou” (ME double), “ie” (ME chief), “ch”. The two-fold use of “g” and “c” owes its origin to French (ME mercy).
Replacement of final –i by –y, which is more ornamental (ME very).
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Shortening the vowels are shortened before 2 consonants, but remain long

Shortening

the vowels are shortened before 2 consonants, but remain long in

other environment. Exception: -ld, -nd, -mb:
OE cēpan – ME kēpen
OE cēpte – ME kepte
OE wēnde – ME wēnde
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Shortening A long vowel is shortened before one consonant in some

Shortening

A long vowel is shortened before one consonant in some 3

syllable words.
OE sūþerne – ME suþerne
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Lengthening in the 13th c. short vowels were lengthened in open

Lengthening

in the 13th c. short vowels were lengthened in open syllables.


OE talu – tāle
Lengthening affected “a”, “e”, “o”.
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Qualitative changes: Dialect Changes OE hlāf ME lāf (Northen) ME lōf (other dialects)

Qualitative changes: Dialect Changes

OE hlāf
ME lāf (Northen)
ME lōf (other dialects)

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Y,y (long and short) OE fyllan ME fillen (Northen and East

Y,y (long and short)

OE fyllan
ME fillen (Northen and East Midland groups)
ME

fullen (West Midland and South Western)
ME fellen (South-Eastern group)
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å (nasal, before “m”, “n”) OE mån ME man (Northen, Southern,

å (nasal, before “m”, “n”)
OE mån
ME man (Northen, Southern, East Midland

dialects)
ME mon (West Midland)
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Æ (short) OE wæs ME wes (West Midland and South Eastern) ME was (other dialects)

Æ (short)

OE wæs
ME wes (West Midland and South Eastern)
ME was

(other dialects)
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Æ (long) OE slæpan – ME slēpen

Æ (long)
OE slæpan – ME slēpen

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Levelling of unstressed vowels All unstressed vowels were weakened and reduced

Levelling of unstressed vowels

All unstressed vowels were weakened and reduced to

a neutral /ǝ/, which was denoted by the letter “e”.
OE bindan – ME binden
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New diphthongs arose during the transition from OE to ME from

New diphthongs arose during the transition from OE to ME from

vocalisations of OE w, g, h, such as:
ME dai (cf. WS dag),
ME drawe(n) (WS dragan),
ME spewe(n) (cf. WS speowian),
ME saugh (OE seah)
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French loanwords supplied the inventory with the two new diphthongs ui,

French loanwords supplied the inventory with the two new diphthongs ui,

oi
ME puint,
ME royal .
All OE diphthings were monophthongized in ME.
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ME Morphology The ME period is marked by a great reduction

ME Morphology

The ME period is marked by a great reduction in

the inflectional system inherited from OE, so that ME is often reffered to as the period of weakened inflections.
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Reasons for these changes: the mixing of OE with Old Norse.

Reasons for these changes:
the mixing of OE with Old Norse. Frequently,

the English and Scandinavian words were sufficiently similar to be recognizable, but had different sets of inflections (e.g. OE sunu – OScan. sunr);
phonological cause. The loss and weakening of unstressed syllables at the end of words destroyed many of the distinctive inflections of OE (OE endings –an, -on, -un, -um all became –en, which was later reduced to –e.
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ME Noun The number of declensions was reduced to two: ME

ME Noun

The number of declensions was reduced to two:
ME Strong declension:

Nom. Pl –es; Gen. Sg. –es (OE strong a-stem declension);
ME Weak declension: Nom. Pl. –en; Gen. Sg. –en (OE weak n-stem declension).
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In PDE we still have a few relics of other declensions:

In PDE we still have a few relics of other declensions:

there are the mutated plurals like feet, geese, mice, and men, where the vowel of the plural was changed by front mutation, and there is no plural ending.
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The number of cases was reduced to two: Common and Genitive.

The number of cases was reduced to two: Common and Genitive.

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The grammatical categories of the Noun: the category of case (Common

The grammatical categories of the Noun:
the category of case (Common and

Genitive);
the category of number (Singular and Plural);
the category of gender (masculine, feminine and neuter)
types of declension: strong and weak.
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The category of Gender a shift from 'grammatical' to 'natural' gender;

The category of Gender
a shift from 'grammatical' to 'natural' gender;

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The Definite Article In OE the DA showed three genders (sē

The Definite Article

In OE the DA showed three genders (sē masculine,

sēo feminine, þæt neuter), and was declined through all four cases, singular and plural.
The form the arose as Late OE þe, which supplanted sē and sēo.
By the end of the ME period we have reached the modern position, in which the is the only form of the definite article.
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The Verb Old English marked two tenses (past vs present), three

The Verb

Old English marked two tenses (past vs present), three moods

(indicative vs imperative vs subjunctive), and three persons (first, second, third) and two numbers.
4 classes of OE verbs.
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The principle of analogy— the tendency of language to follow certain

The principle of analogy— the tendency of language to follow certain

patterns and adapt a less common form to a more familiar one—is well exemplified in the further history of the strong verbs.
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Classes of ME Verbs At a time when English was the

Classes of ME Verbs
At a time when English was the language

chiefly of the lower classes, it was natural that many speakers should apply the pattern of weak verbs to some which were historically strong.
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The two key changes which affected ME verbs: 1) the reduction

The two key changes which affected ME verbs:
1) the reduction of

inflectional endings,
2) the shift of strong verbs to the weak paradigm.
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The ME Verbal System In ME the system of inflections became

The ME Verbal System

In ME the system of inflections became much

reduced, but a complicated system of tenses is built up by means of the primary auxilaries (be, have, do) and the modal auxiliaries (shall, should, will, etc.).
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The Future Tense The future tense with shall and will is

The Future Tense

The future tense with shall and will is established

in ME.
In OE these verbs had the connotation of obligation and desire respectively:
OE ic sceal meant “I am obliged to”
OE ic wille meant “I wish to”.
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The Perfect Tenses and Passive Forms The Perfect tenses with habban

The Perfect Tenses and Passive Forms

The Perfect tenses with habban or

bēon and the passive forms with bēon and weorþan already existed in OE, but they came to be used more frequently in ME.
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The Continuous Tenses The Continuous tenses, formed with be + the

The Continuous Tenses

The Continuous tenses, formed with be + the present

participle, also arise in ME, but are not at all common until the Modern English period.
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By the end of ME the perfect, passive, and continuous markings

By the end of ME the perfect, passive, and continuous markings

of the verb were all well established, though much less frequently used than today.
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ME Syntax As the inflectional system decayed, other devices were increasingly used to replace it.

ME Syntax

As the inflectional system decayed, other devices were increasingly used

to replace it.