Word – stock

Grammar

Middle English New English

Vowels

Consonants

1. A new [3] was introduced in borrowed words. Otherwise the changes were not so great as in Middle English.

B Vocalization of consonants (some consonants in some positions were vocalized – they disappeared, influencing the preceding vowel).

Ex.

[ r] disappeared at the end of the words and before consonants changing the quantity of the vowel immediately p[receding it;

Middle English New English

for [ for] [fo:]

form [form] [fo:m]

A. In the unstressed position, the vowels that leveled in Middle English generally disappeared at the end of the words. Some of them, were preserved for phonetic reasons only, where the pronunciation without a vowel was impossible.

Compare, for example, the plural forms of nouns

Old English Middle English New English

- as es- [z] dogs

[s] cats

[iz] dresses

1. All middle English long vowels underwent the Great Vowel Shift (in early New English, 15^th-18^th century).They became more narrow and more front. Some of them remained monophthongs, others developed into diphthongs.

he [he:] [hi:] e: - i:

name [ name] [neim] a: - ei

In New English, it did not change fundamentally. The main changes are the strengthening of analytical features of the language:

a) In many more cases empty grammatical words are used (form-words);

b) Analytical forms of the Middle English are preserved, and in addition to them in New English non-finite analytical forms appear (in Middle English only finite forms could be analytical);

c) A fixed word order is established.

The vocabulary is changing quickly. Many new words are formed to express new notions, which are numerous.

Ways of enriching the vocabulary;

1 inner means (conversion: hand- to hand);

2 outer means; the sources here are numberless, as the English have not only direct, but also indirect (through books, later – TV, radio, films) contacts with all the world.

In the beginning of the Early New English (15^th-16th century) – the epoch of the Renaissance – there are many borrowings from Greek, Latin, Italian.

The 17th century is the period of Restoration – borrowings come to the English language from French (a considerable number of these words being brought by Charles II and his court).

In the 17^th century the English appear in America- borrowings from the Indian’s language are registered.

In the 18^th century the English appear in India – borrowings from this source come to the English language (but these words are not very frequent, for they denote some particular reality of India, ex. curry)

In the 19^th century the English colonizers appear in Australia and New Zealand new borrowings follow (kangaroo)

At the end of the 19^th-beginning of the 20^th century the English appear in Africa, coming to the regions formerly colonized by the Dutch- borrowings from Afrikaans and Dutch appear.

Old English and Middle English Russian borrowings are scarce- the contacts between the countries and their peoples were difficult. In New English, there are more borrowings: sable (very dark), astrakhan, mammoth, in the 20^th century- soviet, kolkhoz, perestroika, etc.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11