Modern English. Texts for reading and comparative analysis

Old English

Texts for reading and comparative analysis

Points for discussion

Plan

ENGLISH ALPHABETS, PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING

Seminar 2

The writing habits

The writing habits which were developing in the 14 - 15 centuries laid foundation for the modern English orthography. But in the ME period spelling remained inconsistent. Thus, the sound [v] could appear in writing as v or u, e.g.: love, loue; over, ouer. The sound [∫] could be spelt sh or sch, e.g.: ship, schip; shire, schire. There was no constituency in the use of the final e and the use of different digraphs, e.g.: toun, town, book, boke, hous, house, whit, white.

In the NE period the development of spelling had a tendency towards its unification. However, this development was rather slow. English spelling arrived at fixed standards only in the 18^th century.

3. Old English alphabet, pronunciation and spelling.

4. Middle English and Early Modern English spelling.

Objectives: The students will be able to

· define the main terms;

· comment on the Old English alphabet, pronunciation and spelling;

· comment on the changes in alphabet, spelling in ME and EMod E;

· read, translate and analyse OE, ME, EModE texts.

Strategies for learning:

· Focus attention on the procedures of the plan.

· Listen to recordings of English texts, practice pronunciation.

· Use recommended resources.

· List the most complicated problems to discuss.

· Review the main points of the lecture, follow the outline.

· Old English / Anglo-Saxon (Englisc).

· Anglo-Saxon runes.

· Old English alphabet.

· Middle English spelling.

· Early Modern English spelling.

· Changes in the alphabet.

· Ways of denoting long vowels.

· Digraphs with “h”.

· Aestheticism of writing and spelling changes.

· The writing habits.

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/stella/readings/OE/CAEDMON.HTM

(for listening)

I. Cædmon’s Hymn

The story of Cædmon is well-known from Book IV, Chapter 24 of the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Visitors to Westminster Abbey in London will see the stone placed to the memory of Cædmon in “Poets’ Corner”.

Nu sculon herian heofonrices Weard,

Metodes mihte and his modgeþanc,

weorc Wuldorfæder, swa he wundra

gehwæs

ece Dryhten, or onstealde.

He ærest scop eorþan bearnum

heofon to hrofe halig Scieppend.

þa middangeard mancynnes Weard

ece Dryhten, æfter teode

firum foldan Frea ælmihtig.

Now [we] must praise [the] Guardian of [the] heavenly kingdom, [the power] of God and his conception,

[the] work of [the] Father of Glory, in that He, eternal Lord, established [the] beginning of every marvellous thing.

He, holy Creator, first created

heaven as a roof for children of men.

Then [the] Guardian of mankind,

eternal Lord, almighty Master, afterwards adorned [the] earth for living beings.

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