Middle English Prosody

1. stress on root syllables, less stress on subsequent syllables

2. loss of endings led to reduction in number of unstressed syllables, increased use of unstressed particles such as definite and indefinite articles, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, analytic possessive (of), marked infinitive (to), compound verb phrases

3. OE trochaic rhythm shift to ME iambic rhythm (unstressed syllables followed by stressed ones) (caused by increase in use of unstressed particles and by French loan words accented at the end of the word)

Middle English Graphics & Writing

1. Not much English writing during 1100-1200 period; influence of French scribes; new spelling conventions.

2. 26 letters, ash (æ) and eth (ð) dropped, thorn (þ) and yogh () retained; French loans "j" and "v" treated as allographs of "i" and "u"; "v" reserved for initial position; interchangeable "y" and "i"

3. yogh: -- a Middle English character derived from the Old English character for "g"; it had various pronounciations, 3elden (yelden, "yield"), cni3t (cniht, "knight", þur3, (thurgh, "through"), brid3e ("bridge"), day3 ("days")

4. "q" and "z" more widely used under French influence, "qu" for /kw/ OE cwic, cwen > ME quicke, quene

5. confusion of y and þ, hence the erroneous, pseudo-medieval English expression "ye olde coffee shoppe"

6. tendency for use of digraph "th" instead of thorn (þ)

7. for u (come, love, son, won, tongue, some), a way to avoid confusion caused by use of minims (vertical strokes)

8. c for s, influence of French loans like cellar, place affected spelling of native words like lice, mice

9. k before i/e, n (OE cene, cyssan, cneow > keen, kiss, knee), cf. cat, cool, cut, clean

10. increased use of digraphs: th for thorn/eth sounds, ou/ow for long u (hour, round); doubling of vowels to indicate length (beet, boot); sh for palatal fricative [] (OE scamu > shame); ch for palatal affricate [] (OE ceap, cinn> ME cheap, chin); dg for palatal affricate [] (OE bricg > ME bridge) (but j in initial position according to French convention, ME just); gh for velar fricative [h] (OE þoht, riht> ME thought, right; wh for hw (voiceless aspirated bilabial fricative), OE hwæt, hwil, > ME what, while; gu for g, in French loans, guard, guile, guide, OE gylt > guilt

11. punctuation: question mark; hyphen for word division at end of line; paragraph markers

12. handwriting: Insular hand replaced by Carolingian minuscule in cursive and gothic style

SeminarS 5-6. Evolution of the Grammatical System from the 11th to 18th c.

1. General information: Parts of Speech, Means of Form-building, Main Trends of Development.

2. The Noun:

a) Decay of Noun Declensions in Early ME;

b) Grammatical Categories of the Noun.

3. The Pronoun:

a) Personal and Possessive Pronouns;

b) Demonstrative Pronouns. Development of Articles;

c) Other Classes of Pronouns (Interrogative, Indefinite, Relative).

4. The Adjective:

a) Decay of Declensions and Grammatical Categories;

b) Degrees of Comparison;

c) Reduction of Nominal Grammatical Categories.

5. The Verb:

a) Simplifying Changes in the Verb Conjugation:

- Finite Forms. Number, Person, Mood and Tense;

- Verbals. The Infinitive and the Participle;

- Development of the Gerund;

b) Changes in the Morphological Classes of Verbs:

- Strong Verbs;

- Weak Verbs;

- Origins of Some Groups of Modern Non-Standard Verbs;

- Minor Groups of Verbs.

c) Development of New Grammatical Forms and Categories of the Verb:

- Growth of New Forms within the Existing Grammatical Categories:

- The Future Tense;

- New Forms of the Subjunctive Mood;

- Interrogative and Negative Forms with Do;

d) Development of New Grammatical Categories:

- Passive Forms. Category of Voice;

- Perfect Forms. Category of Time-Correlation;

- Continuous Forms. Category of Aspect;

- Growth of Analytical Forms and New Grammatical Categories of the Verbals.

LITERATURE

A) Principal:

1. Rastorgueva T.A. A History of English. – M., 1983. – Chapter XV (P. 220-295).

B) Supplementary:

1. Залесская. Л.Д. Пособие по истории английского языкадля заочных отделений факультетов английского языка педагогических институтов. – М., 1984.–С.66-76.

2. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. История английского языка. – СПб., 1999. –С.108-111, 116-124, 128-130, 132, 133, 151-161, 176-190, 204-215.

PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT

Read and comment on the grammatical forms in William Shakespeare’s sonnets:

90 Then hate me when thou wilt, if ever, now, Now while the world is bent my deeds to cross, join with the spite of fortune, make me bow, And do not drop in for an after-loss: Ah do not, when my heart hath 'scaped this sorrow, Come in the rearward of a conquered woe, Give not a windy night a rainy morrow, To linger out a purposed overthrow. If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last, When other petty griefs have done their spite, But in the onset come, so shall I taste At first the very worst of fortune's might. And other strains of woe, which now seem woe, Compared with loss of thee, will not seem so.

Якщо не любиш, кинь мене сьогодні, Коли зреклись і люди, і Господь. Віддай на муки в пеклові безодні, Лиш як остання втрата не приходь. Не завдавай іще мені страждання, Як душу знов посяде супокій, Нехай не йде по ночі грозовій Холодне, хмуре й дощове світання. Покинь мене, лиш не в останню мить, Коли зігнуся від дрібних утрат я. Покинь тепер, щоб міг я пережить Удар оцей, страшніший від розп'яття. Тоді тягар усіх дрібніших втрат Покажеться мізернішим стократ.

91 Some glory in their birth, some in their skill, Some in their wealth, some in their body's force, Some in their garments though new-fangled ill: Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse. And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure, Wherein it finds a joy above the rest, But these particulars are not my measure, All these I better in one general best. Thy love is better than high birth to me, Richer than wealth, prouder than garments' costs, Of more delight than hawks and horses be: And having thee, of all men's pride I boast. Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst take, All this away, and me most wretched make.

Хто хвалиться своїм шляхетним родом, Хто силою, достатком, хто умом, Хто шатами — хай шиті всупір модам,— Хто псом, хто соколом, хто скакуном. І кожному в одній з отих марнот — Вершина мрій і втіхи неземної. Та не зрівняється ніхто зі мною, Бо враз я досягнув усіх висот. Твоя ж любов — над родові герби, Над королівські пишні горностаї, Коштовніша за всі земні скарби, Прекрасніша за соколині зграї. Та горе: скарб мій у твоїх руках,— Як відбереш його — і щастю крах.

130 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, Coral is far more red, than her lips red, If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun: If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head: I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks, And in some perfumes is there more delight, Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know, That music hath a far more pleasing sound: I grant I never saw a goddess go, My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet by heaven I think my love as rare, As any she belied with false compare.

Її очей до сонця не рівняли, Корал ніжніший за її уста, Не білосніжні пліч її овали, Мов з дроту чорного коса густа. Троянд багато зустрічав я всюди, Та на її обличчі не стрічав, І дише так вона, як дишуть люди,— А не конвалії між диких трав. І голосу її рівнять не треба До музики, милішої мені, Не знаю про ходу богинь із неба, А кроки милої — цілком земні. І все ж вона — найкраща поміж тими, Що славлені похвалами пустими. Перекладач: Дмитро Паламарчук З книги: Шекспір Вільям. Вибране. — К.: Школа, 2003