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The History of the English Language English 7601X, code # 3327, The History of the English Language, Spring, 2011
General Description of the Course: This course will introduce students to the development of the English language. We will begin by looking at the structure of language in terms of its sound system, sentence structure, and semantics; we will also look at the development of writing systems. We will examine how language varies and changes over time and how language change is influenced by historical, social, political, economic and cultural factors. We will especially examine aspects of change in the English language over its three major historical periods: Old English, Middle English and Modern English. We will examine representative samples of literary texts from each of these periods to see how they evidence key linguistic features prominent during the period and highlight major language changes. Assignments will include weekly homework from a workbook, a midterm exam, a final exam, and a short term paper (due on May 11th). Required Texts (available at Shakespeare and Co., 150 Campus Road): Algeo, John, and Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Problems in the Origin and Development of the English Language; Sixth Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage, 2010.
Participation: Students must attend regularly, arrive on time and must be prepared to participate, having done the assigned work. Participation will count for 10% of the overall grade for the course..
Assignments: There will be assigned problem sets due on each class day. There will be a midterm. There will be a final. There will be a short term paper.
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