The English Language from Beowulf to Joyce NLIT3102
13 sessions. Thurs., 5:50-7:35 p.m., beginning February 6
At its most basic, the English language retains the Germanic vocabulary and syntax of its origins in the early Middle Ages. However, its full color and nuance was achieved only through the Latin and French borrowings of later centuries. Understanding the history of English is the key to its mastery. This course is an opportunity for students to improve their English style while exploring the history of the language. We cover Old English; the medieval use of Latin in education and religion; the Norman French influence in the high Middle Ages; Latin, French, and Italian influences on the literary language; and the importance of the k James Bible. Our work is based on a rich selection of literary texts and historical documents as well as studies by the Inklings, Owen Barfield, and C.S. Lewis.
We will explore the following themes in the course:
—Phonology, morphology, syntax, and rhetoric
—Comparative linguistics: tradition and innovation in language
—The Germanic heritage
—Religion: the language of liturgy, sermons, and the Bible
—Spoken and written language
—The printed book and publishing: Caxton and his followers
—Humanism and the Classics
—Education: literacy and Latin
—Translation: Bible, Boethius, Erasmus, the Classics
—England and Europe: French and the courtly tradition; Italian and Spanish influences, foreign language study
—Patriotism and language
—Poverty and enrichment of the language
—Folklore: "Merry England," the Gunpowder Treason & Guy Fawkes Day, etc.
—Philosophical language
—Political discourse
—Poetic diction
—Aestheticism
—Global English
Required Books
(With the exception of the first meeting, all assignments should be completed before the class with which they are listed. Required books are available at the NYU Bookstore.)
Owen Barfield, History in English Words, 1926, 2002
C S Lewis, Studies in Words, 1990
N. F. Blake, A History of the English Language, NY, 1998
David Burnley, The History of the English Language, 2000
Other texts as assigned. Most will be posted as links to this page. There will be weekly etymology assignments in the Oxford English Dictionary, which is available online through the Fogelman Library Web page.
Written Work: One short (2-3 pages) paper, due on February 27, and a longer paper (15-20 pages), due on May 22.
Syllabus
February 6: Introduction to the themes of the course: Looking Backward. How did we get where we are today? Historical and linguistic background, the ancient world, Celtic and Roman Britain
Assignment: Read the material collected on the page, “Contemporary English, the Language of Global Business“and Samuel Johnson, Preface to the Dictionary of the the English Language (1755); Blake, Chapters 1 (What is a History of English?) and 2 (Background Survey). Also peruse Blake's Appendix: Glossary of Technical Terms (pp. 341-350) and familiarize yourself with his phonetic symbols (pp. 350-2), a simplification of the International Phonetic Alphabet. The University of Lausanne's Online Phonetics Course will make it easy for you to master the IPA. Another excellent resource is Peter Ladefoged's Vowels and Consonants. Both provide sound files, so that you can listen to the sounds and practise them.
2. February 13: Twentieth Century Perspectives - Owen Barfield and C. S. Lewis
Assignment: Barfield, History in English Words, entire; Barfield, Lewis, Studies in Words, Chapters 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
3. February 20: the Anglo-Saxons: Old English
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 3 (Before Alfred), Chapter 4 (The First English Standard); Aelfric, translation of Genesis 3, 1-19; Burnley, "Old English"(pp. 1-8) and nos. 2-4 (For a list of Burnley's texts, click on the title under Required Books.)
Study the University of Calgary's online course in Old English, Lesson 1, on pronunciation and spelling. Practice on Psalm 22 (23) from the Paris Psalter.
Continue to practice pronunciation on the University of Virginia's "Old English Aerobics", and begin to read Aelfric's translation of Genesis 3, 1-19 (The Fall of Adam and Eve). NB. If you have trouble accessing OEA, here are pdf files of the text from Genesis and a pronunciation guide, both from Mitchell and Robinson.
Read Burnley, nos. 2-4 in modern English, and read aloud a few sentences from each for further practice, especially Caedmon's poem (pp. 30, 32). Compare the two versions and read Blake's analysis (pp. 69-74).
Also recommended: Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, sixth edition, Oxford, 2001
Etymology assignment: mod, ele, wæstm, treow, wif, hlaf (cf. hlæfdig, hlaford), niman (genumen), æcer, æstel (v. Burnley, p. 28) [This is for class. These AS words aren't in the OED!]
4. February 27: Towards Chaucer and Beyond
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 5 (The Aftermath of the First Standard) , Chapter 6 (Interregnum: Fragmentation and Regrouping); Burnley, Early Middle English (1100-1300), pp. 65-69; Later Middle English (1300-1500), pp. 137-44; nos. [11], [13], 18 A, 19, 22, [24]; William Dunbar, "Ane Ballat of our Lady". For background on Chaucer and help with Middle English, see The Geoffrey Chaucer Webpage from Harvard.
Etymology assignment: beawbelez, rædesman, ifoan, stounde, queynte crekys, auctour, sakeryng, assaut (assault), charl, liberalle, worship, chivalruse, mageste (majesty), Ierarchie (hierarchy)
Extra: C. S. Lewis's "Four Letter Words" (from Selected Literary Essays, ed. Walter Hooper, Cambridge, 1969)
5. March 6: The Formation of Modern English I: Sir Thomas More; Bible translations, Tyndale to Authorized Version:
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 7 (Political, Social, and Pedogogical Background to the New Standard); William Tyndale, The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528), excerpt; Sir Thomas More, A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1530), excerpt; Burnley no. 51; Tyndale New Testament, Matth. 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount), Psalm 22 (23): study Douai-Reims, KJV translations.
Etymology assignment: dominate, convert, justice, tribulation, mercy
6. March 13: The Formation of Modern English II:
Assignment: Burnley, nos. 25, 27, 29, 30
Etymology assignment: inkhorn, peevish, method, scientific, mechanical
7. March 20: The Enrichment of English I
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 8 (Language Change from 1400 to 1600); Burnley, 31-34, Shakespeare, Sonnets 5, 14, and 65 (cf. facsimile of 1609 edition 5a/5b,14a/14b,65a/65b); Love's Labor's Lost (First Folio transcription) entire (cf. Burnley 31). You may prefer reading this facsimile of the First Folio itself for LLL and Macbeth.
Etymology assignment: sententious, opinion, peremptory, thrasonical, gentle, distillation, liquid, plague, prognosticate, mortality, meditation
March 27: Spring Break : no class
8. April 3: The Enrichment of English II: Political discourse in Elizabethan and Jacobean times
Assignment: Sir Walter Ralegh, excerpt from The Dutie of a King in his Royal Office (1599); Shakespeare, Macbeth (First Folio transcription)
Etymology assignment: monarchy, throne, policy, family, power, honesty, virtue, nature
9. April 10: The Completion of English I
Assignment: Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, Book II, excerpt; Browne, Religio Medici; John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 3, Chapters 1-2, George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Introduction, 6-25
Etymology assignment: tba.
10. April 17: The Completion of English II
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 9 (Establishing the Standard within Social Norms); Burnley, nos. 35 (Milton Paradise Lost, Book II entire), 38; John Winthrop, On Liberty, Johnson, "Preface to the Dictionary" revisited.
Etymology assignment: zone, palpable, obscure, suffrage, ambition, regal
11. April 24: Romanticism, Republican Ideals, and Language
Assignment: Assignment: Blake, Chapter 10 (Emancipation, Education, and Empire); Burnley, no. 41, 45-7; Declaration of Independence, excerpt; Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, excerpt; Henry David Thoreau, Walden, "Economy"; S. T. Coleridge, "Dejection: An Ode"; Shelley, Defence of Poetry, excerpt; Wordsworth, "The Recluse", excerpt.
Etymology assignment: nature, government, tyranny, authority, Providence, honesty, despotic, fancy, memory, reason, empyreal, nature, reason, imagination, synthesis, analysis, imitation, mimetic, obtrude, penance, encumbrance, rust (N.B. IE root!)
12. May 1: The Victorians: Newman, Ruskin, Pater, et. al.
13. May 8: Modern themes
Assignment: Blake, Chapter 11 (World Domination and Growing Variation); Burnley nos.48-49; Charles Dickens, "Saxon English"; George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (1946); Stephen K. Roney, "Postmodernist Prose and George Orwell" Academic Questions, 15.2 (Spring 2002); See now the NSU conference on the Politics of Language, based on an article by NSU prof., James Miller, "Is Bad Writing Necessary?", which is itself based on Orwell essay. Bernard de Voto, "Whiskey is for Patriots", Harper's Magazine, April 1951; Another mature voice: "Armageddon Can Wait", Alistair Cooke's Letter from America (BBC World Service, Nov. 2002: Listen to the audio! Note Alistair's Biblical references and his syntax.)
More Contemporary Issues:
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Estuary English |
Bilingualism |
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Etymology assignment: galvanization, proletarian, humanitarian, prefabricated, visualize
