OSHER 947 - History of the English Language

This course will shed light on questions concerning the peculiarities of English pronunciation and spelling, word forms, grammar, and regional variation. We will examine the language's 15-century-long history, from humble beginnings as a dialect of Germanic tribes in northwestern Europe, through its tempestuous medieval history, to its development as a spoken and literary language in the times of William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson, and as a language of technology and worldwide communication in modern times. We will explore the influences on English of other peoples and their languages, including the Romans, Celts, Vikings, and Normans, as well as native peoples of various countries and territories colonized by English speakers. We will also investigate ongoing changes such as the novel use of anymore in positive sentences (I've been eating a lot of pizza anymore) and the rise of because as a preposition (English is changing because Internet). Last but not least, we will examine the present-day global diversity of English.