Historical Changes in Language

Linda S. Carroll
Crystal Sands, Ph.D.
ENG 550 English Language
18 September 2014
Analysis Paper 1: Historical Changes in Language
Throughout history, spoken and written language has changed as various countries and its people have invaded, migrated, and conquered other countries. By bringing different languages to other civilizations, language merged with the native tongues. For example, Old English was similar to Modern German, Middle English stemmed from the Norman Conquest and brought with it French vocabulary, and Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is a major piece of literature from this period which reflects this influence. “While vocabulary can change quickly, sentence structure--the order of words in a sentence--changes more slowly” (Mahoney). The General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales written during the Middle English time period is an example of this as, although the etymologies of the words have their basis in Middle English, the sentence structure allows the modern reader to comprehend the gist of the writing.
By paying attention to the phonology of the sentences of The General Prologue, the reader can determine the power words of each line and make sense of the two-part structure. This leads to understanding the context of the lines which can then “guide the reading” (Kolln and Gray 102). For example, in line two “The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,…” which puts the emphasis on droghte, perced, roote which are two nouns and a verb and can be translated to Modern English as “The drought of March has pierced to the root….” (The General Prologue—Translation). If a reader were to concentrate on the Middle English spelling, the context might be lost as would the rhythm of the writing.
Through the etymology of Chaucer’s words and the Great Vowel Shift, most of his language is able to be recognized and translated into Modern English (Mahoney). Pronunciation of vowels changed and it is presumed the spelling reflects those changes. There are words in The General Prologue which are more difficult to understand and translate. Words such as ‘bifil’ became ‘befell’, ‘corages’ became ‘ramp and rage’, and ‘everichon’ became ‘every one’. These changes could reflect the introduction of another language to Chaucer’s Middle English vocabulary. Tracing words from Old English to Middle English can be a result of the Scandinavian and Norman invasions during the early part of the Middle English period (The nature of language change). The invaders brought their language and integrated it with the dialects of the invaded country.
Lockerby states that “Chaucer created a new meld of words and phrases” by combining Germanic English and Norman English and this language become Middle English which assisted in the creation of a language for literature (Lockerby). Through the use of languages from other countries, Chaucer was able to combine grammar, phonology, and morphology from these sources to produce Middle English which then became widespread. It is through the etymology of his words that we are able to understand the progression of his words to our Modern English.
Works Cited
Kolln, Martha, and Loretta Gray. Rhetorical Grammar. Seventh ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 101-16. Print.
Lockerby, Patrick. "A Brief History of the English Language Part 2-The Age of Change." Science 2.0. ION Publications, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
Mahoney, Nicole. "Language Change." Language and Linguistics. National Science Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
"The General Prologue - Translation." The Canterbury Tales. Towson.edu, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. .
"The nature of language change." Studying the History of English. Universitat Dussenberg, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2014. .

Cited: Kolln, Martha, and Loretta Gray. Rhetorical Grammar. Seventh ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 101-16. Print. Lockerby, Patrick. "A Brief History of the English Language Part 2-The Age of Change." Science 2.0. ION Publications, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . Mahoney, Nicole. "Language Change." Language and Linguistics. National Science Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . "The General Prologue - Translation." The Canterbury Tales. Towson.edu, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. . "The nature of language change." Studying the History of English. Universitat Dussenberg, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2014. .