1

English Linguistics 2: Structure and Change

History of English

Míša Hejná ['miːʃa 'ɦɛɪnaː]

Course handbook Spring 2020

Sundberg, Minna. 2015. “‘Language Family Tree.” Stand Still, Stand Silent, http://tinyurl.com/jrx8uw3 (Accessed January 1st, 2016).

2

Primary contact: Course leader: Míša Hejná (or Michaela Hejná) Office hours: building 1481, room 328; Tuesdays 10:30-11:30am (teaching weeks only) Email: misa.hejna@cc.au.dk If you cannot make these times to come and see me, please email me to make an appointment (not the night before the ideal meeting time). Teaching team: Mads Kristian Andersen (MKA) Míša Hejná (MH) Hold A & Hold C Hold B mka@cc.au.dk misa.hejna@cc.au.dk

Lecture: There is a lecture every week (apart from week 16): Venue: Building 1482, room 105 Time: Mondays, 15:15-16:00 Seminars: Seminar sessions take place weekly as well: Group A: Wed 12:45-14:00 MKA W6-14, 17-19 1467, room 215 Group B: Wed 8:15-9:30 MH W6-14, 17-19 1467, room 515

Group C: Wed 11:15-12:30 MKA W6-14, 17-19 1481, room 264 Instructor sessions There will be instructor sessions as well, so you can further consolidate what’s learnt in the lectures and the seminars. Your History of English sessions will take place in W9, 11, 13, 16, and 18.

Course objectives and aims: You can find detailed information about the course objectives and aims in the course catalogue:

• English version: https://kursuskatalog.au.dk/en/course/87170/English-linguistics-2-Structure-and-change

• Danish version: https://kursuskatalog.au.dk/da/course/87170/English-linguistics-2-Structure-and-change?year=2018-2019&search=structure%20and%20change

3

Assessment: The assessment consists of a three-day set home assignment, graded on the 7-point scale and externally co-examined. For more details, see the “EL2 exam guide” available on Blackboard (History of English BB: “Blackboard > Assessment”; Advanced Syntax BB: “Blackboard > Course plan and administration”). The exam hand-in dates will be published here: http://studerende.au.dk/en/studies/subject-portals/arts/exams/exam-timetables/. Exam submission deadlines are very strict so make sure to submit on or before the deadline. Regarding exam dates and exam administration, communicate with your AU exam support (http://studerende.au.dk/en/studies/subject-portals/arts/exams/digital-exam/).

4

WEEK TOPIC SET READING

1 W6

Introduction to Language Variation and Change and the History of the English Language

Hejná & Walkden

(In prep, “About this book” & Chapter 1)

12pp

Want more? Aitchison (1999, Chapter 1) Hejná (2018) (AU library)

Trudgill (1999) 2 W7

Change in Present-Day English HW (In prep, Chapter 2)

14pp

Want more? Aitchison (1999, Chapter 3)

3 W8

Later Modern English and the age of prescriptivism 1

HW (In prep, Chapter 3, till 3.3)

17pp

4 W9

Later Modern English and the age of prescriptivism 2

Instructor Session

HW (In prep, Chapter 3, from 3.3)

17pp

5 W10

Early Modern English & standardisation 1 HW (In prep, Chapter 4, till 4.3)

6 W11

Early Modern English & standardisation 2

IS

HW (In prep, Chapter 4, from 4.3)

7 W12

Middle English and transitions 1 WE1 assigned

HW (In prep, Chapter 5, till 5.3 + 5.5)

19pp

Crystal (2005, 117-120) 8 W13

Middle English and transitions 2

IS

HW (In prep, Chapter 5, 5.3-5.4)

13pp

9 W14

Old English 1

WE1 due (History of English)

Millward & Hayes (2019, 41-46, 49-

55) Čermák (1999)

W15

Easter break

10 W16

Interim revision

no lecture; WE1 feedback in the seminars

IS

Pay off your reading debts

11 W17

Old English 2 WE2 assigned

Millward & Hayes (2019, 55-57, 58-64)

Fischer et al. (2017, 188-197)

Baker (2018) 12 W18

What sort of language is English? English as a Germanic language IS

HW (In prep, Chapter 7) Skip 7.2.1., 7.2.2. & 7.5.

15(20)pp

13 W19

Revision & exam preparation Feedback on WE2in seminars & a mock exam

Pay off your reading debts

5

Course book:

We will be using A History of English by Míša Hejná and George Walkden (HW). This book is currently being finalised and you will help us make it better, we’re sure! The individual chapters are available on BB. Here’s how you can reference the textbook right now:

Hejná, Míša, and George Walkden. In prep. A History of English. Language Science Press.

A list of other set materials: Baker, Peter. “The Magic Sheet of Old English Inflections.” Old English Aerobics,

http://www.oldenglishaerobics.net/resources/magic_A4.pdf (Accessed January 5th, 2018).

Crystal, David. 2005. The Stories of English. London: Penguin Books Ltd. Hejná, Míša. 2018. “Why I work in the field of Language Variation and Change.”

Leviathan: Interdisciplinary Journal in English 2: 1-12. Electronic dictionary of Old English: Bosworth, Joseph. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online. Edited by Thomas Northcote Toller

and Others. Compiled by Sean Christ and Ondřej Tichý. Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, 21 Mar. 2010. 5 Nov. 2013. http://www.bosworthtoller.com/.

Preparation for the lectures: I will do my best to make the lecture handout available by the end of the preceding Friday. Make sure to print this handout and bring it with you to the lecture. Note however that you are not supposed to have read this handout prior to the lecture. You can find the handout under “HE (History of English” on Blackboard (BB). You should also do the assigned reading prior to the lecture. Note that you can see what the assigned reading is well in advance for the whole semester from the syllabus.

Preparation for the seminars: Instructions for the seminar activities will appear on Blackboard by the end of the preceding Wednesday. You can find these in the same place as the lecture slides for the relevant week. You are expected to do the seminar activities beforehand, even if you – for some reason – miss the lecture. You are also expected to bring the handout with the seminar activities and the reading relevant for the week to the seminar.

You are advised to print the handouts. The nature of the materials is such that having printed copies will make your life much easier with this course.

Lectures and readings introduce and develop concepts, which are then applied in the seminars. For success in the course it is essential that you participate in lectures and seminars and that you prepare the exercises that you are asked to do before class. The course builds on the activities of the previous weeks.