The Historical Development of the English Standard E-Book

Susanne Opel

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2005

Beschreibung

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Rostock, language: English, abstract: Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Entstehung und die Entwicklungsphasen des britischen Standard-Englisch von den keltischen Siedlern bis zu den technologischen Entwicklungen unserer globalisierten Zeit und der Weltsprache Englisch.

Leseprobe

Table of Content

1. Introduction: The English English Standard

2. The genealogy of English

3. Before English

4. The Old English Period (ca. 450-1150)

4.1. The Anglo-Saxons

4.2. The Vikings

4.3. The Normans

6. The Early Modern English Period (ca. 1500-1800)

7. The Victorian Age and the Industrial Revolution

8. Conclusion

9. Bibliography

10. Appendix

Page 1

SS 2004

PS Major National Varieties of English Katrin Ramin

The Historical Development of the English Standard

Date of Submission: August 30th2004

Susanne Opel

Page 3

1. Introduction: The English English Standard

Before looking at the different varieties of English, it is important to take a closer look at the standard, how it is defined and how it developed. For this purpose, “standard” means the English that is spoken in England.

Standard English is that form of English speech which so closely resembles the average pronunciation of most educated speakers as to seem identical with it to a hearer with a reasonably good ear.1

It is itself only one of many dialects, which has gained more importance than any other. This paper shall explain why this special dialect became the standard and shall therefore shall trace its development from the first settlers in Britain and their languages to today’s standard pronunciation, spelling, syntax, lexis, etc. To explain the changes that occurred, it is necessary to describe historical, social and cultural developments and events that influenced the people and, thereby, their language, because

although some writers refer to language as if it were an organism having an independent life of its own, it is necessary to remember that language is a series of habits formed by human beings and that it has no independent existence.2