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Spelling Vocabulary Grammar

Text 1 i=y French words: corage, The conjunction and


Whyche, gyuen, ynke, practysed, charge, appears a lot, creating
sayd, myght, prynte dispense, ordaeyne a lot of compound
u =v sentences
haue, gyuen, euery Strange words:
febleth Word order is very
Ye instead of you similar to Modern
(symbol of thorn took English
on a new shape)

Text 2 i=y French words: Once again, the


Certayn, euydences, certayn, reduce, conjunction and
wryton, wyse, lyke, langage, marchaunt appears a lot
brynge
Strange words: Grammar is not as
v = u (at beginning of a forlond familiar as in text 1:
word) “For we englysshe
Vsid, vnderstonden, men ben borne”: have
vsed, vnder is missing here

u=v “she vnderstode hym


Neuer, euer, haue not” the verb did is
missing here and not is
put after the direct
object.

Sociolinguistics Week 3
Alexandra Versluijs

Question 1
Read the following two texts and answer the questions (the texts also occur in Crystal

on page 57 top right (the picture) and bottom right.

In the texts above identify spelling, vocabulary, and grammar (word order / sentence

structure), which differs from Modern English. Do so in a systematic way, presenting

your findings in separate sections (possibly in tabular format).

Question 2
The Great Vowel shift.

Work out the pronunciation of the following passage in Middle English (Chaucer):

In tholde dayes of the Kyng Arthour, ɪn ɒldə deɪəs əv ðə kɪŋ ʌrθu:ər

Of which that Britons speken greet honour, ɒv wɪtʃ ðə brɪtəns speɪkən greɪt ɒnu:ə

All was this land fulfild of Fayerye. ʌl wəz ɪz fəflɪld ɒv fɜri:ə

The elf-queene, with hir joly compaignye, ɪ əlf kweɪn wɪθ ər dʒɒli kɒmpəniə

Daunced ful ofte in many a grene mede; da:nsət fəl ɒft ən məni:ə ə greɪnə meɪnə

This was the olde opinion, as I rede. ðɪz wəz ðə ɒldə ɒpɪnɪən əz i reɪdə

I speke of manye hundred yeres ago; i spɪk əv mani həndrɪd jɪəz əgɔə

Work out how sonnet 145 would have sounded:

THose lips that Loues owne hand did make,

Breath'd forth the sound that said I hate,

To me that languisht for her sake:

But when she saw my wofull state,

Straight in her heart did mercie come,

Chiding that tongue that euer sweet,

Was vsde in giuing gentle dome:

And tought it thus a new to greete: (greete should rhyme with sweet)

I hate she alterd with an end,

That follow'd it as gentle day,

Doth follow night who like a fiend (fiend should rhyme with end)

From heauen to hell is flowne away.

I hate, from hate away she threw,

And sau'd my life saying not you.

The OP (original pronunciation) of Shakespearian work has words like loved/proved, come/doom,
youth/proof that rhyme. Proved would sound like loved, doom would sound like come and youth
would sound like proof. Hour would sound like whore, which could have been a pun. These rhymes
would not have worked in Modern English. Furthermore, a retroflex r can also be heard in the OP.

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