The beginning of the English language is traditionally dated to 449 CE, with the invasion of Britain by Germanic tribes from the continent, including the Angles, for whom English is named (Angle + isc > English).
This course goes both backwards and forwards in time, back to the Indo-European origins of English and on to the end of the Old English period (449–1100 CE). In considering the origins you will come to understand how English is related to a wide set of languages, ranging from Europe to India. In focusing on aspects of the Old English language – including its sounds (phonology), spelling (orthography), forms of words and their endings (morphology), sentence structure (syntax), meanings of words (semantics), and vocabulary – you will come to see what underlies Present-day English. But you will also recognize that English has undergone massive changes, from a language that is highly “synthetic” (where grammatical meanings are expressed through a myriad of inflections) to a language that is largely “analytic” (where such meanings are expressed through independent words, with only eight inflections remaining). These changes are in part due to external influences, such as the influence of Latin, French, and Norse, but are to a greater extent due to internal influences which exploit gaps or weaknesses of the system and operate by “rules” which may be mechanically or cognitively motivated (such as the drive towards regularity known as “analogy”).
The course begins with an introduction to the phonetic alphabet, to attitudes toward language change, and to the nature and principles of language change. No formal background in language or linguistics is required.
Evaluation will be on the basis of online quizzes and in-class tests. The option to write a short essay on semantic change on a word of your choosing will be also be offered.
For a fuller description, see http://blogs.ubc.ca/laurelbrinton/teaching/engl-318/