UCJAVAJ1 History of the English Language

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Winter 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Václav Řeřicha, CSc. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Václav Řeřicha, CSc.
Institute of Foreign Languages – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
In phonology, the Indo-european stage is the starting point and gradual changes follow that led to present English. Emphasis is on the overall view of the development of the language. As far as the foreign influence on English is concerned, emphasis is on its impact on the phonological and grammatical system of the language. Historical texts to be analyzed in the seminars are chosen in such a manner that they show the characteristic features of the language in the relevant time period.
Syllabus
  • Syllabus of the lecture:
    1. Indo-european languages
    2. Proto-germanic stage
    3. Old English sound shifts
    4. Old English grammatical system
    5. Béowulf
    6. Middle English sound shifts
    7. Middle English lexis
    8. G. Chaucer
    9. The great vowel shift
    10. Foreign influences on English
    11. Early New English
    12. Shakespeare up to the 19th century
    Syllabus of the seminars:
    1. Periodization of the historical development of English: extracts from the Bible in Old, Middle, Early New and Modern English.
    2. Runic letter - specific germanic writing system, runic writing.
    3. Old Gothic and its significance for the diachronic study of English. Wulfila.
    4. Introduction into reading Old English texts - pronunciation, spelling. Lord`s Prayer in Old English.
    5. Caedmon and Wulfstan..
    6. Beowulf.
    7. Definition of Middle English. Introduction to reading Middle English texts. Middle English transliteration of Old English texts.
    8. Henry the III`s proclamation.
    9. G. Chaucer - prolog ke Canterburským povídkám.
    10. Introduction to reading New English texts. Henry the VIII`s proclamation.
    11. William Shakespeare - As You Like It.
    12. Dr. Johnson`s dictionary.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Teacher's information
Written test
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2008, Summer 2009, Winter 2009, Winter 2010, Winter 2011, Winter 2012, Winter 2013, Winter 2014, Winter 2016, Winter 2017, Winter 2018, Winter 2019, Winter 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/winter2015/UCJAVAJ1