UCJAJNP022 History of the English Language

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Pavel Kolář, CSc. (seminar tutor)
PhDr. René Kron, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Pavel Kolář, 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.The students will also get acquainted with the dynamic development of English after World War II.
Learning outcomes
The student will get acquainted with foreign influences on the English language The student will get acquainted with the development of the English language from the beginning to the present
Syllabus
  • 1. Indo-European languages ​​
  • 2. Proto-germanic stage
  • 3. Old English phonetic changes and grammar system
  • 4. Middle English phonetic changes and vocabulary
  • 5. Great Wovel shift
  • 6. Foreign influences on English
  • 7. Early New English
  • 8. From Shakespeare to the 19th century.
  • 9. Mencken and The American Language
  • 10. Ogden and Basic English
  • 11. Chomsky and generative and transformational grammar
  • 12. Corpus linguistics
  • 13. Text messaging and Internet
Literature
  • Svoboda, A. Development of English. info
  • Svoboda, A., Hrehovčík, T. An ABC of theoretical and applied linguistics. Opava, 2006. info
Teaching methods
lecture, seminar
Assessment methods
text analysis
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2022, Summer 2023, Summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/summer2025/UCJAJNP022