Problems for the exam in the History of English

1. History of the English people – German and Viking invasions and influence

2. A short history of Celtic - the language of the first inhabitants of The British Isles

3. English as a Germanic language

4. History of English writing

5. Essentials of Old English (I): Phonology and noun + adjective inflections

6. Essentials of OE (II): most important verb inflections (Strong and weak verbs vs. irregular and regular verbs in Modern English)

7. What happened after the Norman conquest? Main phonological and inflectional changes in Middle English

8. Examples of French loanwords in English

9. Great Vowel Shift & London Vowel Split

10. Chaucer’s English

11. Shakespeare’s English

12. Dialects of Modern English: Cockney, American English

13. Pidgins and Creoles, Black American English

Literature:

Barber, Ch. (2005). The English Language. A Historical Introduction. Cambridge University

Press

Fisiak, J. (1993). An Outline History of English. Volume One: External History. Poznań:

Kantor Wydawniczy SAWW.

Wełna, J. (1996). A Brief Outline of the History of English. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa

Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

Texts:

Old English: The Story of the Prodigal Son

Middle English: The Story of the Prodigal Son, Robert of Glauster’s Chronicle (lines 7537-47) and Prologue to The Canterbury Tales (18 lines)

Early Modern English: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Act 2,
Scene 2), Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary

Good luck,

B.Bierwiaczonek