Semesters: 5

ECTS: 4

Form of assessment: exam

AIMS

• to develop awarenesss of mechanisms and nature of language change, external and internal factors that influence the development of the language;
• to develop comprehension of patterns of development in phonetics, vocabulary, morphology and syntax;
• to make students critically aware of how the current state of the language has resulted from historical changes.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course of study students should be able to:
• analyse the peculiarities of each historical stage of language development – phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics of the language;
• interpret texts from previous historical periods into modern language;
• assess the development of literary norms, regional and social dialects, varieties of the language;
• summarize the linguistic features and trends of modern language;
• explain the current trends in the language from a historical viewpoint.

CONTENT

Language history as part of linguistics. Aims, methods and objects of linguistic studies. Linguistic change. Periods in language history. Factors influencing language development.

Modern Germanic and Romance languages. Role of Latin in the history of languages. Indo-European languages. Phonetic and grammar attributes of Germanic languages. Romance languages. Influence of Latin on world languages.

Old English. Historical background. Vowel and consonant systems in Old English. Historical spelling.

Grammar of Old English. Historical morphology and syntax. First written records.

Middle English. Historical background: life in the Middle Ages. Decline of Latin. Rise of national languages.

Development of literary norms. Invention of printing. Vernacular languages. Literary norms. Lexicography. Orthoepy. Grammar norms.

Modern English. Changes in phonetics, morphology and syntax. Vocabulary growth. Borrowings from other languages.