“MIDLE ENGLISH”

HYSTORY OF ENGLISH

GROUP 7

1. DEWI SARTIKA UMUL 2121

2. FERBRIYA ANDINI 2121
3. KADEK SOMANASI 2121

UNIVERSITAS MAHASARASWATI DENPASAR

FAKULTAS BAHASA ASING
PROGRAM STUDI SASTRA INGGRIS
2019
 Chapter 7
Middle English
111. Middle English a Period of Great Change.
Middle English is a period of great change. This period has witnessed drastic change in the
English language more than any time. The causes of such changes:
1. The Norman conquest
2. Conditions that followed the conquest
3. Tendencies to manifest themselves in old English.
Do you think changes would have happened in the language if the Norman conquest did not
occur?
Due to the conquest the changes took place rapidly. The changes of this period affected English
in both its grammar and vocabulary. Regarding the grammar it reduced English from a highly
inflected language to analytic one. As for the vocabulary large part of the old English word-stock
was lost and thousands of French and Latin were borrowed.

112. Decay of Inflectional English

The distinctive change in grammar was marked by the reduction of inflectional endings of the
noun and adjective, making distinctions in number, case or gender were altered in pronunciation
that they lost their distinctive form and hens their usefulness.
The loss of inflection appeared also in verbs.
The reasons for the loss of inflectional endings:
1The phonetic changes.
2. The operation of analogy.
The earliest was the change of final -m to -n either for plural nouns or adjectives e.g. mūðum
(mouths) mūðun. Such -n of inflectional ending was later dropped (mūðu).
The vowels (a,o,u,e)1 in inflectional endings were transferred to a sound called "indeterminate
vowel" which came to be written "e" and rarely (l,y,u). Consequently a number of originally
distinct endings (-a,-u,-e,-an, -um) were reduced to a uniform-e.
Such changes have been found in the old English 10th century. Though the pronunciation has
changed the letters were preserved in writing due to the tendency of the (conservatives) scribes
to preserve the traditional spelling.

113. The Noun

The most distinctive ending (suffix) is the -s of the possessive singular and of the nominative and
accusative plural. Since these two cases of the plural, were those most frequently used. The -s
came to be thought of as the sign of the plural and was extended to all plural forms. (which is
identical to what is used today). In early Middle English only two methods of indicating the
plural remained: the -s or -es (from the strong declension and -en (oxen) from the weak
declension. In fact -s has become the universal sign of the plural.
114. The Adjectives
Changes in the forms of adjectives as the nouns were partly a result of the sound changes and
partly a result of the extensive working of analogy. 1 distinction between plural and singular
disappeared both forms ended with -e blinda, blindan = blinde.
The only ending which remained to the adjectives was often without distinctive grammatical
meaning in the fourteenth century final -e ceased to be pronounced yet it was maintained in
writing. Thus, the adjective became uninflected word by the end of the middle period.

115. The Pronouns

Due to the decay of inflections the language depends less upon formal indications of gender, case
and number (as in adjectives).
It depends on word order and the prepositions to indicate the relation of words in a sentence. The
reduction of inflection was apparent in the demonstratives which used to have different forms for
number, gender and case that disappeared and they were reduced to what are known today this,
that, those and these. However, regarding personal pronouns there was a need for separate forms
for the different genders and cases, thus most of the distinctions that existed in old English were
retained.
The changes happened earlier were the combination of the dative and accusative cases under that
of the dative (him, her, and them).
For the neuter the form of the accusative (he, it) became the objective case because it was like
the nominative and because the dative would (him) be confused with corresponding case of the
masculine One of the changes (simplification) was the loss of the dual number. The change was
gradual and both the strong and weak forms were used side by side. e.g. the verbs which changes
to the weak form have the old strong form preserved as in (climb-clomb).

116. The Verbs.

The prominent changes in the verbs during the Middle English period were the loss of strong
conjugation (inflection of verbs).
Few verbs survived as strong forms where as others have changed over the course of time to the
weak inflection. 1/3 of the old English strong verbs died out early in the Middle English. Some
were preserved in spoken English but not recorded (dialects).
A few of the old English verbs were recorded in the literary works.
Moore than 200 of the old English strong verbs were lost at the beginning of the middle English
period and continued.
The great number of loss of strong verbs occurred at the beginning of the Middle English.
Verbs either passed to the weak conjugation or had developed weak forms.
Today more than half of the old English strong verbs have disappeared from the standard
language. Since English was at that time the language of the lower class and it was removed
from the restraining influences of education and literary standard, it was natural that many
speakers wrongly apply the pattern of weak verbs to some which have been strong.
The tendency of the verb changes to the weak form existed in old English but was very limited,
then it was extended to the previous mentioned conditions Towards the end of the Middle
English period such movement slowed down due to the rise of English in the social scale.
And the standarizing effect of printing.

121. Grammatical Gender:

One of the consequences of the decay of inflections was the elimination of the grammatical
gender. Generally, the decay of the inflection started in the north and later in the south.
The gender of old English, nouns was not often determined by meaning sometimes it contradicts
the meaning e.g. woman in OE was masculine. Wife and child were neuter but some genders in
OE were determined according to their neutral gender. By the time the disappearance of
grammatical gender the idea of sex became the only factor in determining the gender of English
nouns.

122. Grammatical Changes and the Norman Conquest

Languages usually borrow words but do not borrow grammatical structures. Thus, the effect of
the Norman Conquest on the grammatical changes was indirect.
Some idioms and syntactical usage that appear in Middle English were the result of the contact
with the French. Whereas the decay of inflections and other development in the middle English
grammar were the result of the conditions created by the Norman Conquest by making English
the language of uneducated people which caused the grammatical changes to go forward
unchecked.

123. French Influence on the Vocabulary

French influence was apparent with respect to vocabulary. French and English lived side by side
for a long time (and the relations between people were intimate). Thus, considerable transference
of words from one language to the other was inevitable.
The interchange was mutual. However, the number of the English words that entered French was
not as large as that of the French words introduced into English.
Why were there more word borrowed from French into English?
Because English represented an inferior culture, had more to learn from French. The number of
French words into English were the greatest in number in the whole history of the English
language. This effect was the result of political and social consequences of the conquest.
This change started slow and continued for a long time.
Borrowing from French at that era made it easy to borrow from other languages.
There were two distinct phases for French borrowing (early and late)
1. The borrowing of this stage was less numerous.
2. It showed the peculiarities of Anglo-Norman phonology.
3. A bout 900 words were the result of the contact of the lower class with a
French speaking nobility (baron, nobles servant messengers).

124. After1250 the Conditions Changed.

1. Those who used to speak French started to use English. Well, they used the French words
either to supply deficiency in the English vocabulary or to cover their own imperfect command
of English.
People transferred much of their governmental and administrative vocabulary, their
ecclesiastical, legal and military terms, their familiar words of fashion, food and social life the
vocabulary of learning and medicine.

125. Ecclesiastical Words.

Norman conquest had influenced almost whole of the England life include the ecclesiastical life.
Ecclesiastical became second to government as the object of Norman interest and ambition.
French was in religion words both noun and adjective or even verb such as religion, theology,
homily, sacrament, baptism, communion, confession, penance, prayer, lesson, passio; such
indications of rank or class as clergy, clerk, cardinal, legate, dean, chaplain, parson, pastor, vicar,
sexton, novice, friar, hermit; the names of objects associated with the service or with the
religious life, such as crucifix, crosier, miter, surplice, censer, incense, lectern, image, chancel,
chantry, chapter, abbey, convent, priory, hermitage, cloister, sanctuary; words expressing such
fundamental religious or theological concepts as creator, saviour, trinity, virgin, saint, miracle,
mystery, faith, heresy, schism, reverence, devotion, sacrilege, simony, temptation, damnation,
penitence, contrition, remission, absolution redemption, salvation, immortality, and the more
general virtues of piety, sanctity, charity, mercy, pity, obedience, as well as the word virtue itself.
We should include also a number of adjectives, like solemn, divine, reverend, devout, and verbs,
such as preach, pray, chant, repent, confess, adore, sacrifice, convert, anoint, ordain

126. Law.
Not only the words in ecclesiastical life but law also being influenced by French conquerors. The
fact that we speak of justice and equity instead of gerihte, judgment rather than dom (doom),
crime in place of synn, gylt, undæd, etc., shows how completely we have adopted the
terminology of French law. Even where the Old English word survives it has lost its technical
sense. In the same way we say judge, advocate, bill, petition, complaint, and cry, indictment,
jury, juror, panel, felon, evidence, proof, bail, ransom, judgment, verdict, sentence, decree,
award, fine, forfeit, punishment, prison, gaol, pillory. We have likewise a rich array of verbs
associated with legal processes: sue, plead, implead, accuse, indict, arraign, depose, blame,
arrest, seize, pledge, warrant, assail, assign, judge, condemn, convict, award, amerce, distrain,
imprison, banish, acquit, pardon. The names of many crimes and misdemeanors are French:
felony, trespass, assault, arson, larceny, fraud, libel, slander, perjury, adultery, and many others.
Suits involving property brought into use such words as property, estate, tenement, chattels,
appurtenances, encumbrance, bounds, seisin, tenant, dower, legacy, patrimony, heritage, heir,
executor, entail. Common adjectives like just, innocent, culpable have obvious legal import
though they are also of wider application.

127. Army and Navy.

Conquerors who was French troops also influence the vocabulary in military such as army and
the navy, of peace, enemy, arms, battle, combat, skirmish, siege, defense, ambush, stratagem,
retreat, soldier, garrison, guard, spy, and we have kept the names of officers such as captain,
lieutenant, sergeant. We recognize as once having had greater significance words like dart, lance,
banner, mail, buckler, hauberk, archer, chieftain, portcullis, barbican, and moat. Sometimes we
have retained a word while forgetting its original military significance. The word “Havoc!” was
originally an order giving an army the signal to commence plundering and seizing spoil. Verbs
like to arm, array, harness.

128. fashion, meals, social life.

The upper classes were the one who set the standard in fashion and dress, meals, menu, even
table set, seasoning, and social life. It proved by the words in Middle English which come from
French such as gown, garment, cloak, coat, frock, petticoat, dinner, supper, cream, biscuit, pork,
beef, chair, quilt, towel, wardrobe etc.

129. Art, Learning, medicine.

The cultural and intellectual interest of the ruling classes are reflected in words pertaining the
arts, architecture, literature, learning, and science, especially medicine. The words in art are
music, beauty, painting, color, etc. meanwhile in architecture the words like cathedral, place,
chamber, pillar, and etcetera. In learning we can see the words like pen, paper, logic, geometric,
grammar. Among science the words like surgeon, distemper, pain, stomach, alkali and poison.

130. Breadth of the French Influence.

The contribution of French vocabulary into English covered all important departments, it
included thousands of all types of vocabulary nouns, adjectives, verbs and phrases and
expressions.

131. Anglo-Norman and Central French.

The French words introduced into English as a result of the Norman conquest have different
appearance from that which they have in modern French. Such difference is a result of the
subsequent developthents which have taken place in the two languages. e.g.:
OE ME MOE MF
Fest feste feast fete
Fores forest foret
The difference is not always revealed by the spelling but is apparent in the pronunciation. The
English word judge and chant preserve the early French pronunciation of j and ch which was
softened in French in the 13th century to /Ʒ/and/ʃ/. Thus words such as ; change, charge, chamber,
just, jewl, majesty and many others are considered from early borrowing.
While words like chaperon, chiffon, rouge show by their pronunciation that they have came into
the language at a later date.
The second reason for the difference between French and English words is that the Anglo
Norman or Anglo -French dialect spoken in England differed from the language of Paris (central
French).
132. Popular and Literary Borrowing.
Although most of the French borrowed words were those of everyday popular words, much of
Middle English literature was based directly on French originals (adopting many popular speech
paved the way for the entrance of literary words).
The number of words in the 15th century was less than those in the former century yet they were
more prominent because the adoption of popular words nearly disappeared with the
disappearance of French as a spoken language in England.

133. The Period of Great Influence.

The years from 1250 - 1400 mark the period of influence where English was everywhere
replacing French. During these 150 years 40% of all the French words in the language came in.
Some statistics showed that the number of French words adopted during the Middle English
period was slightly over ten thousand. 15% of which are still in current use.

134. Assimilation.
Adopted French words were assimilated rapidly e.g. English challing were added to them as was
the case with English words. Gentle was later compounded gentlewoman, gentleman, gentleness
and gently. Apparently, the adverbial endings -ly seems to have been added to sn adjectives.

135. Loss of Native Words.

It is known that there are no exact synonyms in English. There are usually certain peculiarity of
meaning or use that distinguish a word from terms with which it has much in common.
There is always a tendency towards economic usage of words which lead people to get red of a
word when its function is fully performed by some other word After the Norman conquest
duplications resulted In such cases one of two words was lost or if both survived they were
differentiated in meaning In most cases the old English words were lost.

136. Differentiation in Meaning.

Where both the English and the French words survived, they were generally differentiated in
meaning. The discrimination between them has been a matter of gradual growth but it justifies
the retention of both words in language.
English (represents living animals) French (meat)
OX beef
sheep mutton
calf veal

137. The Curtailment of O.E Processes of Derivation.

As a form of human activity language always displays (shows) tendencies which one recognize
as characteristic of the speech of a given people at a given time. Such habits may altered by
circumstances e.g. old English enlarged its vocabulary by the use of prefixes and suffixes. After
the Norman Conquest there was a decline in the use of these methods of word-formation.

138. Prefixes.
Many of the OE prefixes gradually lost their vitality. e.g. for- used to intensify the meaning of a
verb or to add the idea of destructive. In MOE it is preserved in verbs such as forget, forgive.

139. Suffixes
The decline in suffixes was less noticeable than prefixes because some important ending have
remained active e.g. -ness, -ful, -less,-some, -ish . Generally there was a gradual change in
English habits of word formation resulting from the available supply of French words with which
to fill the needs of everyday need by the native resources of the language.

140. Self-explaining compounds.

E.g. bookhouse declined
Because French word could have been borrowed instead of compounding words from the native
language to create declined new meaning.

141. The Language Still English.

In spite of the extensive modification of the English language the language retained its
characteristics as English language. p: 188

142. Latin Borrowing in Middle English.

The Norman Conquest is called the Latin influence. Latin was a spoken language among
religious men and men of learning. The number of words entered the language through this path
is less than that entered through literature. English had some Latin terms relating to law,
medicine, science, theology and literature. Among them, several with endings like-able, -ible, -
ent,-dl-ous,-ive...which became familiar in English and reinforced by French. In addition,
unusual words from Latin by writers of prose (stylistic) were borrowed.
The borrowing from Latin, French and Native dialects made English rich in synonyms. English
was also influenced by (Romance) the languages of the Low Countries; Flemish, Dutch and Low
German which were similar to English. It was difficult to realize whether a word has been
adopted from one of these languages or of native origin.

143. Aureate Terms.

The introduction of unusual words from Latin (and occasionally elsewhere) became a conscious
stylistic device in the fifteenth century, extensively used by poets and occasionally by writers of
prose.

144. Synonyms at Three Levels.

eighteenth-century writers brought up in the tradition of the classics provoked a reaction in

which the “Saxon” element of the language was glorified as the strong, simple, and direct
comp1onent in contrast with the many abstract and literary words derived from Latin and
French.

145. Words from the Low Countries.

The importance of the Romance element in English has overshadowed and caused to be
negle1cted another source of foreign words in the vocabulary, the languages of the Low
Countries—Flemish, Dutch, and Low German.

146. Dialectal Diversity of Middle English.

Middle English has great variety in the different parts of England. This variety included the
spoken language as well written literature. With absence of literary standard writers
naturally wrote in their dialects.

147. The Middle English Dialects.

We can distinguish four principal dialects of Middle English Northern, East Midland, West
Midland and southern. These dialects differ in respect of pronunciation, vocabulary and
inflection.

148. The Middle English Dialects.

The language differed almost from county to county, and noticeable variations are sometimes
observable between different parts of the same county.

149. The Rise of Standard English;

Out of this variety of local dialects emerged toward the end of 14th century a written language
which became recognized as the standard in speech and writing. This dialect was very close to
the East Midland dialect of London. What were the causes for the standardization of East
Midland dialect?
1. The English of this region occupied a middle position. Less conservative than the southern
dialect and less radical than the Northern.
2. The East Midland dialect district was the largest and most populous (inhabitance).
3. The presence of the universities Oxford, Cambridge in this region.

150. The importance of London English

The most influential factor in the rise of standard English was the importance of London as the
capital of England. London was the political and commercial center of England.

151. The Spread of the London Standard

In the latter part of the 15th century London standard had been accepted at least in writing in
most parts of the country. The standardization of London dialect promoted by the introduction of
printing in 1476 18 of 26

152. Complete Uniformity Still Unattained.

It would be a mistake to think that complete uniformity was attained within the space of a
few generations. Even in matters of vocabulary dialectal differences have persisted in cultivated
speech down to the present day, and they were no less noticeable in the period during which
London English was gaining general acceptance.