The main historical events of the Middle period

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       The main historical events of the Middle period.

 

 

                      

                                        

 

 

 

 

 

Duisengalieva Maral

FL-31

 

                                               Plan.  
 

1.The role of the Middle English Period in the history of English language.

2. The influence of the Scandinavian invasions.

3. The Norman Conquest.

4. Early Middle English dialects. Neighborhood of three languages in England

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Our history goes back millions of years ago. The world would not have arrived to where it is right now if it had not gone through a long and extensive process of historical development. In keeping up with the study of the advancement of the world, one has to ask himself, "What were the major time periods of history?" The answers seem simple, yet the story behind each goes back to a rich and colorful process of social and cultural revelations.

The historical development of a language is a continuous, uninterrupted process without sudden breaks or rapid transformations. Therefore any periodisation imposed on language history by linguists, with precise dates, might appear artificial. There are some periodizations of the history of English languageOld English, Middle English and New English with boundaries attached to definite dates and historical effects affecting the language.^[1]

         Middle English begins with Norman Conquest end ends on the introduction of printing (1475).^[2] The Middle English period itself may be also divided into two smaller ones Early Middle English and Late Middle English. Early Middle English covers the main events of the 14th century. It is the stage of greatest dialectal divergence caused by the feudal system and by foreign influences-Scandinavian and French. ).^[3] The dialectal division of present-day English owes its origin to this period of history. Great changes of the language took place at all the levels, especially in lexis and grammar. Later 14th till the end of the 15th century is a time known as Late or Classical Middle English. This period umbras the age of Chaucer, the greatest English medieval writer and forerunner of the English Renaissanu, and is characterized by restoration of English to the position of the state and literary language and by literary flourishing, which has a stabilizing effect on language, so that the rate of linguistic changes was slowed down.

In addition to economic, geographical and social conditions, dialectal differences in Early M.E. were accentuated by some historical events, namely the Scandinavian invasions and the Norman Conquest. Though the Scandinavian invasions of England are dated in the Old English period, there effect on the language is particularly apparent in M.E. Eventually the Scandinavians were absorbed into the local population both ethnically and linguistically, because new settlers and the English intermarried and intermixed; ).^[4] they lived close together and didnt differ either in social rank or in the level of culture and customs; they intermingled the more easily as there was no linguistic barrier between them. The increased regional differences of English in the Scandinavian influence in the areas of the heaviest settlement the Scandinavians outnumbered the Anglo-Saxon population, which is attested by geographical names. In Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Cumberland-up to 75 per cent of the place-names is Danish or Norwegian. Altogether more than 1.400 English villages and towns bear names of Scandinavian origin (with the element “thorp” meaning “village”, e.g. Woodthorp, Linthorp; “toft”, “a piece of land”, e. g. “Brimtoft”, “Lowestoft”).). Probably, in many districts people became bilingual, with either Old Norse or English prevailing. Besides due to the contacts and mixture with O Seand, the Northern dialects (chiefly North Umbrian and East Mercian) had acquired lasting and something indelible Scandinavian features. We find a large admixture of Scandinavian words in Early M.E. records coming from the North East whereas contemporary text from other regions are practically devoid of Scandinavian borrowings. In later ages the Scandinavian element passed into other regions. The incorporation of the Scandinavian element in the London dialect and Standard English was brought about by the changing linguistic).^[5]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         References:

 

1.http://na5.ru/503170-2

2.http://www.teachnology.com/teachers/subject_matter/social_studies/time_lines/

3. Wade, Nicholas (7 July 2010). "Clues of Britain’s First Humans". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2011.

 4. http://earthsky.org/human-world/jawbone-is-earliest-evidence-of-modern-humans-in-europe

5. The Anglo-Saxons, BBC - History