Fall Semester 2001

Instructor:  Professor Vivienne M. Anderson

Phone:  985-5144

Email: vanderson@ncwc.edu

Office: 176 Horne

Office Hours:  M  10-11 am W 10-11:30 am T/Th 8-9 am (by appointment)

Our language is improued aboue all others now spoken by any

nation, and become the fairest, the nimblest, the fullest; most

apt to vary the phrase, most ready to receive good composition,

most adorned with sweet words and sentences, with witty quips

and over-ruling Prouerbs: yea, able to express any conceit

whatsoeuer with great dexterity weighty in weighty matters,

merry in merry, braue in braue.

                William de L’Isle, preface to A Saxon Treatise (1623)

                        It has only just begun to dawn on us that in our own language                            alone not to speak of its many companions, the past history of                            humanity is spread out in an imperishable map, just                        as the history of the mineral earth lies embedded in the layers of                         its outer crust.   Owen Barfield, History in English Words (1926)                                                           

Required Texts:

Fennell, Barbara A.  A History of English: A Sociolinguistic

 Approach.    Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.

Hairston, Maxine, John Ruszkiewicz &Christy Friend.  The Scott, ForesmanHandbook for Writers. 5^th ed.  New York: Longman, 2001.

Hughes, Geoffrey.  A History of English Words.  Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.

 Plus:  American Heritage College Dictionary, 3^rd ed. 

 Course Description:

           Our words give us a glimpse into our past.  Some of our words capture the history of western science, some others our political history, and yet others record western religious heritage.  In this course, we will look at the literary, historical, cultural, political and scientific underpinnings of the English language we use today.  We will examine how our ancient past continues to inform the way we speak and write today, and as we begin to address language as an organic phenomenon, we will be able to see the nature of its unchanging change. 

           We shall be examining the ancient roots of our language, and how the language we speak today developed in spoken and written forms over the past 1500 years.  We will learn how the Great Vowel Shift led to changes in pronunciation that differentiated English from continental European languages. We will discover how heavy borrowing of words and terms from other languages around the world gave dexterity and flexibility to our language.  We will read literature and other texts by famous writers so we may examine archaisms and innovative idiomatic expression.   We will learn how Samuel Johnson, the first comprehensive lexicographer of the language pioneered the first dictionary which, according to Seth Lerer, “advocated that change rather than stasis was the true nature of language, an idea that had immense influence on later lexicographers.  In addition, we shall discuss the great prescriptivism vs descriptivism issue, which continues to be a topic of much debate even today.

           Finally, we shall explore the development of American English and study how and why it has become not only flexible and innovative, but also a repository of some of the usage of Elizabethan English in history, literature and political rhetoric.  As we look at the development of African-American English, and the English taught and spoken in former British colonies, we will look at language as an ideological force.  We will read sections of works by Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglas, and others, as we close our studies by evaluating how a small regional language could have become the primary language of world trade and global communication today.

Course Objectives:

How to manage the problems of language and behavior that are vital to our lives will be the primary focus of our class.  By the end of the course students will be able to:

 *       Summarize the relationship of English to other European languages *       Describe the major periods in the history of English

*    Identify the differences between Middle English and Modern English   

*  Explain the reasons for and the impact of the Great Vowel Shift

*       Read various translations of excerpts from the Bible

*       Summarize the contributions of the great writers of English literature and other texts

*       Identify both the early stages of English language lexicography and the development of American dictionaries

*       Define fundamental concepts such as creole, pidgin, phonology, syntax, morphology, lexis and philology  

*       Use dictionaries and other resources for tracking word etymology and charting changes in meaning and use.

*      Understand and respect differences in dialect, idiom and styles of English

*       Trace the major developments in language study in the twentieth century 

Course Requirements:

 This class is Writing Intensive; please consult our college catalogue for a complete description of the requirements for W.I. classes.

·       Completion of all assigned readings in our texts             100 points

·       Weekly short summary of material discussed                   50 points

·       One oral report  (we will assign topics in class)             150 points  

·       Complete & carefully prepared handout to accompany                       your oral report (one copy for each class participant)   100 points

·       One well-researched & documented 10 page paper           200 points

·       One mid-term examination                                                         200 points

·       One final examination                                                                200 points

                                                                            Total possible points = 1000

 Any student failing to complete all requirements will not pass this course, regardless of the number of points earned.

 Grading Procedures:

           920+ points = A     899-919 points = A-    874-898 points = B+   

       835-873 points = B   800-834 points = B-   774-799 points = C+  

      735-773 points = C   700-734 = C-   650-699 = D  

       Fewer than      650 points = F 

 Attendance:

 This is an upper-level class with a considerable amount of work.  I expect you all to attend every class, on time.  If you are tardy three times, this will count as one absence.  Our college catalogue defines our attendance/absence policy; I allow two excused absences.  Should you be counted absent more than twice, you may be asked to withdraw from the course.  More than four class absences will result in your name being withdrawn from the register. 

 Plagiarism:

 Please consult our college catalogue for a definition of plagiarism.  The faculty at NCWC take plagiarism (or academic dishonesty) very seriously.  If I believe that you are not responsible for all the work you submit to me, if it is clear that you have purloined others’ work, or if you fail to cite your sources accurately, I will follow the course of action set out in our catalogue. 

 Conferences:

 Each student should meet with me at least once before his/her oral report is prepared.  Also, students must meet with me to discuss their paper proposals and again before the final paper is due.   These meetings are mandatory.  You will be counted as “absent” for one class meeting if you fail to keep a scheduled conference session with me. 

 Due Dates for Presentations and Paper Preparation/Submission: 

 I do not accept late work and all dates assigned are firm; thus, I do not allow students to re-schedule their presentation dates.  If you come to class unprepared, or under-prepared, for your presentation, you will not be able to pass this class—please consult the grading information given above. Due dates will be assigned in class. 

Formal Paper: 

 There are three parts to the preparation of your paper:  1.  formal proposal, with a working bibliography, 2.  first draft complete with citations and notes (where necessary), and  3. final draft.  You may add illustrations and graphics, but these should be in addition to the required 10 pages of text.   All papers must be prepared on a word-processing system.  Papers must be double-spaced with 1” margins all round.  You must use a 12 point font (no larger or smaller please).  In addition to the required 10-pages of text, you should have a title page and a Works Cited page.  Your final document should conform to MLA format.  You will need a minimum of five sources for your paper—only one of which may be taken from the Internet.  I recommend that your working bibliography should have at least eight items.  Do not include on your working bibliography any items that you have not actually seen.  I will ask to see your sources when you meet with me for your paper conference.

 Presentations:

 Plan to present your material for 20 minutes, and field questions for 10 more minutes.  You may use any visual aids you wish, but do not use more than 5 minutes of any video you show.  Make sure your handout is comprehensive—your material will be used on our examinations.  I suggest approximately 5-6 pages for the handout, depending upon how many pictures etc. you use.  Your handout must have your name, the date of presentation, and all the pertinent information necessary for your classmates to use when studying.  Please refer to the section entitled “Requirements” where you will be able to see the point-value, and thus the importance, of this document.

 Good luck to you all on this course.

I know we have exciting and challenging material to cover and I’m sure you will enjoy our investigation into the History of English.