The Transformation of Old, Middle, and Modern English
AN ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE SHIFT; THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE OLD, MIDDLE, AND MODERN ENGLISH PRONOUNS
Muh. Fathan Zamani
The State Islamic University of Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Abstract
English has been an unquestionable language since first appearance in ancient time which was known as Old English. It was then transformed as Middle English with new style before being modern English until recent year. One of the slight differences of those patterns is the pronouns. As an English learner it is inadequate to learn modern English only with ignorance of both Old and Middle English. The paper is not created for the purpose of historical learning but rather to explain the process of changes and its relation with the language shift.
Introduction
The history of English language falls into three periods; Old English, Anglo-Saxon, commonly known as the period of full 2 inflections. E.g. stān-as, stones; car-u, care; will-a, will; bind-an, to bind; help-að (= ath), they help. It extends from the arrival of the English in Great Britain to about one hundred years after the Norman Conquest,—from A.D. 449 to 1150; but there are no literary remains of the earlier centuries of this period, Middle English; the period of leveled inflections, the dominant vowel of the inflections being e. E.g. ston-es, car-e, will-e, bind-en (or bind-e), help-eth, each being, as in the earlier period, a dissyllable. The Middle English period extends from A.D. 1150 to 1500; Modern English, the period of lost inflections. E.g. stones, care, will, bind, help, each being a monosyllable. Modern English extends from A.D. 1500 to the present time. It has witnessed comparatively few grammatical changes, but the vocabulary of our language has been vastly increased by additions from the classical languages (Smith, 2012). The transformation of full two inflections to lost inflections affects the pronouns. E.g. Ic, mīn, mē (OE of I), ik / ich / I, me, myn (ME), and I, me, my, mine (MOE).
The
Muh. Fathan Zamani
The State Islamic University of Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Abstract
English has been an unquestionable language since first appearance in ancient time which was known as Old English. It was then transformed as Middle English with new style before being modern English until recent year. One of the slight differences of those patterns is the pronouns. As an English learner it is inadequate to learn modern English only with ignorance of both Old and Middle English. The paper is not created for the purpose of historical learning but rather to explain the process of changes and its relation with the language shift.
Introduction
The history of English language falls into three periods; Old English, Anglo-Saxon, commonly known as the period of full 2 inflections. E.g. stān-as, stones; car-u, care; will-a, will; bind-an, to bind; help-að (= ath), they help. It extends from the arrival of the English in Great Britain to about one hundred years after the Norman Conquest,—from A.D. 449 to 1150; but there are no literary remains of the earlier centuries of this period, Middle English; the period of leveled inflections, the dominant vowel of the inflections being e. E.g. ston-es, car-e, will-e, bind-en (or bind-e), help-eth, each being, as in the earlier period, a dissyllable. The Middle English period extends from A.D. 1150 to 1500; Modern English, the period of lost inflections. E.g. stones, care, will, bind, help, each being a monosyllable. Modern English extends from A.D. 1500 to the present time. It has witnessed comparatively few grammatical changes, but the vocabulary of our language has been vastly increased by additions from the classical languages (Smith, 2012). The transformation of full two inflections to lost inflections affects the pronouns. E.g. Ic, mīn, mē (OE of I), ik / ich / I, me, myn (ME), and I, me, my, mine (MOE).
The
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