An Introduction to Middle EnglishOxford University Press, 2002 - 182 pages This authoritative survey offers a concise description of Middle English, the language of Chaucer, during the period from 1100 to 1500. Middle English is discussed in relation to both earlier and later stages in the history of English and in regard to other languages with which it came into contact. The book covers the principal features of Middle English spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary and also introduces Middle English textual studies. |
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Contents
Introduction | 1 |
12 How to use this book | 2 |
13 A note about technical terms | 3 |
Recommendations for reading | 4 |
What did Middle English look like? | 7 |
22 A passage from The Canterbury Tales | 8 |
23 Linguistic analysis | 11 |
24 Evidence for Middle English | 13 |
Exercises | 64 |
Recommendations for reading | 65 |
The lexicon | 69 |
52 The origins of ME vocabulary | 70 |
53 Some notes on meaning | 77 |
54 Word geography | 79 |
55 Chaucers lexicon | 80 |
56 Vocabulary and style | 81 |
25 Two illustrations | 14 |
26 Editing Middle English | 19 |
Exercises | 20 |
Recommendations for reading | 22 |
Middle English in use | 26 |
33 For what was Middle English used? | 30 |
34 The dialects of Middle English | 31 |
35 Written standardisation | 34 |
36 The standardisation of speech | 36 |
Exercises | 38 |
Spellings and sounds | 40 |
42 Reconstructing ME pronunciation | 42 |
an outline history | 44 |
44 Chaucerian transmission | 46 |
45 Middle English soundsystems | 50 |
46 Middle English writingsystems | 60 |
Exercises | 84 |
Recommendations for reading | 85 |
Grammar | 89 |
62 Syntax | 92 |
63 Morphology | 103 |
Exercises | 118 |
Recommendations for reading | 119 |
Looking forward | 126 |
72 Language and text | 133 |
Exercises | 139 |
Middle English texts | 142 |
Discussion of the exercises | 170 |
173 | |
178 | |
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Common terms and phrases
adjectives adverbs Ancrene Wisse Anglo-Saxon Annd appears Burnley Canterbury Canterbury Tales chapter Chaucer's Chaucerian English Chaucerian usage clauses consonant dative derived from OE developed diatopic diphthongs discussion distinction edition Ellesmere manuscript EModE evidence example feminine fifteenth century fourteenth century French fricative function gender genitive Geoffrey Chaucer grammar graphemes Hengwrt Hengwrt manuscript housbonde inflected inflexional kyng LALME language late OE Latin lexical lexicon linguistic loanwords London long vowels masculine mede medieval Middle English Midlands modern neuter nominative Norse Northern noun phrase OE period Ormulum pæt paradigm participle passage pattern person plural Peterborough Chronicle phonemic poem prepositions present-day pronoun pronunciation Proto-Germanic prototypically Recommendations for reading reference reflex of OE scholars scribe seems shal speech spelling spelling-systems standardisation stressed syllables Tale texts third person transition from OE unstressed varieties verb phrase vocabulary whan words writing