Use the Tab and Up, Down arrow keys to select menu items.
This course introduces students to the idea that languages vary and change, illustrating these notions through a survey of the way in which English has varied and changed during its recorded history. It will look both at the social history of the language and the way its form has changed over the last 1400 years.
English is not a single monolithic entity; it comes in many different varieties, depending on factors like geography, the social status of its speakers and whether it is used as a first or second language. In order to understand how English became so multi-faceted, this course traces the development of the language from its inception in 5th Century early Germanic Britain, through the various social changes that shaped its trajectory in the middle ages to its eventual spread to other shores where today it is a global lingua franca. Although the focus in this course will primarily be on the changing linguistic structure of English (i.e. how the phonological, morphological and syntactic system changed over a millennium), in order to understand why these changes took place, it will also be necessary to look at the changing society in which English was being used. This course will therefore offer both a linguistic and a social history of English.
By the end of the course, students will: - Understand the main linguistic changes and developments in English since 500AD- Use technical terminology to describe the linguistic changes affecting English- Understand how social factors affected the development of the English Language since 500ADAs a student in this course you will not only acquire subject specific skills, you will also acquire a number of transferrable skills. For example, by the end of this course you will be able to... - Read critically and objectively- Develop analytical skills- Write an academic essay- Meet deadlines
Any 30 points at 100-level
ENGL240, ENGL241, LING204, LING214
Lynn Clark
Stephen Gramley; The History of English: an introduction ; Routledge, 2012.
Library portalThe course outline is available on LEARN (only for students enrolled in this course). LEARN
Domestic fee $644.00
International fee $2,800.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .