As it is shown in the Contents section, this chapter will be organized in two sub-chapters (The etymology of the ~ing form and respectively, The multiple uses of the -ing form) under the generic title of THE DIACRONIC APPROACH OF THE -ING.
We propose to start with a diachronic approach of the -ing form, beginning with Old English until Modern English. We believe that only by a historical analysis of the -ing phenomenon we can understand its multiple uses and flexibility, consequently, we continue by listing the English – ing forms.
In this chapter we propose to cluster significant data about the origins and development of the -ing, which will be most helpful in the developing and supporting the purpose of this paper.
1.1. The etymology of the ~ing form
Before entering the topic, a distinction between the main approaches to English study, i.e. diachronic vs. synchronic approach is needed. This terminology belongs to the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, who punctuated the importance of seeing the development of a language from two distinct points of view, which he called “diachronic and synchronic”. Synchronic linguistics sees language as a living whole, existing at a particular point in time, while diachronic linguistics concerns with the language and its historical development. Thus, a synchronic approach refers to the study of a language at a particular period of time, whereas diachronic approach is a historical study of language development.
According to A. Poruciuc (2004), during the last decades, English has been studied mainly form a synchronic-structuralist position, which may be considered as most appropriate for practical and didactic purposes ...
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...ll appeared as, ande/-ende. But, during the 14th century those forms were given up in favour of –ynge /- inge, obviously, by analogy with verbal nouns inherited form OE. TC comyng, pouryng have nominal functions; but willenge, tkenge are clearly verbal-participial.
In MnE Period the continuous (progressive) aspect was still unsettled, and even considered ‘ vulgar’ to SMnE prescriptive scholars. It came to be accepted as part of English grammar only during the 19th century, when more and more writers used it in their works. The process of conversion became an easy and dynamic process of creating new words, so by mere shifting of word-order, as well as by specific endings (-s , -ing, ed) , nouns and adjective may become verbs, and verbal forms may be substativized – this is the process where –ing suffix thrives.
1.1.2 The multiple uses of the ~ ing form
Modern Language Quarterly 25.4 (1964): 461. Print. The. Edwards, Duane. Don't Ever Tell Anybody Anything.
"UCLA Language Materials Project: Language Profile." UCLA Language Materials Project: Main. UCLA. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. .
The English language has been in constant transition throughout its history, but the most significant transformation in modern English can be credited to William Shakespeare. With Shakespeare’s invention of commonly used expressions, his creation of new words, and his use of iambic pentameter, he was able to affect the language in a way that no person since has. Shakespeare’s influence on modern English is not only visible in everyday speech, but also in the fact that his work has survived over four hundred years and it continues to be performed and read worldwide.
Cerjak ,The English Journal, Vol. 76, No. 5 (Sep., 1987), pp. 55-57 Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
how the English language has changed in the many years from then until now. The
Analogical change can also occur on the morphological markers of a word, such as verb agreements. This change can be observed between the Old English and Modern English conjugation of the verb to sing and impacts the complexity of the paradigm, making the Modern English form recognisably more uniform.
The Concentric Circles Model proposed by Kachru is a method encapsulating the “types of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures” (Kachru, 1992: 356). On the basis of these three characteristics, the scholar divided countries into three groups: The Inner, The Outer and The Expanding Circles. The Inner Circle refers to countries traditionally regarded as the bases of English, that is, nations where English is the mother tongue of a substantial part of the popula...
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2007.
prevalent within a single dialect, a single national language or a single group of social language. It is one of the most significant “modes in the historical life and evolution of all languages … [and] language and languages change historically primarily by means of hybridization” (Bakhtin, 2011, 358). The conscious hybridization, on the other hand, is an intentional hybrid that is primarily applied as “an artistic device” (Bakhtin, 2011, p. 358). Bakhtin (2011) defines these hybrid constructions
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2003). An introduction to language (7th ed.). Boston: Heinle.
The duration of Early Modern English took place during the English Renaissance, and hence the amazing evolutions that occurred within it (Myers 166). After the Renaissance came the Age of Reason, and it is during this time that the language becomes recognizable to today (Smith 9). The most common example of Early Modern English is the fact that Shakespeare wrote in it, and it poses the most similarities to Modern day; the language moved from a synthetic one to a more analytical one, and relied less on inflectional endings and more with word order to convey information (Durkin 1). Early Modern English is the premise for the ever-evolving language that millions speak
Miller, T. P, & Faigley, L. (1982). College English. National Council of teachers of English, 44(6). Retrieved from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-
113-117. 151-195. The. English: A Linguistic Tool Kit, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University. English in the World, (2012), (U214, Worlds of English, DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
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The evolution of languages is constant even though minor and major changes are not usually apparent unless looking at the broader picture over a long period of time. Vocabulary is lost in the process, pronunciation and syntax are changed, and more vocabulary is added. Any language in the world has evolved from another, and most of these proto languages have suffered extinction. The Indo-European macro-family has seen this evolution and it has given rise to smaller micro-families that are each derived from a common ancestor. The Proto-Indo-European, in which the ‘proto’ stands for a reconstructed language from evidence that was given at a later point in time, gave rise to the Indo-European branch of the language tree, which in turn has been subdivided into ten different micro-families including Celtic, Germanic, Italic, Balto-Slavic, Balkan, Hellenic, Anatolian, Armenian, Indo-Iranian, and Tocharian (Slocum). In addition, each of these families is broken up based on the common language that is shared. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family, which is further split into Latino-Faliscan, Osco-Umbrian, and Romance.