Throughout the history of the English language, many words have been added to the English speaker’s vocabulary. English has not only formed new words from existing words, but it has also borrowed and used foreign words. With more and more new words forming and pushing their way into the English language, this causes other words to be labeled as “archaic”, “obsolete”, or even “rare”. Words that are labeled as “archaic” are words that were once very common during a specific age, but after a wide timeline of newly introduced words took over, these words became antique. Although these words are still sporadically used, the word “archaic” leads to the understanding that the word has the characteristics of an earlier time. “Obsolete” specifies that …show more content…
The verb that is used to define a word to humorously confuse or upset someone is Early Modern English’s word “discomboberate”. This word is first recorded around 1825 in a newspaper based in Maryland titled The Torch Light & Public Advertiser. At first sight, this word does not look like it would be a strange word, but the length and complexity of the verb could possibly frighten an English speaker. After this word faced many different spell changes, it was ultimately replaced with today’s English word “discombobulate”. This word was first recorded in 1879 in another newspaper based in Iowa called the Le Mars Daily Sentinel. While this word is still rarely used, the original word and the modern day word both fall into the weak verb class. With that in mind, both of these word have the same meaning and same verb class, but they do not share the same spelling. While all of these original extinct words are still on record, English speakers no longer use them, but they can be used to research other …show more content…
After researching Old English verbs and their replacement with Modern English verbs, one can concluded that most verbs remain in the same class and retain the same meaning. Whether the verbs are archaic, obsolete, or even rare, the verbs are technically extinct and no longer is used. Although these categories hold words that most English speakers know, the words in these categories are practically extinct. Due to the evolution of the English alphabet, word spelling has transformed itself into the simple process that is still used today. There are symbols or spellings that occur in Old and Middle English that are no longer used today. Although some words have been pushed aside and other words have replaced them, those words ultimately share the same meaning. Although that may be the case, those words have been replaced with words that English speakers use today. Regardless of their replacement, the antique words are still recorded for historical purposes to study how far the English language has evolved and is still
Landau, Sidney I., ed. The New International Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Naples: Trident International, 2002. Print.
Author(s): Judie Newman Source: The Modern Language Review, Vol. 98, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 817-826
Berube, Margery S., et all; The American Heritage Dictionary Second Edition; Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston, Mass, 1985
As the English language was beginning to develop, words were being borrowed from the French, Latin, and Scandinavian. Majority of the words used in the diary entry are words from each of these countries. For example, the lexis ‘Admerall’ was of a French origin. The lexis ‘gunnes’ was of a Scandinavian orgin and finally the lexis ‘nobull’ was of a Latin origin. All these words are commonly used in Present Day English, however, the spelling of the words are dissimilar. Large-scale borrowing of new words often had serious consequences for the meanings and the stylistic register of those words, but, various new stylistic layers emerged in the lexicon, which could be employed for a variety of different
The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989.
some word(s) could be different compared to how the words are used in the 21st century. In
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
Reading of Chapter four in the textbook titled " Foreign Influences on Old English,” the followings are the terms that came across as interesting and necessary for the understanding of the extent of foreign influence on the old English language:
As we mentioned above, one of influences that has made changes in English language over time is foreign
The New International Webster's Pocket Dictionary of the English Language. Naples, FL: Trident International, 2002. Print
Languages are continually changing and developing, and these changes occur in many different ways and for a variety of reasons. Language change is detectable to some extent in all languages, and ‘similar paths of change’ can be recognised in numerous unrelated languages (Bybee, 2015, p. 139). Since users of language all over the world have ‘the same mental processes’ and ‘use communication for the same or very similar ends’ (Bybee, 2015, p. 1), similar changes occur on the same linguistic aspects, and in many cases these changes produce similar results in multiple languages. However, language change is limited by the function it performs. Languages must be learnt to such an extent which allows communication between the generation above and below one’s own (McMahon, 1994, p. 5). Hence language change is a gradual, lethargic process, as only small changes in
Language as a dynamic structure is exposed to constant development, transformation and alteration. Media, society, culture, science, technology and politics are the core factors that contribute towards language evolution. Due to numerous linguistic and extra linguistic factors, newly coined units in the language are in the process of entering and influencing the English language. These new units, known as neologisms, serve as our guidance in understanding the never-ending evolution in the English language. Furthermore, neologisms ease each individual’s process of coping with changes by creating mental bridges between the old and the contemporary. The English language vocabulary is facing constant change, as neologisms enter in a blink of an eye through the media. The mass media being the major source and ground on which English neologisms are coined, plays a significant role of intermediary between the English population as active consumers and the language itself.
It is one of the main languages in the world and it is the international language these days. English language is the language that faced many changes that affects in several things. For example, some changes occur in writing system, phonological system and other changes during many centuries. English language is about four stages: Old English, Middle English, Modern English, and Early Modern English. In each era, there is an affection of other tribe’s languages on English language. As an example, Germanic tribes who moved into Britain and have an impact on Old English language are (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes). In the same way, the effects of the tribes lead to have many changes in vowel system, which calls the Great Vowel Shift .In this paper, I will discuss the Great Vowel Shift and the the process of that huge change.
Have you ever wondered where the names of the different items you use daily came from? Or listened to people talk and find a particular word interesting or odd and wonder why it has become part of our English language? The English language that we speak today has developed as a result of many different influences and changes over thousands of years. The resulting changes to the English language can be split into three time periods that include, Old English or Anglo-Saxon, Middle English and Modern English which is commonly used today
The Political, social and cultural impacts on the English language during its Old English phase.