- •Scandinavian Place-Names
- •Native or Borrowed
- •The Norman Conquest
- •In 1362 the English language became the language of the Parliament, courts of law and at the end of the century - the language of teaching.
- •The Rise of the London Dialect
- •In the latter past of the 15th century the London dialect had been accepted as a standard, at least in writing in most parts of the country.
- •Me Literature
- •Introduction of Printing
- •Me Spelling Changes
- •Peculiarities of Middle English Spelling
Peculiarities of Middle English Spelling
Letters indicating vowels |
Letters indicating consonants |
Single letters |
|
a /a/ y, as well as i /i/ o /o/ or /u/ |
c /s/ or /k/ f /f/ g /G/ or /g/ j /G/ k /k/ s /s/ or /z/ v (often spelt as u) /v/ y /j/ |
Digraphs |
|
ee /e:/ or /F:/ ie /e:/ oo /o:/ or /L/ ou /H/ or /ou/ ow /H/ or /ou/ |
ch, tch /C/ dg /G/ gh /х/ or /х'/ qu /kw/ th /T/ or /D/ sh, sch, ssh /S/ wh /hw/ |
The opening lines of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales by G.Chaucer (late 14-th c.)
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
/хwan 'Tat ap'rillq 'wiT his 'SHrqs 'so:tq/
the droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
/Tq 'druхt of 'martS haT 'persqd 'to: Tq 'ro:tq/
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
/and 'ba:Dqd 'evri 'vein in 'switS li'kHr/
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
/of 'хwitS ver'tjH en'Gendrqd 'is Tq 'flHr/
When April with his sweet showers
The draught of March has pierced to the root,
And bathed every vein in such liquor,
Of which (whose) virtue (power) engendered is the flower;