HIST-1107EL Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Genitive Case, Early Modern English, William Caxton
6 Dec 2020
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Document Summary
Minor changes in consonants loss of initial h- before l, n and r (oe hring. [v] becomes a regular english sound not only occurring in voiced environments. Fundamental changes in the vowel system towards the end of the period. Immense influx of french loan words as of 1250 (to a much lesser extent in the first phase after the norman invasion) Influence of other languages: trade (and war) with the rest of europe results in contact with dutch, german, italian and spanish. Phonetic weakening of word-final syllables (due to contact with scandinavian) Originally distinctive noun endings -a, -u, -e, -an, -um reduced to the schwa e. Different case forms fall together -> case syncretism. Loss of strong verbs and conversion to the weak (=regular) conjugation, adaption of (weak) verbs from french. Derivational affixes borrowed together with french words, originally english derivation remains in use. Reduction in case marking results in the need to mark grammatical relations differently -> svo.
