Key Words:
Collocation – an established phrase which places words in a fixed
order
The past is a foreign country
Texts 20, 21, 29
Lesson Objective:
To explore language change over time
To examine features of scripted talk
Milestones in English
1066 – the arrival of the Normans establishes Norman-French as the language
of the government; Anglo-Saxon (Old English) continues to be spoken by
the majority of the population. Over time many French and Latin words
are adopted.
1380s – Chaucer writes his epic Canterbury Tales in what is now known as
Middle English. By this time various forms of Middle English are spoken in
different parts of the country.
1476 – England’s first printer William Caxton sets up shop in London and
starts to print books (including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales).
1590s – 1616 – Shakespeare’s plays and poems are published and performed.
The time of Early Modern English
1755 – Dr Samuel Johnson publishes his dictionary – a detailed account of the
vocabulary, spelling and meanings of the English Language
1795 – Lindley Murray publishes English Grammar – attempting to define the
‘rules’ of English – establishing what is ‘Standard English’
1928 – the first edition of The Oxford English Dictionary is completed
1992 – the first SMS text message is sent via mobile phone
Titus Andronicus – Text 21
• Dates from 1590
• One of Shakespeare’s earliest tragedies
• Lavinia, daughter of Titus Andronicus, has been
raped and had her tongue and hands cut off by
Chiron and Demetrius
• Their mother is Tamora who is now married to
Saturninus the Roman Emperor
• Titus has had his hand cut off in an attempt to save
his sons from execution by Tamora’s lover, Aaron...
Assessment Focus
• AO 2 Holistic Appreciation
• Demonstrate detailed understanding in analysing the ways in which
structure, form and language shape meanings in a range of spoken and
written text
In text 21 – Titus Andronicus you will notice that the lexis, grammar and
phonology of the language is far removed from modern day language.
You will need to consider how, over time, despite the change in language, the
reader can still grasp the message behind the actions and words of the play.
In text 20 – The importance of Being Earnest – you will not notice quite so
many changes in lexis and grammar, however, the differences will probably
occur in what the audience regards as ‘comedy’. The way the play is written
like real speech gives it a sense of authenticity and keeps it ‘funny’.
A living language never stands still and is constantly changing in every way. The most
obvious kind of change is lexical (with the constant stream of new words) and
semantic (as words take on new meanings). Even the phonology and grammar of
language changes over time, and we can see that in this text which was written over
400 years ago. Use a dictionary to help you find out about the words that are
unfamiliar to you.
Example in
text 21
LEXIS
a. Verb which expresses a
command to keep back.
b. An adjective meaning of fine
appearance
c. Verb form of the adjective ‘vile’
COLLOCATION
Inverted word order of a question.
PHONOLOGY
Example of a word or phrase that
would be pronounced
differently
Modern
equivalent
Comment
Commentary
• Lexis
All the examples in the text ‘forbear’, ‘goodly’ and ‘vild’ are
obsolete words. Goodly and Vild clearly take their origins from
words that are still used today, but in different forms
(morphology)
• Collocation
The inversion of the word order in the question ‘Know you
these two?’ would sound strange in today’s language, but we
are familiar with the archaic contexts in which it survives
• Phonology
Many of the words in Shakespearean English are pronounced
differently. However, it is partly to do with his fitting the
words in to the Iambic Pentameter structure
Scripted and unscripted speech
• We have previously looked at transcripts which show modern,
spontaneous speech. As a playwright, Shakespeare had the task of
creating ‘realistic’ speech. They have to make the characters believable
but without including the features of real speech that would make it
difficult to listen to.
• Remember the features of spontaneous speech – write down as many
features as you can remember.
The Importance of Being Earnest
• Written by Oscar Wilde, first performed in
1895
• Cecily Cardew, an 18 year old girl and an older
girl called Gwendolen Fairfax are having
afternoon tea in the garden of Cecily’s country
house. They both (mistakenly) believe that
they are in love with the same man.
Features of spontaneous talk
Used in a
Comment
television script
Some use of casual, colloquial language,
possibly including expletives and taboo
language
Some use of grammatically incomplete
(minor) sentences. Other sentences may
continue in a less clearly structured way
than in writing, with repeated use of
conjunctions
Some use of non-fluency features
In conversation, those listening indicate
their attention/agreement/sympathy
using feedback
There may occasionally be interruptions
and overlapping, with two or more
speakers speaking at once
Now consider these features in Wilde’s play. How has he created the illusion
of realistic spontaneous speech? Comment on the features that mark it out
as scripted, dramatic speech.
Assessment Focus
• AO 3 Context
• Use integrated approaches to explore relationships between texts,
analysing and evaluating the significance of contextual factors in their
production and reception.
Production
Reception
Who has produced it?
Who is reading / hearing / watching it?
When was it produced?
When is it being heard or read?
Where was it produced?
Where is it being read or heard?
Why was it produced? (purpose)
Why is it being listened to / read?
For whom was it intended? (implied
audience)
Who is reading or hearing it? (actual
audience)
Contextual information Text 29
• The Warden was published in 1855
• Anthony Trollope was one of the most highly
regarded of the Victorian novelists
• The Warden was the first of the Barsetshire
novels – set in the fictional city of Barchester
• In this extract he is describing his breakfast
parlour
• Read this extract and then compare it to the
more modern TEXT 13