Course Syllabus
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Lecture 1 The Foundations of Language: Brain, Development, Acquisition
Lecture 2 Signs and Meanings: Semantics
Lecture 3 Sounds of Language: Phonetics
Lecture 4 Sound and Meaning: Phonology
Lecture 5 Sound Shifts and History
Lecture 6 The Rules: Syntax
Lecture 7 Words, Words, Words
Lecture 8 The History of the English Language
Lecture 9 From Germanic to Old English
Lecture 10 Borrowing and Influence: Romans, Celts, Danes (Latin, Celtic, Scandinavian)
Lecture 11 The Norman Conquest, the Influence of French, and the Development of Middle English
Lecture 12 To Modern English: The Great Vowel Shift
Lecture 13 You Say Soda, I Say Pop: Dialect, Variants, and the Development of American English
Lecture 14 A Global Language: The Present and Future of English
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Course Overview
Professor Drout addresses the foundation of language and
its connection to specific portions of the brain. The components
of language are explained in easy-to-understand terms and the
progression of the language from Germanic to Old, Middle,
and Modern English is fully illustrated—including such revolutionary
language upheavals as those brought about by the
Norman Conquest and the Great Vowel Shift.
One of the most interesting aspects of the English language
lies in its variants, such as the “soda” vs. “pop” debate and the
place of African-American English in modern culture. These
and other dialectual curiosities are looked at in detail and placed
in the context of today’s world. Finally, Professor Drout examines
the future not only of the English language, but of all the
world’s languages.
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 History of the English Language (Booklet)
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Professor
Professor Michael D.C. Drout
(Wheaton College)
Michael D.C. Drout is an associate professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where he teaches courses in Old and Middle English, medieval literature, Chaucer, fantasy, and science fiction.
Professor Drout received his Ph.D. in medieval literature from Loyola Universi...
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Course Forum
Course Final Exam
Social Science
