G405 25361 STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Michael Adams

11:15a-12:30p TR (15 students) 3 cr.

TOPIC: “History of the English Language”

This course begins before English is a glint in the Saxon eye and introduces the history of the language in all its variety from Old into Middle English, through Early Modern and Modern English (British and American), to Present-Day English as manifested around the world. It will consider every formal, social, and textual aspect of the language. The history of English is self-sufficiently interesting, but knowing about the language’s development and structure can be very useful in study of literature, history, and other languages – even political science and sociology, since change and variation in English pose social and political problems. Modes of evaluation include frequent quizzes and assignments, examinations, and a big project, to be described in full at the outset of the course. Our text will be A. C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language, 5e (Prentice-Hall, 2001).