| In this lecture-based class, a language professional will tell you why, exactly, English is so weird! Starting with a brief mention of English’s ancient father Proto-Indo-European, we will focus on the political, social, and cultural changes that lead from Old English to Middle English to Early Modern English. Languages that significantly influenced modern English will also be mentioned. To clearly grasp the changes, we will follow several words and phrases as their shape and meaning changes over time. This class is designed to familiarize students with different linguistic and grammatical aspects of the English language to prepare them for exploring the many varieties of historic English. |