2. Read the text entitled ‘From
A Brief History of English
Paul Roberts’
3. Notes :
Old English usually refers to the period in the
history of the English language covering the years
from 449 (or 450) to 1100 (or 1150). Around the year
450, England was invaded by the Germanic tribes
(the Angels, the Saxons, and the Jutes). These
Germanic tribes are regarded as “the founders of
The English nation” [Albert C. Baugh and Thomas
Cable, A History of the English Language (London:
Routledge, 2002)].
4. Notes :
The account of these invasions is found in
the Benedictine monk Bede’s work
Ecclesiastical History of the English People,
which was completed in 731 (Baugh and
Cable 2002). The earliest records of the
language date back to about 700.
5. Middle English covers the period from 1100
(or 1150) to 1500. William of Normandy, a
French territory, conquered England in 1066.
The French rule brought change to the
English language. The Anglo-Saxons chronicle
existed until 1154. By that time, the English
language had taken on new futures different
from the ones of Old English.
6. Modern English covers the period 1500 to the
present in the history of the English language. The
introduction of the movable printing process into
England by William Caxton in 1476 made possible the
production of uniform copies of big numbers of
books. The increase in the number of schools, in
literacy production, and in travel and explorations
brought change to the language from the time of the
Renaissance in the 1500s.
7. The Anglo-Saxon is the term that came
about with reference to the Teutonic tribes
that invaded England. The term is often
used to refer to “the earliest period of
English” (Baugh and Cable 2002).
Indo-European language is the family of
languages to which English belongs.
8. The Celts were “the original inhabitants of the
British Isles before the arrival of the Romans”
[Phillip, The Story of English (London: Quercus,
2009)].
Dialect is a variation of a language.
Case is the choice of form depending on the
function of words (nouns, pronouns, adjectives)
in the sentences in an inflected language.
9. Standardization suggests an “ideal”
norm or model of usage.
Mutually intelligible language indicated
that the language are distinct from each
other and are not dialects of the same
language.
10. What did you observe on the language
used on the passages read?
11.
12.
13. Based on the text entitled ‘From A
Brief History of English by Paul
Roberts’ cite examples of lines and
passages from it which cater the styles
of academic texts.
14. In a one whole sheet of paper, students will
answer the following questions:
1. Does academic writing require
concentration and comprehension? Explain.
2. Does one should identify his/her
purpose before reading? Explain
15. Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false.
1. Authors of academic texts usually present facts to
support their main argument.
2. Authors do not usually state critical questions and
ideas.
3. Academic writers list references.
4. Academic writers take a subjective point of view.
5. Writers also consider opinions and non fact basis in
their writings.
