Lecture I theme I: Subject and aims of the History of English

Questions:

1. What is the subject and aims of history of English?

2. Explain why linguistic changes are usually slow and gradual.

3. At first glance the vocabulary of the language seems to change very rapidly, as new words spring up all the time. Could the following words be regarded as absolutely new? (Note the meaning, component parts and word-building pattern): jet-plane (cf. airplane), type script (cf. manuscript, air-lift, baby-sitter, sputnik, safari, best-seller, cyclization, air-taxi, astrobiology, sun, suit, pepper, gas.)

4. In the 14thc. the following words were pronounced exactly as they are spelt, the Latin letters retaining their original sound values. Show the phonetic changes since the 14thc: moon, fat, meet, rider, want, knee, turn, first, first, part, for, often, e.g. nut-[nut]>[nat].