Subject and Aims of the History of English. Chronological divisions in the History of English

telephone + –ed - a new element

• telephone + –ed - a new element
• write, fight, take - a diachronic element

The history of the language is that branch of linguistic science

• The history of the language is that branch of linguistic science
• - which gives you an insight into the origin of modern English,

which explains to you the history of its phonological structure,

• which explains to you the history of its phonological structure,
• the difficulties of its spelling,
• the composition of its vocabulary,
• the peculiarities of its grammatical structure.

• A language can be considered from different angles.
• In studying Modern English (Mod E) we regard the language as fixed in time and describe each linguistic level – phonetics, grammar or lexis – synchronically, taking no account of the origin of present-day features or their tendencies to change.