8. What seems unusual in this table?

PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH

1	Early OE (pre-written OE)	c. 450 – c.700	OLD
2	OE (written OE)	c.700 – 1066	ENGLISH
3	Early ME	1066 – 1350	MIDDLE
4	ME (classical ME)	1350 – 1475	ENGLISH
5	Early NE	1476 – 1660	NEW
6	Normalization Period	1660 – 1800	ENGLISH
7	Late NE	1800 –……….	(Mod. English)

9. Read the passage below and identify its authorship. Look back at your lecture notes. What impetus did the observation give to philology?

Sanskrit bore to both Greek and Latin a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists. There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick [i.e., Germanic] and the Celtick, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family . . . .

10. Speak up on the following questions.

1. Old Germanic Languages, their classification and distribution.

2. Phonetic peculiarities of old Germanic languages (be specific about Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law).

3. What is the origin of the English language?

4. OE alphabets and writings.

Seminar 2

1. Study Lectures 2, 3 and 4.

2. Speak up on the following questions.

1. Danelaw and its linguistic influence on the English language.

2. The Norman Conquest and its impact on the linguistic situation in England.

3. Rise of the London dialect.

4. The role of G. Chaucer and W. Caxton in the formation of the national English language.

5. The New English period and its basic features.

3. Do the following practical tasks.

1. Which of these belong to the West Germanic group of languages?

English, Old Swedish, Old Frisian, Old Norse, Old Norwegian, Gothic, Old High German, Icelandic, Yiddish, Burgundian, Old Saxon, Dutch

2. Explain the origin of the following names: Britain, Scotland, Great Britain, Bretagne, England, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Northumberland

3. The Old English language is often called Anglo-Saxon. Why is this term not fully justified?

4. Revise Grimm’s and Verner’s Laws. Comment on the correspondences between consonants in old English words and words from other languages:

a) Russ. болото – pöl

b) Russ. ты – OE Þü

c) Russ. плот – OE flota

d) Russ. едят – Lat. edere – OE ete

e) Sans. bhratar – OE broÞor

f) Goth. swaihro – OE sweger

g) Lat. auris– Goth. auso – Icel. eyra

h) Russ. горе – OE caru