History of English Literature

1. What is the period of middle Ages? What are the sources of information about the middle ages?
2. How did Old English differ from Modern English? Can you explain this with reference to both grammar and vocabulary?
3. What were the major external causes of the development of American English?
4. Which types of words are the easiest ones to be borrowed? List two loanwords each from Dutch and Italian.
5. Characterise the influence of Scandinavian on the English language?
6. Discuss the characteristics of English Language
7. Discuss the concept of Indian English.
8. Discuss the history and development of American English.

 

Case Detail

This section provides an in-depth look at three specific varieties of contemporary English. Received Pronunciation, Geordie Dialect, and English as spoken in the UK’s Minority Ethnic communities. Received Pronunciation -Received Pronunciation ( RP) is the proper term to describe the regionally neutral accent used by many middle class speakers in England. It is widely used as a reference point in dictionaries and as a model for teaching English as a foreign language. But have you ever wondered how it came into existence, how it is changing or what role it plays in 21st century Britain? Find out more by listening to over 100 audio clips that put RP in all its forms under the microscope. Received Pronunciation ( RP) is the proper term to describe the regionally neutral accent used by many middle class speakers in England. It is widely used as a reference point in dictionaries and as a model for teaching English as a foreign language. But have you ever wondered how it came into existence, how it is changing or what role it plays in 21st century Britain? Find out more by listening to over 100 audio clips that put RP in all its forms under the microscope.  Geordie dialect- The UK has a number of distinctive dialects, and Geordie – the dialect of Newcastle-upon-Tyne – is arguably one of our most recognisable. In this section you can listen to more than 150 audio clips featuring a range of speakers from Tyneside and unpack the vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar that makes speech in the area so unique. You can use the audio clips and additional commentary to help you compare Geordie dialect with RP or with speech in your area. Minority ethnic English- For more than half a century, immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and the West Indies have added variety and diversity to the rich patchwork of accents and dialects spoken in the UK. In this section you can listen to a selection of audio clips that demonstrate a number of aspects of the English we hear in Britain’s Caribbean and Asian communities. You can also find out how English arrived in the Commonwealth and how it is used across the globe.

 

Question 1: Desribe the case in brief.

 

 

MCQ

Q1: What happened in 1707 that would forever alter the relationship between England, Wales, and Scotland?

the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

the Toleration Act

the failed invasion of the Spanish Armada

the Act of Union

Q2: .Words from which language began to enter English vocabulary around the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066?

French

Norwegian

Spanish

Hungarian

Q3: Which hero made his earliest appearance in Celtic literature before becoming a staple subject in French, English, and German literatures?

Beowulf

Arthur

Augustine of Canterbury

Alfred

Q4: Toward the close of which century did English replace French as the language of conducting business in Parliament and in court of law?

fourteenth

thirteenth

twelfth

eleventh

Q5: Who would be called the English Homer and father of English poetry?

Bede

Sir Thomas Malory

Geoffrey Chaucer

Caedmon

Q6: Only a small proportion of medieval books survive, large numbers having been destroyed in:

the Anglo-Saxon Conquest beginning in the 1450s.

the Norman Conquest of 1066.

the Peasant Uprising of 1381.

the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

Q7: What is the first extended written specimen of Old English?

Boethius’s Consolidation of Philosophy

a code of laws promulgated by King Ethelbert

the Norman Conquest of 1066.

the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s

Q8: In Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry, what is the fate of those who fail to observe the sacred duty of blood vengeance?

banishment to Asia

everlasting shame

mild melancholia

being buried alive

Q9: The use of “whale-road”for sea and “life-house”for body are examples of what literary technique, popular in Old English poetry?

symbolism

simile

metonymy

kenning

Q10: Which of the following statements is not an accurate description of Old English poetry?

Romantic love is a guiding principle of moral conduct.

Its formal and dignified use of speech was distant from everyday use of language.

Irony is a mode of perception, as much as it was a figure of speech.

Christian and pagan ideals are sometimes mixed.

Q11: The ultimate origins of the English language lie in which language family?

Indo-European

Latin

North American

Nono of the above

Q12: What is another name for Old English?

Middle English

Anglo-Saxon

Celtic

None of the above

Q13: Which one of the following texts was composed during the Old English period?

The Canterbury Tales

Beowulf

Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge

None of the above

Q14: During the Middle English period, many words were borrowed from which two languages?

Celtic and Old Norse

Urdu and Iroquoian

Latin and French

None of the above

Q15: Published in 1604, the first monolingual English dictionary was

Nathaniel Bailey’s Universal Etymological Dictionary of the English Language

Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language

Robert Cawdrey’s Table Alphabeticall

None of the above

Q16: Which Anglo-Irish writer proposed the creation of an English Academy to regulate English usage and “ascertain” the language?

Jonathan Swift

Samuel Johnson

Oliver Goldsmith

None of the above

Q17: Who published the book Dissertations on the English Language (1789), which advocated an American standard of usage?

Noah Webster

John Webster

Daniel Webster

None of the above

Q18: Which late-19th century novel introduced a colloquial prose style that significantly influenced the writing of fiction in the U.S.?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave by Aphra Behn

None of the above

Q19: The Philological Society’s New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, begun in 1879, was eventually published under which title in 1928?

Roget’s Thesaurus

The King’s English

Oxford English Dictionary

None of the above

Q20: During which decade did the number of speakers of English as a second language exceed the number of native speakers for the first time?

1920s

1950s

1990s

None of the above

Q21: The first outstanding characteristic of English language is :

Receptiveness

Purity

Classical

Simplicity

Q22: The repetition of similar ending sounds

alliteration

onomatopoiea

rhyme

None of the above

Q23: Applying human qualities to non-human things

personification

onomatopoeia

alliteration

None of the above

Q24: A comparison of unlike things without using a word of comparison such as like or as

metaphor

simile

personification

None of the above

Q25: Using words or letters to imitate sounds

alliteration

simile

onomatopoeia

None of the above

Q26: A description that appeals to one of the five senses

imagery

personification

metaphor

None of the above

Q27: A poem that tells a story with plot, setting, and characters

lyric

free verse

narrative

None of the above

Q28: A poem with no meter or rhyme

lyric

free verse

narrative

None of the above

Q29: poem that generally has meter and rhyme

lyric

free verse

narrative

None of the above

Q30: Many Indians claim that Indian English is very similar to?

French

German

British English

Spenish

Q31: Feminine ending refers to :

a stressed final syllable in a line of verse

the ending of a poem in a stressed syllable

the ending of a poem in an unstressed syllable

an unstressed final syllable in a line of verse

Q32: Identify the matching pair :

Edward II : Zenocrate

The Spanish Tragedy : Horatio S

The Jew of Malta : Barabas

Tamburlaine : Gaveston

Q33: The word ‘nature’ in the eighteenth century literature stands for :

Nature of writing

External nature

Human nature

The Universe