History of the English Language

Undergraduate

This course traces the development of English as a spoken and written language belonging to the Indo-European language family. We will work forward from Proto-Indo-European through Old English (Beowulf), Middle English (Chaucer), and Early Modern English (Shakespeare), up to contemporary American English. Our focus will be on the structural history of the language, especially changes in pronunciation and grammar, and the implications of those changes for English as spoken and written today. Open to all classes. Not open to students who have received credit for ENGL 047.