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Nanct,
Thank you!
pat
==============================
In a message dated 3/18/01 1:19:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> The reason English changed so much is that in 1066 the Normans
> conquered the Saxons, and French became the language of the court while
> the common people continued to speak Anglo Saxon. The two languages
> fused to become modern English. Even the English of Medieval Court
> poets is easier to read than other versions of English. That is why
> Chaucer
> is more or less readable with study, but the Pearl Poet is much much
> harder.
>
> Also, there were four dialects of Old English. Mercian, which was the
> language of the Midlands, developed into Middle English of the midlands,
> while West Saxon and Kentish died out, and Northumbrian developed into
> Modern Scots. The vowel changes took place much more slowly and less
> completely in the North, so Scots, for example, is closer to German than is
> English today. So a set of different "languages" in a divided set of
> countries in which the court was--from 1603 on--in the English Midlands
> developed in diverse ways and in ways that kept masses of French terms.
> The result is that modern English is incredibly rich in synonyms, poor in
> rhymes, and very difficult to learn because it is full of exceptions.
> Moreover, the remnants of Germanic verb and noun forms are uneven and
> erratic, so we have to learn irregular and regular verbs and differentiate
> pronoun cases but not noun cases. And lots of other oddities. Nancy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial Narrow" LANG="0"><B>Nanct,
<BR>
<BR>Thank you!
<BR>
<BR>pat
<BR>==============================
<BR>In a message dated 3/18/01 1:19:14 PM Eastern Standard Time,
<BR>[log in to unmask] writes:
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></B>
<BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">The reason English changed so much is that in 1066 the Normans
<BR>conquered the Saxons, and French became the language of the court while
<BR>the common people continued to speak Anglo Saxon. The two languages
<BR>fused to become modern English. Even the English of Medieval Court
<BR>poets is easier to read than other versions of English. That is why
<BR>Chaucer
<BR>is more or less readable with study, but the Pearl Poet is much much
<BR>harder.
<BR>
<BR>Also, there were four dialects of Old English. Mercian, which was the
<BR>language of the Midlands, developed into Middle English of the midlands,
<BR>while West Saxon and Kentish died out, and Northumbrian developed into
<BR>Modern Scots. The vowel changes took place much more slowly and less
<BR>completely in the North, so Scots, for example, is closer to German than is
<BR>English today. So a set of different "languages" in a divided set of
<BR>countries in which the court was--from 1603 on--in the English Midlands
<BR>developed in diverse ways and in ways that kept masses of French terms.
<BR>The result is that modern English is incredibly rich in synonyms, poor in
<BR>rhymes, and very difficult to learn because it is full of exceptions.
<BR>Moreover, the remnants of Germanic verb and noun forms are uneven and
<BR>erratic, so we have to learn irregular and regular verbs and differentiate
<BR>pronoun cases but not noun cases. And lots of other oddities. Nancy
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial Narrow" LANG="0"><B>
<BR></B></FONT></HTML>
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