DEE 4001, Fall 2016 (Kimberly Guppy)

DEE 4001: History of the English Language

Instructor: Professor Kimberly Guppy
Class Time: 1-2:15 pm Mondays and Wednesdays
Class Location: 235 Humanities Hall

Office: 677 Humanities Hall
Office Hours: 3-4:30 pm Mondays and Thursdays
E-mail: klguppy@su. kr. edu

Course Description:
English is a global language, used around the world by people from different social, cultural, and
linguistic backgrounds to communicate. But where did the language come from? How and why did it
become the language we use today? Why do we have one goose and two geese, but not one moose and
two meese? In this course we will explore the history of the English language, from its roots as an early
Germanic language, through the middle ages, into the time of Shakespeare, and up to its present global
usage. This course was designed to provide you with a strong foundation and understanding of how
English came to be the way it is today, with an emphasis on gaining better English language proficiency.
In order to reach a more native-like fluency, we will explore the grammatical, syntactical, and lexical
changes in the English language over time. Throughout the course, we will explore language more
deeply through written assignments, with a final written report examining modern language usage
around the world. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to work together to present material
about the development of the English language in different regions of the world.
Course Goals:
To have a greater understanding of English language origins and the development of the
language over time.
To understand the hows and whys of the linguistic changes in the English language.
To increase English language proficiency through in-depth language study.
DEE 4001, Fall 2016 (Kimberly Guppy)


Course Requirements:
Discussion (10%)
o As the ultimate goal of students taking this course is to have a better understanding of
the English language, students are expected to participate in classroom discussions. I
will be observing you throughout the semester and making notes of your classroom
participation.
Reading quizzes (10%)
o At the beginning of each class session, there will be a short multiple-choice vocabulary
quiz of terms used in the reading, or you will answer 1-2 questions about the reading, to
be handed in as you exit at the end of class. There are a total of 20 of these brief quizzes
throughout the semester, each weighing 0.5% of your final grade.
Assignments (25%)
o The writing assignments for this course have been designed to provide an opportunity
for deeper comprehension of course materials, but also to help students develop their
English language abilities. There are five assignments, each weighted at 5% of your final
grade.
Presentation (20%)
o You will choose one of the four chapters about the different geographical regions where
English is used today. The regions are: the UK and Ireland, North America, ENL (English
as a Native Language) countries, and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) countries. Your
group will present to the class about the chapter. A handout with guidelines for the
presentation will be handed out later in the semester which will include a rubric of
presentation expectations. This item is heavily weighted in your final grade, so be sure
to put forth your best effort.
Final Project (35%)
o There are two options for the final project which will put to work the skills you have
developed throughout the semester. For the first option, you will choose an area of the
world where English is spoken today and acquire current written items in a domain of
your choice. This could include literature, news articles, gossip columns, musical lyrics,
etc. Then, you will conduct an analysis of the text and discuss the features of the
language. You may choose to write as if you were a future linguistic historian, or
compare the language to another region, another time, or another genre. The second
option is to conduct a comparison analysis on texts from each period, provided by me,
and answer questions regarding your analysis. You will receive a handout with more
details about these assignments later in the semester. There is no final exam in this
course.

DEE 4001, Fall 2016 (Kimberly Guppy)


Grading:
Students are expected to attend class and participate in group discussion, as it is worked into
your final grade. Late assignments will lose one grade point for each day past due (from A to B+ and so
on), but you should contact me if you need more time or there are extenuating circumstances and we
can negotiate. The group presentation will have four graders: me, you, your group members, and your
classmates: each student will submit feedback about each presentation. Be sure to follow the rubric on
both the presentation and your final project to ensure you include all vital information.
A+ 95-100%
A 90-94%
B+ 85-89%
B 80-84%
C+ 75-79%
C 70-74%
D+ 65-69%
D 60-64%
F <60%

Policies:
Because this course is designed to help increase your English language proficiency, there is a
participation requirement. If you are unable to fulfill this requirement, or if there is any aspect of this
course in which you feel you will not be able to complete as required, please speak with me as soon as
possible so we can accommodate your needs.
You are expected to do the work for this course independently. Any form of plagiarism will not be
tolerated. Be sure to properly cite any sources you use, and indicate which students you collaborated
with (when applicable). Any cases of plagiarism will be reported to the University through University
policy.
Required Text:
Gramley, Stephan. The History of English: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2012.
DEE 4001, Fall 2016 (Kimberly Guppy)


Additional Material:
The textbook, The History of English, has a companion website. We will be referring to this
website throughout the semester, as indicated in class. Here is the web address:
http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/gramley-9780415566407/
There will be handouts used throughout the course. Some will be handed out in class, and all
will be available on our online course page.
For more resources on the topic History of the English language, please see the Resources page
on our online course page.
Extra Credit Opportunity:
You have a chance to earn up to 3% extra credit on your grade, the difference between a B+ and A-!
Simply create a short video or audio file of your attempt at period pronunciation. Select a passage from
the textbook to read aloud (from the chapters relevant to the language period), using your new
knowledge of pronunciation to guide your speech. For example, you can use [text] from chapter three
during our Old English unit to try for an extra 1% on your grade. Videos and audio files must be
submitted to me electronically by the due date of the unit Assignment to receive credit.
DEE 4001, Fall 2016 (Kimberly Guppy)


Schedule:


Unit Date Topic Reading Assignment Due
Language Origins 8/29 Introduction
8/31 Origins of Language Ch 1
9/5 Linguistic Review: IPA & terminology IPA chart & terminology handout
9/7 Linguistic Review
Background
9/12 Timeline: Old English Ch 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 Linguistic Review
Assignment
9/14 Mid-Autumn Festival (no class)
9/19 Timeline: Middle English Ch 4.1, 4.3, 5.1
9/21 Timeline: Early Modern English Ch 6.1
9/26 Timeline: 1700 and beyond Ch 7.1
9/28 Putting it all together, sources/etymology
Old English 10/3 Intro to OE Ch 2.3: Intro to OE Timeline Assignment
10/5 National Foundation Day (no class)
10/10 Dialects in OE Ch 2.5.4 Variety in OE
10/12 Vikings in England Ch 3.2 Linguistic influence of Old Norse;
Ch 3.4 Alfred's reforms & West Saxon
standard
10/17 Focus on Language: OE
Middle English
10/19 Intro to ME Ch 4.2 (up to 4.2.3) Linguistic features:
non-standard OE Assignment
10/24 ME Grammar Ch 4.2.3 Grammar; Ch 4.2.4 Vocabulary
10/26 Dialects Ch 4.5 Dialectal diversity
10/31 Standardization Ch 5.2.2 New Standard; Ch 5.3 Chancery
Standard; Ch 5.4.4 Printing
11/2 Focus on Language: ME
Early Modern 11/7 Intro to EModE Ch 6.2 EModE ME Assignment
11/9 Standardization; Shakespeare & co. Ch 6.3 Regulation & Codification; 6.5
variation
11/14 Research Help Day (computer lab)
11/16 Focus on Language: EModE
Spread of English 11/21 Spread of English Ch 7.3 GenE, 7.4 Transplantation, 13.4
(only to 13.4.1); Ch 7.5 European EModE Assignment
11/23 Focus on Language; Group Presenation Work
English Around
the World
11/28 Britain & Ireland
Ch 8 Britain & Ireland Group Presentation 1
11/30 North America Ch 10 North America Group Presentation 2
12/5 ENL Countries Ch 11 ENL Group Presentation 3
12/7 ESL Countries Ch 12 ESL Group Presentation 4
English Today 12/12 Global English; Research Help Ch 13.4 (remainder), Ch 13.5.3
12/14 What does it mean to speak English?