The Late Modern English

Outline

Introduction Historical Background of Late Modern English

The Development of Late Modern English. The Main Aspects of Late Modern English.

Borrowing. Compounding. Affixation. Spelling.

The Varieties of Late Modern English A Sample text of a Late Modern English dialect.

What is Late Modern English?

Late Modern English is the form of the language used from the 18th century to the present day.

How do we know about Late Modern English?

There is a big number of printed data from the late 18th century to the present day:

Records of the language “letters,…” Dictionaries “Oxford dictionary,…” “Towards the end of the 19 century the first

mechanical and electronic recordings of speech were made “songs, political speeches,..”.

The Development of Late Modern English.

The late Modern English timeline

1928 The Oxford English Dictionary is published 1922 British Broadcasting Corporation founded 1828 Noah Webster publishes his dictionary 1803 Act of Union unites Britain and Ireland 1788 British colony established in Australia

1782 Washington defeats Cornwallis at Yorktown. Britain abandons the American colonies 1776 Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence 1770 Cook discovers Australia 1755 Samuel Johnson publishes: The Dictionary of English Language. 1702 Publication of the first daily, English-language newspaper, The Daily.

The main aspects of Late Modern English.

Borrowing

An example of borrowing:

“Before I went to the cinema, I ate a pizza in the

restaurant in the food forum. The decor is pleasant and you can have a buffet there at the weekend.

The entrées and main courses from the à la carte

are also very good so it’s a great place for a

rendezvous menu with your friends. But beware, if you are a gourmet, you will certainly need a siesta afterwards!”

Further examples:

borrowed words from Arabic:

Mecca

Zero

Jihad

Alcohol

Intifada

Compounding

Compounding

Composition. Clipping.

Composition, or compounding is to join two or more words together to make them one word

Net+ work = network Web + site = website Islam + phobia = Islamophobia Pass+ port= passport

Clipping!

The English became less formal, clipping is fashionable now!!

Examples!!

Ads Advertisements. Tech Technology. Lab Laboratory. Gym Gymnastic.

Affixation!!

Affixation

Cyber+ crime= cybercrime

“criminal activities carried out on computers or the Internet”.

Astro+ biology= astrobiology

“the branch of biology concerned with the

discovery or study of life on other planets”

Spelling!!

Swift’s letter to the Earl of Oxford & Mortimer, a senior official in the British government

(R.L.Trask, Historical Linguistics, New York, ST Martine’s press 1996, P6)

The overuse of capital letters. The long “S”.

Varieties of Late Modern English!! “dialects”

Late Modern English Varieties!!

L.M. English Varieties

A sample of Late Modern English dialect. Many kinds of Late Modern English exist. Here is a

part of a poem by Linton Kwesi Johnson, written in a variety of English known as

Jamaican Creole:

youdauta,you are di queen of di day an di nite is your mite.site? overstan. youdauta.check out di tide before yu jump in di watah;den swim, yea sing, sing youdauta.

Translation:

youdauta = young women, mite = might, realm of power, site? = do you see it?

ovastan = overstand, an emphatic form of

‘understand’

Young women, you are the queen of the day and the night is yourrealm of power. Do you see it? Understand, young women. Be aware of the tide before you jump into the water; then swim, yes sing, sing, young women.

Thank you !!

References

http://www.tlumaczenia-angielski.info/linguistics/late-modern-english.htm

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Modern-English

http://www.anglik.net/englishlanguagehistory.htm http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.h

tm

Heinz Giegerich, An Introduction to Late Modern English, Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade, 2009.