Middle English is the period in the history of the English language between the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century.
4
votes
0answers
59 views
Is “qo” a step in the evolution of the question mark?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_mark
According to the wikipedia article I've linked to above, "qo" was sometimes used in the middle ages to abbreviate the latin word "questio" in the way that we ...
8
votes
2answers
243 views
Particular verbal inflection classes in “The Proclamation of Henry III”
I'm reading a document about "The Proclamation of Henry III", in which the text is presented and a short commentary and glossary follow.
I'm interested in the survival of some of the distinct verbal ...
14
votes
2answers
654 views
What did we gain in return for the loss of phonemic vowel length from Old English?
In Old English, vowel length was phonemic, but stress and certain kinds of consonant voicing were not. In Modern English, that situation is reversed: vowel length is no longer phonemic, but stress ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Time and tide wait for no man
In the old proverb:
Time and tide wait for no man.
Our first record of the proverb is from St Marher in 1225:
And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet.
When it was ...
1
vote
0answers
325 views
Describe the detailed phonetic environment for the appearance/presence of /ɜ:/. [closed]
One recent vowel phoneme in English is /ɜ:/. It would seem that this sound only developed in a certain phonetic environment, or to phrase it differently: it only appeared under certain conditions.
20
votes
2answers
457 views
Send, sent; end, *ent?
The past tense of a number of verbs changes from -end to -ent:
bend → bent
lend → lent
rend → rent
send → sent
spend → spent
wend → went
However, most do not, notably end. Granted, I say “I ent ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
When did we stop speaking Old English? [closed]
There is Old English, and there is the English we speak now. When did exactly did the British (or Americans) change from speaking Old English to speaking the current form of English?
71
votes
1answer
3k views
Did English ever have a word for 'yes' for negative questions?
The Germans have doch and the French have si as a word that means "yes" in response to a negative question, such as:
Don't you want some ice-cream?
Yes [I do]!
In English, we only have yes (as ...
5
votes
1answer
197 views
Where is the root morpheme in Middle English talon (talon, claw) and muscheron (mushroom)?
Is it possible to consider -on, -eron as suffixes (as they are in Middle French)?
1
vote
1answer
169 views
Where is the root morpheme in the Old English cristalla (crystal) and cymen (cumin)?
Where is the root morpheme in the Old English cristalla (crystal) and cymen (cumin)? It seems to be wrong to identify the morphemes in loanwords from etymological point of view.
13
votes
2answers
1k views
What were nightmares called before “nightmare” was used in that sense?
Apparently the word "nightmare" has only been used in the sense of "bad dream" since c. 1829. Before then the term referred to the agent causing the dreams—a mare < mera, mære 'goblin, ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
5
votes
5answers
727 views
Is the “wit” in “to wit” the root of any other English words?
...and if not, where'd it go? One obvious venture is that the noun "wit", in the sense of cleverness and general know-how, has an etymological affinity with the Old English witen, "to know", and which ...
5
votes
3answers
691 views
Why does English spelling use silent letters?
Why have a letter in a word when it’s silent in pronunciation, like the b in debt?
Can anyone please clarify my uncertainty here?
3
votes
5answers
389 views
Archaic text suggestions
I'm interested in learning Archaic English. As a starting point, I guess simple texts that are easy to comprehend would be a good choice. I would appreciate any suggestions.
