The History of the English Language |
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accent adjectives adverbs already analogy became become belong borrowed words Celtic century Chaucer common compounds conquest consonant shift dative declension dental dialects diphthong early Modern English element ending England English words especially example final foreign words French words gender genitive gradation Greek guage High German i-mutation important Indo-European inflectional inflectional forms influence labial later Latin lish literary language literature lost Low German Mercian Middle English Middle English period Midland mutation native words neuter Norman Norse nouns occur Old English Old French older original palatal perfect participle plural prefix preserved preterit and participle regular remained root Sanskrit Shakespeare short vowels similar singular sometimes sound speech spirants spoken standard stems stress strong verbs suffix syllable tendency Teutonic languages tongue unstressed Verner's law vocabulary vocalized voiced voiceless vowel weak forms weak verbs West Saxon
Popular passages
Page 127 - WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote. And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour...
Page 130 - Favours to none, to all she smiles extends; Oft she rejects, but never once offends. Bright as the sun, her eyes the gazers strike, And, like the sun, they shine on all alike. Yet graceful ease, and sweetness void of pride...
Page 132 - If thou shouldst never see my face again, Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
Page 128 - Crosse he bore, The deare remembrance of his dying Lord, For whose sweete sake that glorious badge he wore, And dead, as living, ever him ador'd : Upon his shield the like was also scor'd, For soveraine hope which in his helpe he had.
Page 128 - A GENTLE Knight was pricking on the plaine, Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde, Wherein old dints of deepe woundes did remaine, The cruell markes of many a bloody fielde ; Yet armes till that time did he never wield : His angry steede did chide his foming bitt, As much disdayning to the curbe to yield : Full jolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt, As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.
Page 131 - Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men, Wisdom in minds attentive to their own.
Page 87 - He that will write well in any tongue must follow this counsel of Aristotle— to speak as the common people do, to think as wise men do, as so should every man understand him and the judgment of wise men allow him.
Page 128 - WHAT is truth ?" said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be that delight in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief, affecting free-will in thinking as well as in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in them as was in those of the ancients.
Page 91 - Our language is noble, full, and significant; and I know not why he who is master of it may not clothe ordinary things in it as decently as the Latin, if he use the same diligence in his choice of words: delectus verborum origo est eloquentiae.
Page 129 - ... knew was then deciding, every one went following the sound as his fancy led him; and leaving the town almost empty, some took towards the park, some cross the river, others down it; all seeking the noise in the depth of silence.