2. What factors brought a change in the re-establishment of English Language in England after the Norman Conquest? 7
Following are the factors that brought about this change.
1. The Loss of Normandy
2. Separation of the French English nobility.
3. The growth of national feeling.
4. Provincial character of French in England.
5. The Hundred Years’ War.
6. The rise of the middle class.
7. General adoption of English and an ignorance of French.
4. What period is known as “The Imitative Period” / “The Transition Period” and what do they mean? 2
The period after Chaucer during which all poets imitated the style and diction of Chaucer is sometimes known as ‘The Imitative Period’ as all poets imitated Chaucer, and sometimes, ‘The Transition Period’ since it covers a large part of the interval between Chaucer and Shakespeare.
Q.1. Fill in the following blanks. ½ each
The Middle English period spans from _____________________to _____________________.
The changes in the English language during the Middle English period were a result of the ______________________.
The changes of this period affected English in both its ______________________ and its ______________________ .
During the Middle English period two methods of indicating the plural were introduced and they were
_____________________ and _____________________ and the _____________________ .
Examples of the different plural forms are ___________________ , ___________________ and __________________.
The Middle English period is characterized by the loss of _____________________, the loss of ___________________
and the _____________________of _____________________verbs.
An example of the strong verbs that became weak during this period is (mention all the three forms)
Old form: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________
New form: 1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________
Some of the examples of the words adopted from French are:
Government and Administration. _____________________ Art and Learning. _____________________
Law _____________________ Fashion and Social life. _____________________ Meals. _____________________
Ecclesiastical Words _____________________ medicine _____________________
Give an example of any obsolete words of Old English replaced by Old French.
_____________________ _____________________
The four dialects of the English during the Middle English Period were as follows:
1. _____________________ 2. _____________________ 3. _____________________ 4. _____________________
Q.2. Write short notes on any Two of the following. Provide enough examples to support your answer. 5 each
a. Loss of inflections during the Middle English Period.
b. Assimilation
c. Differentiation of meaning