WEEK 1

• Presentation of the course.
  

• English and the Indo-European family; successive invasions and settlements in Britain. Introduction to the notion of language contact (to be continued).

• Hands-on in the history of English: a passage from the Gospels (John 2, 1-11) was presented in class, an Old English version from the so-called West-Saxon Gospels, c1000; it was compared with three later versions: the so-called Wycliffe's Bible Middle English, c1390; Tyndale's Bible, 1534; King James Bible or the Authorized Version, 1611. Here you can find an interlinear arrangement of the four versions. For your convenience, you can also download a glossed version of the Old English text.

ASSIGNMENT:

Browse and compare some standard handbooks on the history of English, limiting your analysis to the portions presenting the background notions (the place of English in the Indo-European family, migrations and settlements). Recommended works: