Growth and Structure of the English Language |
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adjective adopted adverb alliteration Arian authors back-formations belong Ben Jonson Beowulf borrowed called Celtic century Chaucer CHIG classical classical elements consonant corresponding Danes Danish derived dialect Dictionary distinction ending Engl England English language especially Euphuism expression fact Fitzedward Hall foreign words formation French words genitive George Eliot German Germanic languages give grammar Grimm's law guages ideas important influence instance JESPERSEN later Latin words less linguistic loan-words loans manner meaning mentioned Middle English Milton Modern English names nation native words natural NIVERS Norse number of words Old English Old Norse ordinary originally perhaps period phonetic phrases plural poetical poetry poets preposition pronoun pronunciation prose rime Scandinavian sense sentences Shakesp Shakespeare signification Similarly singular SITY sometimes sound speak speech stress syllable synonym syntax taken Tennyson tense Thackeray things tive tongue UNIV vocabulary vowel write
Popular passages
Page 67 - And one of theym named sheffelde, a mercer, cam in-to an hows and axed for mete; and specyally he axyd after eggys; And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde haue hadde cgges and she vnderstode hym not. And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue eyren.
Page 47 - England that there were very few on this side of the Humber who could understand their rituals in English, or translate a letter from Latin into English; and I believe that there were not many beyond the Humber. There were so few of them that I cannot remember a single one south of the Thames when I came to the throne.
Page 79 - I talk to thee For thou art worthy, Thou unassuming Common-place Of Nature, with that homely face, And yet with something of a grace Which Love makes for thee!
Page 62 - But when the wild burst of the storm was over, land, people, government reappeared unchanged. England still remained England ; the conquerors sank quietly into the mass of those around them ; and Woden yielded without a struggle to Christ. The secret of this difference between the two invasions was that the battle was no longer between men of different races. It was no longer a fight between Briton and German, between Englishman and Welshman.
Page 145 - I HAVE no ear. — Mistake me not, reader — nor imagine that I am by nature destitute of those exterior twin appendages, hanging ornaments, and (architecturally speaking) handsome volutes to the human capital.
Page 147 - One of those omnipresent characters who, as if in pursuance of some previous arrangement, are certain to be encountered in the vicinity when an accident occurs, ventured the suggestion. He deceased, he passed out of existence, his spirit quitted its earthly habitation, winged its way to eternity, shook off its burden, etc.
Page 127 - We are descended of ancient families, and kept up our dignity and honour many years, till the jack-sprat THAT supplanted us.
Page 67 - And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that. whiche was vsed and spoken whan I was borne / For we englysshe men / ben borne vnder the domynacyon of the mone.
Page 237 - Hir othes been so grete and so dampnable, That it is grisly for to here hem swere ; Our blissed lordes body they to-tere ; Hem thoughte Jewes rente him noght y-nough ; And ech of hem at otheres sinne lough.
Page 47 - I considered all this I remembered also how I saw, before it had been all ravaged and burnt, how the churches throughout the whole of England stood filled with treasures and books, and there was also a great multitude of God's servants, but they had very little knowledge of the books, for they could not understand anything of them, because they were not written in their own language.