Skip to main content

Home/ English Teachers/ Group items tagged history

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Graca Martins

History of English - 0 views

  •  
    History of English (Source: A History of English by Barbara A. Fennell) The English language is spoken by 750 million people in the world as either the official language of a nation, a second language, or in a mixture with other languages (such as pidgins and creoles.) English is the (or an) official language in England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; however, the United States has no official language. Indo-European language and people English is classified genetically as a Low West Germanic language of the Indo-European family of languages. The early history of the Germanic languages is based on reconstruction of a Proto-Germanic language that evolved into German, English, Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish, and the Scandinavian languages. In 1786, Sir William Jones discovered that Sanskrit contained many cognates to Greek and Latin. He conjectured a Proto-Indo-European language had existed many years before. Although there is no concrete proof to support this one language had existed, it is believed that many languages spoken in Europe and Western Asia are all derived from a common language. A few languages that are not included in the Indo-European branch of languages include Basque, Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian; of which the last three belong to the Finno-Ugric language family. Speakers of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) lived in Southwest Russia around 4,000 to 5,000 BCE. They had words for animals such as bear or wolf (as evidenced in the similarity of the words for these animals in the modern I-E languages.) They also had domesticated animals, and used horse-drawn wheeled carts. They drank alcohol made from grain, and not wine, indicating they did not live in a warm climate. They belonged to a patriarchal society where the lineage was determined through males only (because of a lack of words referring to the female's side of the family.) They also made use of a decimal counting system by 10's, and formed words by compounding. This PIE language was also highly infl
anonymous

Shmoop Literature: Summary, Analysis, Themes, Characters, Paper - 0 views

  •  
    Shmoop wants to help you become a better lover (of literature and history). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.
Graca Martins

Merriam-Webster Online - 0 views

  •  
    What are the origins of the English Language? The history of English is conventionally, if perhaps too neatly, divided into three periods usually called Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, and Modern English. The earliest period begins with the migration of certain Germanic tribes from the continent to Britain in the fifth century A.D., though no records of their language survive from before the seventh century, and it continues until the end of the eleventh century or a bit later. By that time Latin, Old Norse (the language of the Viking invaders), and especially the Anglo-Norman French of the dominant class after the Norman Conquest in 1066 had begun to have a substantial impact on the lexicon, and the well-developed inflectional system that typifies the grammar of Old English had begun to break down. The following brief sample of Old English prose illustrates several of the significant ways in which change has so transformed English that we must look carefully to find points of resemblance between the language of the tenth century and our own. It is taken from Aelfric's "Homily on St. Gregory the Great" and concerns the famous story of how that pope came to send missionaries to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity after seeing Anglo-Saxon boys for sale as slaves in Rome: Eft he axode, hu ðære ðeode nama wære þe hi of comon. Him wæs geandwyrd, þæt hi Angle genemnode wæron. Þa cwæð he, "Rihtlice hi sind Angle gehatene, for ðan ðe hi engla wlite habbað, and swilcum gedafenað þæt hi on heofonum engla geferan beon." A few of these words will be recognized as identical in spelling with their modern equivalents-he, of, him, for, and, on-and the resemblance of a few others to familiar words may be guessed-nama to name, comon to come, wære to were, wæs to was-but only those who have made a special study of Old English will be able to read the passage with understanding. The sense of it is as follows: Again he [St. Gregory] asked w
Graca Martins

Chronology: History of English - 0 views

  •  
    Chronology of Events in the History of English pre-600 A.D. THE PRE-ENGLISH PERIOD ca. 3000 B.C. (or 6000 B.C?) Proto-Indo-European spoken in Baltic area. (or Anatolia?) ca. 1000 B.C. After many migrations, the various branches of Indo-European have become distinct. Celtic becomes most widespread branch of I.E. in Europe; Celtic peoples inhabit what is now Spain, France, Germany, Austria, eastern Europe, and the British Isles. 55 B.C. Beginning of Roman raids on British Isles. 43 A.D. Roman occupation of Britain. Roman colony of "Britannia" established. Eventually, many Celtic Britons become Romanized. (Others continually rebel). 200 B.C.-200 A.D. Germanic peoples move down from Scandinavia and spread over Central Europe in successive waves. Supplant Celts. Come into contact (at times antagonistic, at times commercial) with northward-expanding empire of Romans. Early 5th century. Roman Empire collapses. Romans pull out of Britain and other colonies, attempting to shore up defense on the home front; but it's useless. Rome sacked by Goths. Germanic tribes on the continent continue migrations west and south; consolidate into ever larger units. Those taking over in Rome call themselves "Roman emperors" even though the imperial administration had relocated to Byzantium in the 300s. The new Germanic rulers adopted the Christianity of the late Roman state, and began what later evolved into the not-very-Roman "Holy Roman Empire". ca. 410 A.D. First Germanic tribes arrive in England. 410-600 Settlement of most of Britain by Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, some Frisians) speaking West Germanic dialects descended from Proto-Germanic. These dialects are distantly related to Latin, but also have a sprinkling of Latin borrowings due to earlier cultural contact with the Romans on the continent. Celtic peoples, most of whom are Christianized, are pushed increasingly (despite occasional violent uprisings) into the marginal areas of Britain: Ireland, Scotland, Wales.
Ms. Nicholson

Africa: Names And Nations Of Note | Free Lesson Plans | Teachers | Digital textbooks an... - 0 views

    • Ms. Nicholson
       
      Look at the names in Things Fall Apart.  
  • Now divide the class into groups of four, and have each group select an African nation to investigate. Explain that each group will be creating a poster on its country. The poster should be divided into four sections, with a small map of the country (with the capital labeled) in the center. The group will be responsible for creating the map, but each member of the group will provide information for each of the four sections: Name origin and information Colonization information Current data and statistics Significant historical events
    • Ms. Nicholson
       
      Regions of Nigeria for Things Fall Apart. Regions in South Africa for Cry, the Beloved Country.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Each student should research the information for his or her section and complete the poster. Use the evaluation rubric to clarify your expectations before the students begin working.
  • Discuss and define some of the factors involved in colonization. Why do people colonize other places? 2. Throughout history, colonization has had both positive and negative effects. Consider and discuss these in light of the countries you have studied.
  • What are some of the problems that could arise for a country after it achieves independence? What are some of the consequences and responsibilities resulting from independence?
  • What should the role of the United Nations be in supporting and including nations that have achieved independence in the latter part of the 20th century? 7. Compare colonization in Africa with colonization in other parts of the world.
  • Spotlight on Africa Have students imagine they are producers for a news show called This Week in Africa . Ask the students to follow news about Africa for one week and develop a 30-second spot of about 60 to 75 words. Have them "present" their spots to the class. Africa Online provides an effective daily resource for this information (see Internet sites under Materials). After their presentations, categorize major news stories according to whether they show positive or negative aspects of the influence of the nations' colonial pasts.
    • Ms. Nicholson
       
      CCSS Speaking and Listening, Writing, Nonfiction texts.
  • Education, Intrigue, and Enjoyment! Ask your students to create travel brochures inviting other high school students to join an expedition to an African country. Explain that their brochures must be interesting and informative to both students and parents. Students should highlight geographic, cultural, educational, and entertainment features this expedition would offer.
  •    imperialism
  •    ethnocentric
Dana Huff

Jane Austen Fiction Manuscripts: Home - 4 views

  •  
    Jane Austen's fiction manuscripts are the first significant body of holograph evidence surviving for any British novelist. They represent every stage of her writing career and a variety of physical states: working drafts, fair copies, and handwritten publications for private circulation. Digitization enables their virtual reunification and will provides scholars with the first opportunity to make simultaneous ocular comparison of their different physical and conceptual states; it will facilitate intimate and systematic study of Austen's working practices across her career, a remarkably neglected area of scholarship within the huge, world-wide Austen critical industry. Many of the Austen manuscripts are frail; open and sustained access has long been impossible for conservation and location reasons. Digitization at this stage in their lives not only offers the opportunity for the virtual reunification of a key manuscript resource, it will also be accompanied by a record in as complete a form as possible of the conservation history and current material state of these manuscripts to assist their future conservation.
Dana Huff

Old English Translator - 3 views

  •  
    Fun for students learning about Anglo-Saxons, Old English, or the history of English.
Todd Finley

swissmiss | Everything is a Remix - 8 views

  •  
    A short and entertaining history of remixing.
Ms. Nicholson

Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart - 0 views

    • Ms. Nicholson
       
      Students, do you agree with this statement?  How would you use textual evidence to support this author's claim?
  • All too many Africans in his time were ready to accept the European judgment that Africa had no history or culture worth considering.
  • hroughout the novel he shows how African cultures vary among themselves and how they change over time. Look for instances of these variations as you read.
  • ...5 more annotations...
    • Ms. Nicholson
       
      Cite these sources.  Note them as you read and post to moodle.  Let's see how many we can find.
  • He also wrote a famous attack on the racism of Heart of Darkness which continues to be the subject of heated debate.
  • pidgin
  • levated diction which is meant to convey the sense of Ibo speech
  • n this edition, a glossary of Ibo words and phrases is printed at the end of the book. Be sure to consult it whenever you encounter a new Ibo word or phrase.
Patrick Higgins

Awesome Stories - 0 views

  •  
    This might be the greatest link to pop onto my radar in a while. Primary source material centered around historical events in the form of eyewitness accounts, trial transcripts, etc. The possibilities here are endless. Where was this when I was in the classroom?
1 - 20 of 31 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page