Mr. Alward, this paper is not really a synthesis of the four articles as it is a brief summary of each of them.  I need you to overhaul this paper and focus on what the instructions to the synthesis project have asked you to do.   Look at the examples of your colleagues that are posted on the web to help generate ideas on format and structure.  Look at the papers that have received successful marks as well as at the papers that have received marks that were not as successful.   Reread the instructions, as that may also help.  You have all the material here, now just incorporate it into essay format.

English is the language of England, the United States, and many areas now or formerly under British rule. Language are the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a considerable community or the form or manner of verbal expression.

In the following essay I will talk about the four readings: "The Brief History of English," "The Prescriptive Tradition," "Black Children, Black Speech," and "The Meanings of a Word." I intend to provide a brief summary of and give my opinion on the prior readings.

"The Brief History of English"

The names of the tribes were Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. We now refer to them as Anglo-Saxons. This section tells what happened in many years past, how language has changed and how and where it came from.

Many of our words are borrowed from Latin. The Romans made the Rome wall to ward off others. Anglo-Saxons made raids on the East Coast of Britain. We have no history of the English language until 600 AD. In 597 the conversion began Spiritual contacts. During Old English 7^th to 1100 century. Middle 1100 to 1500. In addition, modern from 1500 to present. Alfred the Great most famous king of West Saxon, enforced language and learned. He opposed Viking invasions. In 877, the war was finished and a treaty was drawn up. The Norse was not different from English. We borrowed pronouns from Norse.

Old English in The Lords Prayer,ure=our, Old English is more highly inflicted. In Old English vocabulary is different from modern, it is borrowed. A majority of words are borrowed from Latin and French.

MIDDLE ENGLISH were high-class people as well as the courts spoke FRENCH, but the commoners spoke ENGLISH. Eventually French was spoken more often but English was still dominate. Middle English is easier to learn than Old English is.

EARLY MODERN ENGLISH was from 1400 to 1600. Eliminate a stressed vowel sound laughed, seemed, and stored. It affected thousands of people. Other change great vowel shift name-father mouse-moose, modern and middle have differences that are more apparent. EARLY MODEM English renaissance, Shakespeare is the greatest writer of the Early Modem English period. Best known book was the King James Bible in the 1611. Thy and Goes he hence tonight – Is he going away tonight.

The first Old English dictionary was published in 1603, listing 2,500 words. In 1755, revised dictionary was brought about. In 1828 Webster dictionary was introduced in the United States. The next was the twelve volume Oxford English Dictionary, it took 75 years to complete. The English Grammar was introduced in 18^th century. English is imposed on Latin. Diagraming was introduced and to this day is still used, by many schools to use this method to teach, and many children hate this uninteresting teaching practice to this very day.

MODERN PERIOD is a large amount of people now speak English and the very different branches of English-American English, British English, Australian English, and many others.

"The Prescriptive Tradition"

There are three main things early grammarians wanted to do to approach the writing of grammars and dictionaries. First, they wanted to codify the principles of their languages, show that there was a system beneath the apparent chaos of word usage. Secondly, they wanted a means of settling disputes over usage. Finally they wanted to point out what they felt to be common errors, in order to improve the language.

We have seen opposition between descriptivists has become extreme. Descriptive grammarians are seen as those who do not care about standards. Prescriptive grammarians are blamed for ignoring historical tradition. Both of these ideas are important, and have some interests in common such as interest in acceptability, ambiguity, and intelligibility. The descriptive provides people with a well informed sense in that they will be able to understand and form their own opinion.

"Black Children, Black Speech"

This essay is written by an elementary school teacher. She is trying to disprove the thought that black children talk the way they do, because they are lazy or stupid. I do not particularly believe this theory because I think that there are some flaws.

She claims that African American kids speak the way they do because it is in their background, it is inherited from their native Africa. The slang that some people can’t even understand sounds something like this: "Dat bell ringin’. It say, ‘Git in rat now!" And "ah dunno. Jus’is." and "Is? Ain’t no wor’ is. You jivin me? Wha da’ wor’ mean?" Educated people thinks that this is "Bad English" or "Sloppy English," and I agree with them. I don’t understand how it can be their heritage when not all African Americans speak like that, some black people I know I can actually understand. These are such people as in suits and ties, teachers, bankers, and other people that are black but yet they don’t speak that slang Seymour says its born in them. It is possible that they just got away from it and now talk like people they are around all the time, I think not? I hate to say it but I believe the "Bad English" is truly that, people are just too lazy to fully pronunciate the words.

Black English is also different in its structure in addition to the way it sounds. The words are put together in such way that does not fit the English Grammar. Black English uses the verb in a different way than Standard English such as "He coming" or "He be coming." This is a habitual tense and not the present tense.

From the Black English point of view The Standard English is not right. "First, it is lacking in certain language sounds. Secondly, Standard English has some unnecessary sounds which may serve as substitute. Also, it doubles and drawls some of its vowel sounds in sequences that are unusual and difficult to imitate. Next, Standard English is a method of forming and important tense. It also requires an unnecessary number of ways to indicate tense, plurality and gender. Finally, it doesn’t mark negatives sufficiently for the result to be a good strong negative statement." When it is put in that point of view it makes a little more sense.

"The Meanings of a Word"

Gloria Naylor is the author. She is a novelist and an essayist. The meaning of a word has a lot to do with who has said that word.

The author gives the example of when she was in third grade and another kid called her a "nigger" She did not know what it meant but she understood it was not good. The word applies to a man who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive. T do not think that the kid really knew what he was calling her. Words can mean many things, they have far out past the meanings that are in the standard everyday dictionary and day by day new meanings are being made by the thousands, through slang or on purpose.

Language is a very tricky thing and any people misuse language without even knowing it. The readings have given a history of English, a way that an entire race of people talk different than the Standard, a view of traditional English, and finally how much a word can mean in many different ways. This essay has taught me much about the language that I take for granted so often. I also feel sorry for foreigners who have to learn our language it has to be difficult just like learning any other language is.

1. Roberts, Paul. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF ENGLISH." Language Awareness. Ed. By Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York, New York. REL. St. Martin’s Press.

2. Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York, New York. REL. St. Martin’s Press.

3. Seymour, Dorothy Z. "BLACK CHILDREN, BLACK SPEECH." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York, New York. REL. St. Martin’s Press.