The English language is a very long and complicated language that began somewhere around 600 A.D. It all starts back with are [our] ancestors, who were mainly savages, wandering through northern Europe. The language that they had used was a Germanic branch of the Indo-European Family. What we now refer to as the Anglo-Saxons were the first group who spoke the language that was to become English. Some of the borrowed Latin words were acquired when the Anglo-Saxons wandered into the Roman Empire to do some trading with some of the Roman merchants. This relationship gave the Anglo-Saxons their first hint of civilization. Then when the Roman Empire began to fall and the Mediterranean cities were being destroyed, the Anglo-Saxons were invading England. Around 550 the Anglo-Saxons, and the English language, were established in England. [this might serve better as an elaboration of your background info in the intro paragraph. see if you can integrate it there]
Old English, Middle English, and Modern English are the three historical periods of the English language. [do not subordinate and intro sentence of a paragraph to its supporting ideas] Old English, which covered from about the 17th [17th or 7th?] century up to about 1100, was the time when many Latin books were translated into English under the great [lose 'great' here] rule of Alfred the Great. This was also the time of the Norsemen invasion in 866. The outcome of this invasion was resolved in 877 with the Norsemen ruling the eastern side of England. By this happening the English language gained the usage of sound structure and grammar. When Old English transposed itself into Middle English, sometime between 1000 and 1500, there were some important changes that took place. In this period many French words are entered into the English language. This happens mainly because of the great number of Normans who entered England after the Norman Conquest. Even then the French language was thought of a high society language [why? because it was the language of the conquerors? clarify] . It was only [lose the word 'only' here] used as a sign of politeness and nobility, but however did not replace the common people language, English. Because of the French language’s influence, a wider vocabulary aroused [arose] and nouns and adjectives were becoming more simplified. [how so?] Many different words were entered into the English vocabulary; many that dealt with government, church, food, housing, learning, and some other ordinary words. Thousands of French words were added until there were more French words than English words for use. Even more changes in the English language were made the Early Modern period, which was between 1400 and 1600. These sound changes that were made threw English speeding into disorder [awkward syntax, clarify]. The changes that were made were the "silent" letters in some words. "The other change is what is called the Great Vowel Shift. This was a systematic shifting of half a dozen vowels and diphthongs in stressed syllables (Roberts, [lose the comma here] 97). These changes were what set the big difference between the Middle and Modern English periods. There have been no recent developments in the English language except for some assorted attempts to adjust and manage it. [you think? how then can you argue that it's continuing to evolve? how does this idea of past evolution support your thesis?]
Prescriptivism and descriptivism are the two different sides that can be taken when discussing language. "Prescriptivism is the view that one variety of language has an inherently higher value than others, and that this ought to be imposed on the whole of the speech community" (Crystal, [lose the comma here] 101). This side has strong ideas of "standards" in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Prescriptivists believe that there is a "correct" and "incorrect" way of speaking and writing. Anything that is an alteration of the "standard" language is said to be incorrect. Most languages are studies [tense] prescriptively, especially [why the qualifier?] those in Europe. Descriptivism is the view that standards have no meaning and that all types and forms are treated as an equal. A changing language to some represents a falling standard from where that language had originated. Is this so, or is it that the language is now being taught differently and has different rules? [reword this question into a statement that strengthens and advances your point] This concept has gone on to reach national dimensions, especially in Europe with the "American" English outcome [clarify--aren't there just as many 'problems' with other national colloquial styles of English--India, Australia, Canada?]. For some people, a change represents disaster. That is the way some people feel about any changing language. They feel that a language should be not be changed from its original form no matter if it is "correct" or incorrect" [you've digressed back into your first supporting idea here--keep your boundaries, don't bounce around]. No one person can change a language overnight. A language tends to change with its social environment. Languages have been changing back and forth for many years and they will for many more years to come. [so, which of these views is most accurate? which makes more sense in the changing world? what does that mean for the study of linguistics?]
Patterns of nonstandard dialect seem to become a problem in the way of "correct" English. Children are learning these patterns either at home or from other children. One of these patterns is that of "Black English". Does this pattern cause problems in the learning process of standardized English in schools today? [reword this question into a statement that strengthens and advances your point] This type of speech is more common[ly] known to a younger generation. Those who are older and tend to speak Standard English don’t [lose the contraction--what do you mean that they don't comprehend? do you mean they don't speak it themselves, or that they can't understand it at all?] comprehend this type of language. The children whose speech style is so different from the writing style of their books that they have difficulty learning to read [fragment, what about the children?] (Seymour, [lose the comma here] 122). There are ideas that this type of speech should be taught in schools today because it is that language that is spoken in everyday lives. Some people do not agree with this because they consider it not to be proper English and represent that of someone unintelligent. "Bad English," "lazy pronunciation," and "poor grammar" are some peoples comments of this type of speech. The origin of this language is to be in Western Africa and those ancestors brought it to America from there. Black English is nothing like Standard English in its sounds or structures. Black English has a structure that does not even consist of complete sentences. This is not normal for a language to not even have a standard of sentence structure. In West Africa this type of speech may be adequate, but it[lose the contraction] s not recognized as a respected language in America. All countries have a different style of language. Why would one style from one country be changed or altered to that of another country? [reword this question into a statement that brings closure to this paragraph by telling me how this idea of non-standard English supports your thesis]
There are thousands [only thousands? look in the preface to a dictionary, it'll tell you how many words there are in the English language] of words in the English dictionary and all of them have a distinctive meaning. But there are also slang words that have the same definition of those English words. Some of the slang words tend to be racial slurs. "More than any other form of prejudiced language, racial slurs are intended to would and to shame" (Naylor, [lose the comma here]304). The word "nigger" is one of the most commonly known racial slurs known to man and has been around for many, many years. This word has a variation of definitions pending on what a person is talking about and whom they are talking about. "In the singular, the word was always applied to a man who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive" (Naylor, [lose the comma here]306). [never put two quotes back to back--always follow up a quote with an analysis of how it is important to the idea it is trying to support, and then a lead-in to the next quote] "In the plural, it became a description of some group within the community that had overstepped the bounds of decency as my family defined it" (Naylor, [lose the comma here]306). This word which has been taken from many years ago [awkward syntax, clarify] as a word to describe black slaves has been brought into a new type of meaning. A meaning that now represents that of what those slaves were but now not considered inappropriate among certain social statures. [awkward syntax, clarify] [bring closure to this idea--what you're talking about is semantics--how is the idea of a changing semantic structure important to your thesis?]
Since pre-historic times language has been a part of everyday life. [don't repeat your intro sentence, re-introduce the main point of your essay here] The many different aspects of language have been changed many different times [sort of a vague thought there--be more specific] . These changes have caused many problems between certain individuals also. Is language "correct" as we know it today? [reword this question into a statement that strengthens and advances your point] Language changes all the time and will probably change many more times in the future. [good, now spend this entire paragraph by focusing on the impact of this issue to society] Maybe someday there will be a language that is "correct" in aspects that everyone can agree on, [you think?] but until then the languages now will have to be studied and corrected until that utopia is reached. [why correct them? what is the impact of an ever-evolving linguistic system? bring closure to your paper by telling me why the thesis itself is important]
Annotated Bibliography
Language
Thesis Statement: Language has been used and changed in so many different ways tracing all the way back to pre-historic times.
1) Roberts, Paul "The Brief History of English." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 89-98.
This reading is a brief history of the English language and it’s three main time periods, old, middle, and modern.
2) Crystal, David "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 101-106
This reading discusses different languages and wether or not they are the "correct" or "incorrect" languages.
3) Seymour, Dorthy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark, New York: St. Martin’s Press 1994: 122-128.
This reading is about how black children who [lose the how or the who] have trouble speaking proper Standard English because they have been taught or influenced to speak a black variation of English.
4) Naylor, Gloria "The Meaning of a Word." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 305-307.
This reading is about the word "nigger" and how it has come from a racial slur to a recognized word of praise in certain black communities.
REVISION: [Not Micro-Edited] Grade: B
Language
Since pre-historic times, language has undergone changes in its many vast subjects. The English language is a very long and complicated language that began somewhere around 600 A.D. It all starts back with our ancestors, who were mainly savages, wandering through northern Europe. The language that they had used was a Germanic branch of the Indo-European Family. What we now refer to as the Anglo-Saxons were the first group who spoke the language that was to become English. Some of the borrowed Latin words were acquired when the Anglo-Saxons wandered into the Roman Empire to do some trading with some of the Roman merchants. This relationship gave the Anglo-Saxons their first hint of civilization. Then when the Roman Empire began to fall and the Mediterranean cities were being destroyed, the Anglo-Saxons were invading England. Around 550 the Anglo-Saxons, and the English language, were established in England.
Old English, which covered from about the 7th century up to about 1100, was the time when many Latin books were translated into English under the rule of Alfred the Great. This was also the time of the Norsemen invasion in 866. The outcome of this invasion was resolved in 877 with the Norsemen ruling the eastern side of England. By this happening the English language gained the usage of sound structure and grammar. When Old English transposed itself into Middle English, sometime between 1000 and 1500, there were some important changes that took place. In this period many French words are entered into the English language. This happens mainly because of the great number of Normans who entered England after the Norman Conquest. Even then the French language was thought of a high society language because it was the language of the conquerors. It was used as a sign of politeness and nobility, but however did not replace the common people language, English. Because of the French language’s influence, a wider vocabulary arose and nouns and adjectives were becoming more simplified. Many different words were entered into the English vocabulary; many that dealt with government, church, food, housing, learning, and some other ordinary words. Thousands of French words were added until there were more French words than English words for use. Even more changes in the English language were made the Early Modern period, which was between 1400 and 1600. The sound changes that were made threw English speech into disorder. The changes that were made were the "silent" letters in some words. "The other change is what is called the Great Vowel Shift. This was a systematic shifting of half a dozen vowels and diphthongs in stressed syllables (Roberts 97). These changes were what set the big difference between the Middle and Modern English periods. There have not been any major developments in the English language except for some assorted attempts to adjust and manage it.
Prescriptivism and descriptivism are the two different sides that can be taken when discussing language. "Prescriptivism is the view that one variety of language has an inherently higher value than others, and that this ought to be imposed on the whole of the speech community" (Crystal 101). This side has strong ideas of "standards" in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Prescriptivists believe that there is a "correct" and "incorrect" way of speaking and writing. Anything that is an alteration of the "standard" language is said to be incorrect. Most languages are studied prescriptively. Descriptivism is the view that standards have no meaning and that all types and forms are treated as an equal. A changing language to some represents a falling standard from where that language had originated. Language is being taught differently and also has different rules. This concept has gone on to reach national dimensions with the "American" English outcome. For some people, a change represents disaster. That is the way some people feel about any changing language. They feel that a language should not be changed from its original form no matter if it is "correct" or "incorrect". These people should open their minds and review the outcome of these changes before they judge it. No one person can change a language overnight. A language tends to change with its social environment. Languages have been changing back and forth for many years and they will for many more years to come. The idea of descriptivism is how the world should function, but prescriptivism plays a much larger role in today’s society.
Patterns of nonstandard dialect seem to become a problem in the way of
"correct" English. Children are learning these patterns either at home or from
other children. One of these patterns is that of "Black English". This pattern
causes problems in the learning process of standardized English in schools today. This
type of speech is more commonly known to a younger generation. Those who are older and
tend to speak Standard English do not comprehend this other type of language because they
do not speak it and have a hard time understanding it. The children whose speech style is
so different from the writing style of their books have difficulty learning to read
(Seymour 122). There are ideas that this type of speech should be taught in schools today
because it is that language that is spoken in everyday lives. Some people do not agree
with this because they consider it not to be proper English and represent that of someone
unintelligent. "Bad English," "lazy pronunciation," and "poor
grammar" are some peoples comments of this type of speech. The origin of this
language is to be in Western Africa and those ancestors brought it to America from there.
Black English is nothing like Standard English in its sounds or structures. Black English
has a structure that does not even consist of complete sentences. This is not normal for a
language to not even have a standard of sentence structure. In West Africa this type of
speech may be adequate, but it is not recognized as a respected language in America. All
countries have a different style of language. One country is not going to change its style
of language to benefit another country because they are not accustom to that certain style
of language.
There are more than 200,000 words in the English dictionary and all of them have a
distinctive meaning. But there are also slang words that have the same definition of those
English words. Some of the slang words tend to be racial slurs. "More than any other
form of prejudiced language, racial slurs are intended to would and to shame" (Naylor
304). The word "nigger" is one of the most commonly known racial slurs known to
man and has been around for many, many years. This word has a variation of definitions
pending on what a person is talking about and whom they are talking about. "In the
singular, the word was always applied to a man who had distinguished himself in some
situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive"
(Naylor 306). This may have been the definition of the word forty years ago, but today
that type of definition is not used. "In the plural, it became a description of some
group within the community that had overstepped the bounds of decency as my family defined
it" (Naylor 306). The meaning of the word nigger had been used many years ago as a
word to describe black slaves. It now has been brought into a new type of meaning that now
represents what those slaves were but now considered inappropriate among certain social
statures. The changing of semantic structure is important but confusing. A person could
easily misunderstand the meaning of a certain word by not knowing that the word underwent
some kind of change in semantic structure.
Since pre-historic times language has been a part of everyday life. The many different aspects of language have been changed many times since its pre-historic beginning. These changes have caused many problems between certain individuals also. Today’s language most people consider to be correct although it’s minor loopholes. Language changes all the time and will probably change many more times in the future. If language did not change, it would be much harder for those who use that language to climb into a higher social stature. Maybe someday there will be a language that is "correct" in aspects that everyone can agree on, but until then the languages now will have to be studied and corrected until that utopia is reached.
Language
Thesis Statement: Language has been used and changed in so many different ways tracing all the way back to pre-historic times.
1) Roberts, Paul "The Brief History of English." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 89-98.
This reading is a brief history of the English language and it’s three main time periods, old, middle, and modern.
2) Crystal, David "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 101-106
This reading discusses different languages and wether or not they are the "correct" or "incorrect" languages.
3) Seymour, Dorthy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark, New York: St. Martin’s Press 1994: 122-128.
This reading is about black children who have trouble speaking proper Standard English because they have been taught or influenced to speak a black variation of English.
4) Naylor, Gloria "The Meaning of a Word." Language Awareness. Ed by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 305-307.
This reading is about the word "nigger" and how it has come from a racial slur to a recognized word of praise in certain black communities.