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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 1528: From Old English to Middle English, I: New Studies of the Major Changes

Thursday 9 July 2020, 09.00-10.30

Organisers:Mark J. Faulkner, School of English Literature, Language & Linguistics, University of Sheffield
Rachel Fletcher, School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow
Moderator/Chair:Roderick McDonald, Independent Scholar, Sheffield
Paper 1528-aMorphological Simplification in the Late Northumbrian Dialect: The Case of Weak Verbs Class II
(Language: English)
Elisa Ramírez Pérez, School of English Communication & Philosophy Cardiff University
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Language and Literature - Middle English
Paper 1528-bThe Emergence of a Syntactic Obligatory Article System in Middle English: Everything Took Place in the Middle English Period
(Language: English)
Fuyo Osawa, Department of English Hosei University Tokyo
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Language and Literature - Middle English
Paper 1528-cThe Semantics of the Middle English Perfect
(Language: English)
Morgan Macleod, School of Communication & Media Ulster University
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Language and Literature - Middle English
Abstract

The transition from Old to Middle English in the course of the long 12th century (c. 1050-1225) has been described as 'the most dramatic change in the English language', yet also as 'the textual 'black hole'’ in its history. This is the first of three sessions examining language on the border between Old and Middle English. These papers re-examine some major developments that have been felt to divide Middle English from Old English: a new tense system making more extensive use of the periphrastic perfect, innovations in the article system, and the simplification of the system of weak verbs.