CHAPTER TEN

HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS

Name ________________________________

Section ___________

319

Date _________

EXERCISES BASED ON ENGLISH

10.01

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT IN ENGLISH: A Text across Time

Reproduced here are four versions of the same biblical passage (Genesis 8: 611, relating events
signaling the end of the forty-day flood) that exemplify the state of the English language at four
periods in its historyOld English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English.
The texts bear striking witness to some of the many changes English has undergone in the past
thousand years.
Examine the four versions carefully and compare them. Then answer the questions that follow. Although the different translations are given in chronological order, you may find it easiest
to begin with the Modern English version and work backward. (In the Old English version, certain words have been glossed to aid your understanding.) Bear in mind that not all the differences
in these passages are reflections of language change; some are simply a result of choices made
by different translators. (Texts taken from A. G. Rigg, ed., The English Language: A Historical
Reader [New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968].)
Old English (OE)
D# a fter feowertigum dagum undyde Noe his eahDyrl, De he on Dam arce gemacode.

Then

undid

window

which

asende ut nne hremn: se hrem fleah Da ut, and nolde

7And

sent

out a

raven

the

the

eft

made

ongean cyrran,

would not again back

turn

r Dan De Da wteru adruwodon ofer eorDan.

before

dried-up

He asende Da eft ut ane culfran, Dt heo sceawode

dove

show

gyf Da wtera Dagyt geswicon ofer Dre eorDan bradnysse.

if

9Heo

yet

departed

earths breadth

Da fleah ut and ne mihte findan hwr heo hire fot asette,

might

set

for Dan De Da wtera wron ofer ealle eorDan;

because

and heo gecyrde ongean to Noe, and he genam hi in to Dam arce.

turned

10He

took

abad Da gyt oDre seofan dagas and asende ut eft culfran.

waited
11Heo

yet another

a dove

com Da on fnunge eft to Noe and brohte an twig of anum elebeame

evening

an

olive tree

mid grenum leafum on hyre muDe. D# a undergeat Noe Dt Da wtera wron adruwode ofer eorDan.
understood

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LOOKING AT LANGUAGES

Middle English (ME)

6

And whanne fourti dais weren passid, Noe openyde the wyndow of the schip which he hadde
maad, 7and sente out a crowe, which Jede out and turnede not aJen til the watris weren dried on
erthe. 8Also Noe sente out a culuer aftir hym, to se if the watris hadden ceessid thanne on the
face of erthe; 9and whanne the culuer foond not where hir foot schulde reste, sche turnede aJen to
hym in to the schip, for the watris weren on al erthe; and Noe helde forth his hoond, and brouJte
the culuer takun in to the schip. 10Sotheli whanne othere seuene daies weren abedun aftirward, eft
he leet out a culuer fro the schip; 11and sche cam to hym at euentid, and bare in hir mouth a
braunche of olyue tre with greene leeuys. Therfor Noe vndirstood that the watris hadden ceessid
on erthe.
Early Modern English (King James) (EModE)
6And

it came to passe at the end of forty dayes, that Noah opened the window of the Arke which
he had made. 7And he sent forth a Rauen, which went foorth to and fro, vntill the waters were
dried vp from off the earth. 8Also hee sent foorth a doue from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. 9But the doue found no rest for the sole of her foote, and she
returned vnto him into the Arke: for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put
foorth his hand, and tooke her, and pulled her in vnto him, into the Arke. 10And hee stayed yet
other seuen dayes; and againe hee sent foorth the doue out of the Arke. 11And the doue came in
to him in the euening, and loe, in her mouth was an Oliue leafe pluckt off: So Noah knew that the
waters were abated from off the earth.
Modern English (ModE)
6

At the end of forty days Noah opened the window that he had made in the ark, 7and released a
raven, which went flying back and forth until the waters had dried off the earth. 8Then he
released a dove, to see whether the waters had subsided from the surface of the land; 9but the
dove could find no resting-place for the sole of her foot, so she came back to him into the ark; for
there was water all over the earth. He put out his hand, and catching her, drew her into the ark
with him. 10After waiting another seven days, he again released the dove from the ark; 11in the
evening the dove came back to him, and there, in her beak, was a freshly picked olive leaf! So
Noah knew that the waters had subsided off the earth.

A. Find three examples in Old English and one example in Middle English of graphs that are no
longer used. What sounds did these obsolete letters represent?
OE: __________________________________________________________________________
ME: _________________________________________________________________________
B. The letters u and v were used differently in earlier English than they are used today.
1. What rule accounts for the distribution of u and v in Middle English?
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CHAPTER TEN

321

HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS

Name ________________________________

Section ___________

Date _________

2. What is the corresponding rule in Early Modern English?

__________________________________________________________________________
3. What about Modern Englishdoes such a rule exist today? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________
C. The passages illustrate that English has lost lexical items over its history.
1. Find four examples of Old English nouns or verbs that are not found in Modern English,
and give the meaning of each. Look for words that have disappeared.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
2. Find two such examples in Middle English. ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3. Cite any such examples in the EModE version. If none, explain why.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
D. Clauses
1. Give an interlinear translation of the following Old English clausesthat is, write the
modern translation of each Old English word directly under it.
D# a

fter

feowertigum

dagum

undyde

Noe

his

eahDyrl

____ ________ _____________ ________ ________ ______ ______ ________

D# a

undergeat Noe

Dt

Da

wtera

wron

adruwode ofer

eorDan

____ ________ ______ ______ ____ ________ ________ ________ ______ _______
2. How does the word order of these clauses differ from Modern English syntax? __________
__________________________________________________________________________

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LOOKING AT LANGUAGES

3. Compare the ME versions of these clauses. Is the syntax closer to OE or ModE? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
E. Find two forms of have in Middle English. What determines which form is used?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
F. Verse 9
1. Give the corresponding OE and ME versions of this section of verse 9.
Early Modern English: for the waters were on the face of the whole earth
Middle English: ____________________________________________________________
Old English: _______________________________________________________________
2. How has the word for were changed over time? Explain. ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3. How do the earlier forms of were relate to your answer to part E? _____________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4. Give the subjects of these Old English verbs, and state whether they are singular or plural.
undyde (6)

____________________

geswicon (8)

_____________________

gemacode (6)

____________________

wron (9)

_____________________

adruwodon (7) ____________________

gecyrde (9)

_____________________

asende (8)

brohte (11)

_____________________

____________________

What generalization(s) can you draw about the inflections on these verbs? ______________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________