Identification: Know the following terms and names. Be able to give a correct definition or identification, one or two sentences long.

· these names: Noah Webster, John Trevisa, Ranulph Higden, Samuel Johnson, Robert Lowth, William Bullokar, William Caxton, the Venerable Bede, Alfred the Great, William I, James A. H. Murray

· langue and parole

· pidgin and creole

· dialect

· phonetics, phoneme, allophone

· morpheme, grapheme, allograph

· IPA

· minimal pair

· inkhorn terms

· great vowel shift

Comprehensive Essay: You will be asked to write on one of the following. Your essay should have a specific thesis that you state clearly at the beginning of the essay--do not bother with a broad or fancy introduction, but get straight to the point--and an organized structure in which you present ample detail to support your thesis and to show how much you have learned in lecture and in the assigned readings, citing readings from your Source Book wherever pertinent. Also, be sure that your essay is “comprehensive” by using examples and/or information from the eras Old, Middle, and Modern or Present Day English. You may bring in a 3x5 notecard with your thesis and notes about details you wish to include.

· How have ideas of national and/or ethnic identity been integral to ideas about how English has developed or should develop? Discuss how specific texts we have read this term address this question, considering them in the context of political and social developments.

· How have wars and other events and conditions of political and social hegemony affected the history of English?

· Just the other day I caught a glimpse of a game show on TV that included a spelling bee. Historically, what has made English spelling so challenging that a contest in spelling can be used to entertain adults? What social, political, and technological factors have affected spelling during the history of English and affect our attitudes toward spelling today?

· Teachers from elementary school through the university instruct students in what has been called "standard" English. How has this concept developed and shifted over time? What factors have affected and effected these developments and changes? Provide specific examples of standard and/or non-standard English as these help you express your ideas, refer to specific assigned readings that address this issue and to political and social factors significant to these developments and changes.

· Was Margaret Paston the “writer” of her letter to her husband John? How has the definition of “author” and/or “writer” changed from the early Middle Ages to today? What factors are necessary to consider in determining the answer to whether someone is an “author” or a “writer” and how have these factors shifted over time?

· The history of the dictionary begins with manuscript glosses, continues through the Hepster's Dictionary and even The Smiley Dictionary (see http://www.smileydictionary.com/). What are the purposes of a dictionary? How have they developed over time? What social, political, and technological factors have played a role in these developments?