LL-L "Education" 2005.03.25 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 25.MAR.2005 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: "Paul J.M. Sweet" <stingray at terabolic.net>
Subject: LL-L "Education" 2005.03.23 (09) [E]

> From: heather rendall <HeatherRendall at compuserve.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2005.03.23 (07) [E]
>
> From: Críostóir Ó Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: LL-L "Language varieties" 2005.03.23 (02) [E
>
> >Nowhere, however, is linguistic history taught as part of the subject,
> unless the teacher has a personal interest in the matter and can insert it
> un-noticed into lessons. <
>
> Some of us are doing our level best to get teachers interested so that they
> can 'slip it' deliberately into lessons!
>
> Times have changed and part of the National Literacy Programme includes the
> origins of words and (a bit of ) language history.
>
> We are fortunate that  we have  The Story of English as a resource with its
> very detailed links between Friesland and the UK east coast languages ( the
> video has wonderful examples of a Yorkshire man and a Frieslander talking
> about the same thing using much the same vocabulary)  and more recently
> "The Routes of English" ( both on radio and TV) ( and it really wasn't the
> Roots of English!) which did some lovely computerised soundshifts between
> the languages.
>
> I find teachers fascinated by History of Languages. I was lucky enough last
> year to be commissioned to write a training module for teacher In Service
> Training on the Web called : A Word in History: History in a Word".
>
> So all is not doom and gloom!
>
> Heather

It is difficult to understand why language history is neglected in
secondary schooling these days, at least here in Australia. Up to the mid
1960s, language history was an integral part of the secondary-school
English syllabus and students studying to matriculate were expected to
write essays on topics taken from English-language history. And I've been
told it was a pretty comprehensive and in-depth study.

I know in the first half of the 1970s when I was studying to matriculate we
dealt with the history of Anglo-Saxon from the time of the Germanic
migrations to Britain, the development of the language in different parts
of England, the effect of the Danish incursions and of the Danelaw on Old
English, and the effect of Norman French on English after the Norman
Conquest. Then followed the history of the language through its
Middle-English period to the development of Modern English. We were given
extracts of Beowulf to read in the original AS and given their printed
translations in Modern English to compare with the original. And listened
to dialogues in Old English and readings of excerpts from Beowulf on tape,
again with translations into Modern English for comparison. Both these
exercises were repeated when studying Middle English, including the study
of Chaucer.

And even after this I do not believe that our study in this area of
English was anywhere near as thorough or demanding as it was in Australia
in the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s, when education standards were
considerably higher than the 70s, and monumentally higher than they are
now. Times change.
Paul Sweet

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