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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font size="2">==============================</font><font size="2">=======================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 12 May 2011 - Volume 01<br>
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<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt">From: <span class="gI"><span class="gD" style="color:#5b1094">Paul Finlow-Bates</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a></span></span></p>
Subject: <span class="gI">LL-L "Language varieties" 2011.05.11 (01) [EN]</span><br><br><div>The end of Late OE is rarely assigned to 1066 now. That is
obviously a milestone date but the language 35 years later would have
differed little for most people, even if French borrowings began to
creep in. The OE period is usally abitrarily assigned ot the 12thC.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It is far more likely that the written Englisc of the mid-late
11thC was already archaic compared to the spoken forms, being a standard
Wessex dialect in most cases.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I believe a comparative case can be seen in South Africa, where
Afrikaans evolved but writing continued to be in Dutch for generations.
If we didn't know better, the sudden emegence of written Afrikaans
would give the impression that the speech changed almost overnight.</div>
<div> </div>
Paul <br> <br>
----------
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt">From: <span class="gI"><span class="gD" style="color:#790619">Marcus Buck</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:list@marcusbuck.org">list@marcusbuck.org</a></span></span></p>
Subject:
<span class="gI">LL-L "Language varieties" 2011.05.11 (01) [EN]</span><br><br><div class="im">
From:
R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>>
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Subject:
Language
varieties<br>
<br>
Hi,
Lowlanders!<br>
<br>
So this is
what the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> says:<br>
<p style="margin-left:40px;color:rgb(0, 0, 102)">The
history of Old
English can be
subdivided in:</p>
<div style="margin-left:40px;color:rgb(0, 0, 102)">
</div>
<ul style="margin-left:40px;color:rgb(0, 0, 102)"><li>Prehistoric
Old English
(c. 450 to
650); for this
period, Old
English is
mostly a
reconstructed
language as no
literary
witnesses
survive (with
the exception
of limited
epigraphic
evidence).</li><li>Early Old
English (ca.
650 to 900),
the period of
the oldest
manuscript
traditions,
with authors
such as
Cædmon, Bede,
Cynewulf and
Aldhelm.</li><li>Late Old
English (c.
900 to 1066),
the final
stage of the
language
leading up to
the Norman
conquest of
England and
the subsequent
transition to
Early Middle
English.</li></ul>
<div style="margin-left:40px;color:rgb(0, 0, 102)">
</div>
<p style="margin-left:40px;color:rgb(0, 0, 102)">The Old
English period
is followed by
Middle
English (12th
to 15th
century),
Early Modern
English (ca.
1480 to 1650)
and finally
Modern English
(after 1650).</p>
<p>This leaves
a gap of
minimally 35
years between
the supposed
end of the Old
English period
and the
beginning of
the Middle
English
period. What
is that then?
"Transitional"?<br>
</p>
<p>Aside from
this, I find
it interesting
that Old
English and
Old Saxon both
ended in the
12th century.<br>
</p>
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</blockquote></div>
I guess this "gap" is not meant to squeeze a new period into it. The
cesure that ended Old English was the Norman conquest 1066. A
sizable Middle English literature only developed in the 12th
century. The few documents created in the time inbetween are
probably too scarce to substantiate their classification into either
period. Are there even any at all? I looked on English Wikisource
and found none. Does anybody know any documents from that period?<br>
<br>
Obviously people do not change their language suddenly. Any date
like "1066" is somewhat arbitrary. So any year numbers should be
taken with a big grain of salt.<br>
<br>
Marcus Buck<br><br><font size="2"><span></span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font size="2">
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