Final Exam Review

Our final exam is Thursday, Dec. 14 at 1:30 in the usual classroom in Avery. Here is the review sheet.

• Know when the Great Vowel Shift happened. You don't need to know the exact pronunciation values and how they changed, but you should be able to explain the effect of the GVS on our ability to understand OE and ME
• Name at least 2 works by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Who introduced printing to England? What was the effect of printing on English language change?
• What were the main positions in the Inkhorn Controversy? Name some people involved in it.
• What were the causes of England's break with the Roman Catholic Church? What effect did this have on how people viewed English?
• What were the "Augustans'" views of written and spoken English? What did their views mean for grammar in particular (be specific)?
• How did the views about literary language change in the Romantic period? Name two English writers who exemplify this view.
• What role did the expansion of education play in the English language?
• How does the OED contrast with Johnson's dictionary? How are they alike (ideologically, not lexically)?
• Who is considered the first structuralist theorist? Who is the first deconstructionist theorist? Describe how these theories view words.
• Name two English-speaking countries besides England and the USA. Tell me two things about the English spoken in that country (look at the wiki for this).
• Name two American English dialects. Tell me two notable features (lexical or grammatical) about each one.
• Give an example of how technology is effecting the English language (grammatically or lexically)

Feel free to ask questions posted as comments on this page!