The past is a foreign country Texts 20, 21, 29

1
The past is a foreign countryTexts 20, 21, 29
Key Words Collocation an established phrase
which places words in a fixed order

• Lesson Objective
• To explore language change over time
• To examine features of scripted talk

2
Milestones in English

• 1066 the arrival of the Normans establishes
  Norman-French as the language of the government
  Anglo-Saxon (Old English) continues to be spoken
  by the majority of the population. Over time many
  French and Latin words are adopted.
• 1380s Chaucer writes his epic Canterbury Tales
  in what is now known as Middle English. By this
  time various forms of Middle English are spoken
  in different parts of the country.
• 1476 Englands first printer William Caxton
  sets up shop in London and starts to print books
  (including Chaucers Canterbury Tales).
• 1590s 1616 Shakespeares plays and poems are
  published and performed. The time of Early Modern
  English
• 1755 Dr Samuel Johnson publishes his dictionary
  a detailed account of the vocabulary, spelling
  and meanings of the English Language
• 1795 Lindley Murray publishes English Grammar
  attempting to define the rules of English
  establishing what is Standard English
• 1928 the first edition of The Oxford English
  Dictionary is completed
• 1992 the first SMS text message is sent via
  mobile phone

3
Titus Andronicus Text 21

• Dates from 1590
• One of Shakespeares earliest tragedies
• Lavinia, daughter of Titus Andronicus, has been
  raped and had her tongue and hands cut off by
  Chiron and Demetrius
• Their mother is Tamora who is now married to
  Saturninus the Roman Emperor
• Titus has had his hand cut off in an attempt to
  save his sons from execution by Tamoras lover,
  Aaron...

4
Assessment Focus

• AO 2 Holistic Appreciation
• Demonstrate detailed understanding in analysing
  the ways in which structure, form and language
  shape meanings in a range of spoken and written
  text

In text 21 Titus Andronicus you will notice
that the lexis, grammar and phonology of the
language is far removed from modern day
language. You will need to consider how, over
time, despite the change in language, the reader
can still grasp the message behind the actions
and words of the play. In text 20 The
importance of Being Earnest you will not notice
quite so many changes in lexis and grammar,
however, the differences will probably occur in
what the audience regards as comedy. The way
the play is written like real speech gives it a
sense of authenticity and keeps it funny.
5
A living language never stands still and is
constantly changing in every way. The most
obvious kind of change is lexical (with the
constant stream of new words) and semantic (as
words take on new meanings). Even the phonology
and grammar of language changes over time, and we
can see that in this text which was written over
400 years ago. Use a dictionary to help you find
out about the words that are unfamiliar to you.
Example in text 21 Modern equivalent Comment
LEXIS Verb which expresses a command to keep back. An adjective meaning of fine appearance Verb form of the adjective vile
COLLOCATION Inverted word order of a question.
PHONOLOGY Example of a word or phrase that would be pronounced differently
6
Commentary

• Lexis
• All the examples in the text forbear, goodly
  and vild are obsolete words. Goodly and Vild
  clearly take their origins from words that are
  still used today, but in different forms
  (morphology)
• Collocation
• The inversion of the word order in the question
  Know you these two? would sound strange in
  todays language, but we are familiar with the
  archaic contexts in which it survives
• Phonology
• Many of the words in Shakespearean English are
  pronounced differently. However, it is partly to
  do with his fitting the words in to the Iambic
  Pentameter structure

7
Scripted and unscripted speech

• We have previously looked at transcripts which
  show modern, spontaneous speech. As a playwright,
  Shakespeare had the task of creating realistic
  speech. They have to make the characters
  believable but without including the features of
  real speech that would make it difficult to
  listen to.
• Remember the features of spontaneous speech
  write down as many features as you can remember.

8
The Importance of Being Earnest

• Written by Oscar Wilde, first performed in 1895
• Cecily Cardew, an 18 year old girl and an older
  girl called Gwendolen Fairfax are having
  afternoon tea in the garden of Cecilys country
  house. They both (mistakenly) believe that they
  are in love with the same man.

9
Features of spontaneous talk Used in a television script Comment
Some use of casual, colloquial language, possibly including expletives and taboo language
Some use of grammatically incomplete (minor) sentences. Other sentences may continue in a less clearly structured way than in writing, with repeated use of conjunctions
Some use of non-fluency features
In conversation, those listening indicate their attention/agreement/sympathy using feedback
There may occasionally be interruptions and overlapping, with two or more speakers speaking at once
Now consider these features in Wildes play. How
has he created the illusion of realistic
spontaneous speech? Comment on the features that
mark it out as scripted, dramatic speech.
10
Assessment Focus

• AO 3 Context
• Use integrated approaches to explore
  relationships between texts, analysing and
  evaluating the significance of contextual factors
  in their production and reception.

Production Reception
Who has produced it? Who is reading / hearing / watching it?
When was it produced? When is it being heard or read?
Where was it produced? Where is it being read or heard?
Why was it produced? (purpose) Why is it being listened to / read?
For whom was it intended? (implied audience) Who is reading or hearing it? (actual audience)
11
Contextual information Text 29

• The Warden was published in 1855
• Anthony Trollope was one of the most highly
  regarded of the Victorian novelists
• The Warden was the first of the Barsetshire
  novels set in the fictional city of Barchester
• In this extract he is describing his breakfast
  parlour
• Read this extract and then compare it to the more
  modern TEXT 13