Histoire de la langue

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to language change and the history of the English language—a chance to get acquainted with the languages Tolkien used to study. No prior knowledge of medieval English is required. In the first semester, we deal with the basics of language change and Old English or ‘Anglo-Saxon’, the English spoken and written until c. 1150.

The course consists of a lecture for basic facts and theory, and a class for practical exercises (lecture and class brochures will be handed out in the lecture and in class early in the semester).

BIBLIOGRAPHY (recommended reading – a selection)

BAKER, Peter. An Introduction to Old English. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012 [BUFR, BU Clignancourt]
BAUGH, Albert C., and Thomas CABLE. A History of the English Language. London: Routledge, 1951, 5th ed. 2002. [BUFR, BU Clignancourt] A separate Companion (work-book with exercises) is available, by Thomas CABLE, London: Routledge, 3rd ed. 2002. [BUFR, BU Clignancourt]
CRÉPIN, André. Deux mille ans de langue anglaise. Paris: Nathan, 1994. [BUFR, BU Clignancourt]
FENNELL, Barbara A. A History of English: A Sociolinguistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. [BSG]
FREEBORN, Dennis. From Old English to Standard English. London: Macmillan, 1992, 3rd ed. 2006. [BUFR, BU Clignancourt]
TOWNEND, Matthew. Language and History in Viking Age England: Linguistic Relations Between Speakers of Old Norse and Old English. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 6. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002. [BIS]