Assignment # 3 / Autobiography Paragraph / Contreras, Francisca

THE PAST WILL BE ALWAYS BETTER

I studied in six diferent schools. In fact, I’ve lived in more than six places. My favourite place was the countryside, full of happiness and peacefulness. I lived there for two years in my grandmother’s house and now I’m waiting to go back one day and relive the greatest time in my life.

Assignment # 1 / What is writing? / Contreras, Francisca

1. According to the article, why was writing invented?

At first writing was invented as a consequence of the burgeoning needs of accounting, they used writing as a method of recording and presenting transactions. After in Mesoamerica writing may have evolved through calendrics and a political necessity for recording historical events.

2. Writing is both a noun and a verb. Explain.

Writing as a noun, the thing that is written; and writing as a verb, which designates the activity of writing. It refers to the inscription of characters on a medium, thereby forming words, and larger units of language, known as texts. It also refers to the creation of meaning and the information thereby generated.

3. Name the 4 different categories of writing systems.

The 4 categories are: logographic, syllabic, alphabetic, and featural.

4. Why are ideographic and pictographic methods NOT considered categories of writing systems?

Because ideographic (symbols for ideas), has never been developed sufficiently to represent language and pictographic is insufficient to represent language on its own.

5. Name 10 different types of writing tools and materials.

The different types of writing tools and materials are: stone tablets, clay tablets, wax tablets, vellum, parchment, paper,copperplate, styluses, quills, ink brushes, pencils, pens, and many styles of lithography.

6. True or False: The difference between prehistory and history is when written records were kept.

True

7. Who developed the first writing system:

a. Sumerians

b. Mesopotamians

c. Hittites

d. none of these answers are correct.

8. Which cultural group were the only ones to develop a written language in the Americas?

The Maya culture.

9. It is possible that the Chinese language was developed:

a. c. 1500 BCE

b. c. 6000 BCE

c. c. 3200 BCE

d. none of the answers are correct.

10. Where does the word, alphabet, originate?

The word "alphabet" came into Middle English from the Late Latin word Alphabetum, which in turn originated in the Ancient Greek Αλφάβητος Alphabetos, from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.

11. Name 3 types of NON-linear writing systems.

Braille,fingerspelling, and Morse code

12. Name 2 examples of NON-alphabetic writing systems.

Egyptian hieroglyphs and Chinese characters are two of the best-known writing systems with predominantly non-alphabetic representations.

13. The alphabet helps distinguish between which 2 types of spoken sounds?

The International Phonetic Alphabet and phonetic approximation of foreign words.

14. In English, what was The Great Vowel Shift?

It was æ in Old English.

15. Japanese is a complicated language not only because there a 3 different forms of the written language and there are at least 14 levels of formality, but because the spoken language originated from the Korean peninsula and the written language originated from China. English has a similar complicated history. Briefly explain the origins of the English language.

English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian and Lower Saxon dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Great Britain. This was then influenced by two waves of invasion. The first was by language speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family. The second was the Normans who spoke Old Norman and developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. After the Norman conquest, Old English developed into Middle English, borrowing heavily from the Norman vocabulary and spelling conventions.A significant number of English words, especially technical words, have been constructed based on roots from Latin and ancient Greek.

Assignment # 2 / Middle English / Contreras, Francisca

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?

It was spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and about 1470

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?

The major factors were: the loss of Normandy in 1204, the rivalry between England and France during the Hundred Years' War and the introduction of the printing press into England in the 1470’s.

 

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:

A. Pig  B. Cow C. Wood D. Sheep E. House F. Worthy G. Bold

Pork  Beef   Forest Mutton Mansion Honourable Courageous

 

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.

Nouns: Middle English retains only two separate noun-ending patterns.

	singular		plural
nom/acc	engel	nome	engles	nomen
gen	engles*	nome	engle(ne)**	nomen
dat	engle	nome	engle(s)	nomen

The strong -s plural form has survived into Modern English, while the weak -n form is rare (oxen, children, brethren ; and in some dialects eyen [instead of eyes], shoon [instead of shoes], hosen [instead of hose(s)] and kine [instead of cows]).

 

Verbs: the first person singular of verbs in the present tense ends in -e ("ich here" - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st ("þou spekest" - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ ("he comeþ" - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think").

In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by adding an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from Old English: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs, by contrast, form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.

Pronouns:

Personal pronouns in Middle English
		Singular			Plural
		Subject	Object	Possessive	Subject	Object	Possessive
First		I	me	mi(n)	we	us	ure
Second		thou	thee	thy	ye	you	your
Third	Impersonal	hit	it/him	his	he they	hem them	hir their
	Masculine	he	him	his
	Feminine	sche	hire	hir

 

Old English pronouns First and Second Person
	First Person		Second Person
	singular	plural	singular	plural
nom.	ic, ih	wē	þū	gē
acc.	mec, mē	ūsic, ūs	þec, þē	ēowic, ēow
gen.	mīn	ūser, ūre	þīn	ēower
dat.	mē	ūs	þē	ēow

 

Third Person
	masc.	fem.	neut.	pl.
nom.	hē	hēo	hit	hīe
acc.	hine	hīe	hit	hīe
gen.	his, sīn	hiere	his, sīn	heora
dat.	him	hiere	him	heom

 

5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?

All letters in Middle English words were pronounced, therefore 'knight' was pronounced /knɪçt/ (with a pronounced and the as the in German 'Knecht'), not /naɪt/ as in Modern English.

 In earlier Middle English all written vowels were pronounced. Later, the final had become silent in normal speech.

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?

It was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy and for other official purposes from the late 14th century. It is believed to have contributed in a significant way to the development of the English language as spoken and written today. Because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government required a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need. 

7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. 

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.

They are 29 pilgrims who meet in Tabard Inn and set out on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. The group is described in detail, with characters from all classes, upper and lower, represented. Religious characters, such as a prioress, monk and a Pardoner, travel alongside a shipman, miller, carpenter, reeve, squire, yeoman and a knight, among others.

9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?

To pay their respects to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?

The name of the italian book is The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?

It’s important because:

  - It’s a record of the roots of English and how it has evolved.

  - It’s an important piece of English literature that give us a sample of the history and the society in the Middle ages and we can compare and realize that there is not so much difference about nowadays just the technology. 

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:

a. A collection of German folk tales, similar to Grimm's Fairy Tales.

b. A collection of Japanese ghost stories, similar to Kwaidan.

c. A detailed explanation of the proper etiquette & behaviour for all knights in Medieval Europe.

d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.

e. None of the above.

f. All of the above. 

13. Who is Sir Gwain?

He is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table.

14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?

The Green Knight offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day.

15. What is the similarity between Sir Gwain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?

The similitary between the tales is that Cuchulainn's antagonist feints three blows with the axe before letting his target depart without injury. 

16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?

The pentangle on Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection and power over evil. The poem describes the pentangle as a symbol of faithfulness and an "endless knot". In line 625, it is described as "a sign by Solomon". Solomon, the third king of Israel, in 10th century B.C. was said to have the mark of the pentagram on his ring, which he received from the archangel Michael. The pentagram seal on this ring was said to give Solomon power over demons. 

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?

The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem.

For example: three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe, or the fifth five is Gawain himself, who embodies the five moral virtues of the code of chivalry: "friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy, and piety". All of these virtues reside, as the poet says, in the "Endless Knot" of the pentangle, which forever interlinks and is never broken

18. What is the significance of Sir Gwain's neck wound?

During the medieval period, the body and the soul were believed to be so intimately connected that wounds were considered an outward sign of inward sin. The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart).

19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?

The actor was Sean Connery.

20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir Gwain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.