LIB350
The Fabulous Origins of English Words
What are the origins of our wonderful English vocabulary, including Canadian English vocabulary, eh? We’ll explore the remarkable rise and spread of English around the world. First, we will examine the mother tongue of most western languages, Indo-European. Then we’ll investigate the Celtic roots of English and the impact of Germanic and French invasions of England, to see how English grew from such rich sources. Finally, we’ll turn to the English Bible and Shakespeare to reveal the beauty and power of English, the most widely spoken language in the world.
This course is offered in person.
A $50 discount is available during check-out for adults 55+.
Overview
Location: Vancouver
Duration: 6 weeks
Tuition: $180 plus GST
Can be applied to:
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate
Upcoming Offerings
Currently not available for registration.
Course outline
- Week 1: The roots of English
English is part of the Indo-European family of languages, which includes German, French, Russian and Greek. We will explore the roots of English, discuss England’s first language, Celtic, and examine the impact of the Roman invasion in the mid-1st century CE. - Week 2: Anglo-Saxon
From mid-5th to early-7th centuries CE, England was invaded by Germanic peoples, whose language became the source of English. We will trace the history of the Germanic (and later, Viking) invasions and their influence on the development of English. - Week 3: 1066 and the Norman invasion
The English vocabulary doubles almost overnight, as French supplies us with all our words for government and administration, military ranks, legal terms, religious phrases, morality, and art and architecture. We will also explore the poetry of Chaucer and the language we call “Middle English.” - Week 4: Middle English gives way to Modern English
We’ll consider the effect of Shakespeare and the King James Bible on English in the mid-Renaissance. We’ll also discuss the influence of Greek vocabulary. - Week 5: England rules the words!
We will look at English in the 17th and 18th centuries, including the massive importation of “loan words” from Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Hindi and many others. - Week 6: Canadian English, eh?
Our unique spellings, vocabulary, pronunciations… and the “Wet-Coast Quiz”: can you pass it?
What you will learn
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Discuss the richness and diversity of the English language
- Outline the historical and cultural impact of the spread of English around the world
- Discuss the subtle art of etymology: the study of word origins, and how words’ hidden metaphors reveal their historical meaning
- Outline the history of the development of the English language through Anglo-Saxon, Middle English and Modern English
How you will learn
- Lectures
- Participation in class discussions
- Supplementary readings and resources accessed through Canvas
- Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)
Learning Materials
No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.
Technical Requirements
Handouts and other course resources will be available on Canvas, SFU’s online learning system.
To access the resources, you should be comfortable with:
- Using everyday software such as browsers, email and social media
- Navigating a website by clicking on links and finding pages in a menu
- Downloading and opening PDF documents