(i) Answer Question ONE and any other I wo questions (ii) Do not write on the question paper Q1 a) By use of examples, briefly describe the following terms by as used in Comparat linguistics i) Cognates ii) Proto language iii) Genetic relatedness b) Briefly provide an outline of the stages through which English has developed. c) By use of examples, explain the meaning of the following terms with reference development of English i) English as a first language ii) English as a Second language iii) English as a foreign language d) Briefly describe any THREE features of Indo European family of Languages. Q2. Describe the challenges faced by early modern English in its growth and how it eve overcame the challenges Q3. Discuss how the following groups of people contributed to the growth of English la a) The Celts b) The Romans c) Scandinavians

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(i) Answer Question ONE and any other I wo questions (ii) Do not write on the question paper Q1 a) By use of examples, briefly describe the following terms by as used in Comparat linguistics i) Cognates ii) Proto language iii) Genetic relatedness b) Briefly provide an outline of the stages through which English has developed. c) By use of examples, explain the meaning of the following terms with reference development of English i) English as a first language ii) English as a Second language iii) English as a foreign language d) Briefly describe any THREE features of Indo European family of Languages. Q2. Describe the challenges faced by early modern English in its growth and how it eve overcame the challenges Q3. Discuss how the following groups of people contributed to the growth of English la a) The Celts b) The Romans c) Scandinavians

Answer 1

**Q1.****(a)***i) **Cognates:** These are words in different languages that share a common ancestor. For example, the English word "night," the German word "Nacht," and the Sanskrit word "nakta" are cognates, all descending from a Proto-Indo-European root. The similarity in form and meaning points to their shared origin.*ii) **Proto-language:** This is a reconstructed ancestral language from which a group of related languages are descended. Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is a well-known example. While no written records of PIE exist, linguists have reconstructed it by comparing its descendant languages.*iii) **Genetic relatedness:** This refers to the relationship between languages that descend from a common ancestor. English and German are genetically related because they both descend from Proto-Germanic. Genetic relatedness is established through the comparative method, which analyzes cognates, sound changes, and grammatical features.**(b)**English has developed through several stages:1. **Old English (450-1150 AD):** Influenced by Germanic languages brought by Anglo-Saxon settlers. Example: *Beowulf*.2. **Middle English (1150-1500 AD):** Influenced by Norman French following the Norman Conquest. Example: *The Canterbury Tales*.3. **Early Modern English (1500-1800 AD):** Marked by the Great Vowel Shift and the standardization of the language. Example: Shakespeare's plays.4. **Modern English (1800-Present):** Characterized by continued evolution and expansion of vocabulary.**(c)***i) **English as a First Language (L1):** This refers to English being the native language of a speaker, learned from birth in an English-speaking environment. Examples include native speakers in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.*ii) **English as a Second Language (L2):** This refers to English being learned and used in a context where it is an official or widely used language, even if not the speaker's native tongue. Examples include English speakers in India, Nigeria, and Singapore.*iii) **English as a Foreign Language (EFL):** This refers to English being learned and used in a context where it is not a widely spoken language. Examples include English learners in China, Japan, and Brazil.**(d)**Three features of the Indo-European language family:1. **Inflectional morphology:** Indo-European languages tend to use inflections (changes in word form) to express grammatical relationships, such as tense, case, and number.2. **Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order:** While not universal, SVO is a common word order in many Indo-European languages.3. **Cognates:** As mentioned earlier, the presence of cognates across different Indo-European languages provides strong evidence for their shared ancestry.**Q3.****(a) The Celts:** While the Celtic languages were largely displaced by Old English, some Celtic words were borrowed into English, particularly place names like *London* and *Thames*. Celtic influence on English grammar is debated, but some scholars suggest it may have contributed to certain syntactic features.**(b) The Romans:** The Roman occupation of Britain (43-410 AD) introduced Latin, which influenced English vocabulary, particularly in areas like religion, law, and administration. Words like *street*, *wall*, and *wine* are derived from Latin.**(c) Scandinavians:** Viking invasions and settlements (8th-11th centuries) brought Old Norse, a North Germanic language, into contact with Old English. This resulted in significant borrowing of vocabulary, including everyday words like *sky*, *get*, and *they*. Old Norse influence also simplified English grammar, contributing to the loss of some inflections.

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