What I learned from taking the course: English 346 – Aspects of the English Language, which deals with English linguistics, ideas, research, and communication.

In order to know myself, where I came from, where I am going, and prepare myself for the future, I must understand the English language.

Does anyone really know how our language began?  The history of the English language can be traced back to known languages and events that have shaped the development of language.  Our language has grown and changed as a reflection of movements of people and events in history.

Historical linguistics began to study the development of the English language.  They identified English as belonging to the Indo-European language family and recognized it as a Germanic language that came from Dutch, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish.  A variety of generalizations were made about English language origins.  The origin of our language was determined on the basis of features such as sound, syntax, spelling, structure, and the study of vocabulary from various languages.  Linguistics divided the languages of the world into three periods: Old English, Middle English, and Modern English.  Within these three periods of time certain events were identified that significantly shaped the language we know today.  The development of the English language is an on-going process of interactions and gradual changes.  The English language will always be in a state of change.

How does the development of the English language relate to teaching language arts in my classroom?  Knowing about the history helps me to identify with it.  Language is a part of my heritage just like my relatives are a part of me.  Studying the English language is an aid to vocabulary development and spelling.  The history of words brings life and gives a special personality to children.  Children gain new dimensions of meaning and understand why words are spelled as they are.  Children have a natural curiosity about language and it can be a great asset in training and teaching children to use language effectively.  When children are interested in language they develop an ear for it, they become more aware of the significant features of language, and they become language makers.

The English language has changed a great deal since it has been in existence.  The changes reflect patterns of contact with other languages and communicating the needs of people.  English is used for more communicative functions as never before.  These functions include new vocabularies, new grammatical forms, and a new way of speaking and writing.

By studying the Aspects of Language, I learned that our language is constantly changing:

1. New words were constantly added to our language to meet the demands of a changing lifestyle and environment.
2. Compound words were developed, analogies existed in words, slang expressions were common and new words became parts of other words.
3. New words were borrowed from other languages; which caused groups of people to meet and interact.
4. Words were constructed based on Latin or Greek roots and affixes.
5. Some words dropped from the common usage because there was no need for them.
6. Words that were already in existence required new meanings, new pronunciations, and new spellings as the times changed.
7. Language changed constantly, therefore, some words were acceptable and some words were unacceptable.
8. Vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciations exist in dialects and accents, which caused a great deal of interaction in our language.
9. Dictionaries became very popular because they compiled words, provided  pronunciations, and formulated meanings of words, which changed our language.
10. Books were published to change our everyday expressions and conversations.
11. Oral communication such as the telephone, the internet, the television, and the radio unified our language.
12. Ways to travel such as by boat, by plane, by train, by car, and by bus brought our language together.

I chose topics such as: the size of the lexicon, the survival of English, dialects and accents, and dyslexia for my essays because each one of them was important to me and they brought a great deal of interest to me.  Even though some things were not in my textbooks, I was able to use a variety of resources.  My resources included other books, the internet, and my own personal experiences.  A lot of quality time and effort was put in my essays.

My linguistic guide was very difficult.  I chose the topic Vocabulary.  There was a tremendous amount of information on this topic but not necessarily what I needed.  There were great resources on how to teach vocabulary but my guide didn’t deal with teaching vocabulary.  My guide consisted of a definition for vocabulary, why should we have a strong vocabulary? how does a person develop vocabulary? adult vocabulary, active and passive vocabulary, children’s vocabulary, educational linguistics, and my personal opinions as a teacher.  It took me a great deal of time to decide what important things I wanted to say about vocabulary.  Revising, wording, resources, ideas, thoughts, and opinions had to be looked at.

This was my first time putting a portfolio online, publishing, adding links, doing an index page, establishing my own URL, and using Netscape Communicator and Composer,  I asked for a lot of help and I got it.

I’m not comfortable with the idea of taking an exam by having an oral interview.

The textbook The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal is just what it says, an encyclopedia.  It’s a good book but I don’t consider it to be a textbook for a college course on the English Language.  I would prefer to have another book and consider this book as a resource for the course.  This book is jammed full of interesting ideas and some ideas that are not interesting.

The spread of the English language in recent years is very remarkable.  The more I examine the historical causes and the current trend for today, the more it becomes clear to me that the future will become more complicated, more demanding, more challenging, and demand a better understanding.