Lecture 1 Introduction

or diachronically:

• 
  all periods in the history of the development of a language are taken – vertical study;
  
• 
  only one level of a language is studied (phonetics or grammar or lexicon);
  
• 
  only one functional variety of a language is studied (e.g. Standard English).
  

These two types of studying a language are closely interconnected and create a full picture of the development of a language.

The History of the English Language is interconnected with other linguistic and non-linguistic disciplines:

1. 
   General Linguistics – provides us with general linguistic laws and rules valid for and language.
   
2. 
   History – historical events that take place in a country influence to a great extent the language of this country.
   
3. 
   Theoretical Phonetics – provides us with main phonetic notions and helps to explain phonetic phenomena.
   
4. 
   Theoretical Grammar – provides us with main grammatical notions and helps to explain grammatical phenomena.
   
5. 
   Lexicology - provides us with main lexicological notions and helps to explain lexical phenomena.
   
6. 
   Cultural Studies – helps to understand better the connection between the culture and the language of the country and their mutual influence.
   
7. 
   Literature – gives us examples of the languages of this or that historical period and these works of literature serve as the material for the language research.
   

Main Periods in the History of the English Language
The historical events that took place on the British Isles have influenced the linguistic situation in the country greatly. The table below shows the interconnection between the history and the language situation: