Welcome to the HEL (History of English Language) Museum! This is an interactive pedagogical site that can be used as a study guide for students of historical English linguistics or for anyone interested in English language trivia.
You can play this game by yourself or with friends and classmates. You’ll want to read or view the relevant sections in one of the recommended resources below first. Then, test your knowledge!
EXHIBITS IN THE HEL MUSEUM:
- –Indo-European
- –Old English
- –Middle English
- -Early Modern English
- -Restoration
- -Contemporary English
Recommended Resources:
Pyles, Thomas, and John Algeo. The Origins and Development of the English Language. 3rd ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, any edition. Workbook also recommended.
Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 6th ed., Authorized British ed. Routledge, 2013. Workbook also recommended.
K. Aaron Smith and Susan M. Kim. This Language, A River: A History of English. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview, 2018. Workbook also recommended.
Dr. Jamison’s Web Video Lectures (from an online class using the Pyles / Algeo text listed above):
Introduction:
Language Defined
Learning the IPA
Indo-European:
Cognates
Satem
Centum
Grimm’s Law
Old English:
History and Culture
Old English Sounds
Old English Grammar and Syntax
I-Umlaut
Old English Adjectives
Middle English:
History and Culture
Middle English Sounds
Help with Algeo Exercise 6.6
Sounds, Nouns, Adjectives
Early Modern English:
History and Culture
Renaissance Sounds
Restoration:
The Restoration and the English Academy that Wasn’t
Late Modern English:
History, Language, and Culture
Words and Meanings
New Words from Old
