- Now that you understand how the English Language evolved, share with us some words into which you have gained new insights (about their origin, their form, etc.)
Courtship: the act of wooing in love
- The word originated from the Elizabethan era in the 1970s. Courtship is made up of two words court + ship, literally meaning "the behaviour of a courtier". It was only from the 1590s when its definition was "paying court to a woman with intention of marriage," like how we use the word today.
Compound(n): An enclosed group of buildings
- The word originated from the Middle East word compounen, to the Middle French componre, to the Latin componere. It could also have originated from the Malay word kampong ("A group of buildings"). The original usage was for "the enclosure for a factory or settlement of Europeans in the East," and later used for South African diamond miners' camps in 1893, and finally for large generic fenced-in spaces in 1946.
Tycoon: A wealthy and powerful business person
- The word originated from Japan in 1857 and was used as a title for the shogun of Japan. In Japanese the word taikun means "great lord or prince". In 1861, its meaning was "an important person" and was later on specifically restricted to businessmen during the period of post-WWI.
- In what ways is Elizabethan English different from the English we use today? Discuss some new terms and grammars that exist in the various Englishes in the world today.
In terms of vocabulary, the English we use today consists of many words which have been incorporated from many other languages as we are more culturally diverse and tolerant today than in the past. During Shakespeare's times, there was constant debates over the appropriateness of adopting words from other languages, though Shakespeare used many seldom used words in his works.
In terms of grammar, the rules in the past were less strict than today. To allow for a sentence to flow naturally and rhythmically, writers could change the order of words and phrases within a sentence freely, unlike modern English.
The Elizabethan era was before the Great Vowel Shift, which was a period in England's history where there was a huge change in the pronunciation of the English language between 1350 and 1500. As a result, many words are now pronounced differently as compared to Elizabethan English.
