3. T. Rastorguyeva’s periodization of the English language

According to T. Rastorguyeva, the history of English is divided into the seven periods:

I Early OE (also: Pre-written OE) c. 450 – c. 700

II OE (also: Written OE) c. 700 – 1066

III Early ME 1066 – c. 1350

IV ME (also: Classical ME) c. 1350 – 1475

V Early NE 1476 – c. 1660

VI Normalization Period c. 1660 – c. 1800

(also: Age of Correctness,

Neo-Classical period)

VII Late NE, or Mod E c. 1800 . . . . . .

(including Present-day English) since 1945 . . . .

4. The division of the history of English as suggested by V. Arakin

Arakin’s periodization is a traditional one because it is based on the extra linguistic, which means that periodization connotes the character of the society speaking the language. So, he divided the history of English into the following periods:

• the Ancient English Period dated between the first centuries AD and the 7^th – 8^th c. This is the period of the languages of the Old English tribes;

• the Old English Period dated between the 7^th and 11^th c. This is the period of the language of the establishing English nationality. The end of this period is marked by the Norman Conquest of England;

• the Middle English Period dated from the beginning of the 12^th c. to the 15^th c. This is the period of the language of the established English nationality transforming gradually into the nation. The end of this period is marked by the Wars of Roses (1455-1485);

• the New English Period dated from the end of the 15^th c. to present. It is subdivided into two periods: a) the Early New English Period – the period of establishing standards of the national language; and b) the Late New English Period – the period of the established standards of the national language.

5. The periods of the development of English as offered by a. Markman and e. Steinberg

The American linguists A. Markman and E. Steinberg also admit that it is not possible to precisely divide the history of the English language into periods. In their periodization they use the dates of written documents. As it is impossible to determine the exact date of the earliest Old English texts, the beginning of the Old English is recognized as 450 AD, when the Germanic tribes landed on the island. The year of the last chapter of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1154, is regarded as the end of the Old English Period. The end of the Middle English Period coincides with the death of the famous writer Thomas Malory – 1471, which is also the time of the introduction of printing in England and Caxton’s activities. The Early New English Period (1500 – 1700) is the period of England’s two prominent poets – William Shakespeare and John Milton. The year of 1700, which is the year of John Dryden’s death, is recognized as the end of the Early New English Period.

6. David Burnley’s periodization of the history of English

According to David Burnley, the history of English is divided into:

• Old English (700 – 1100)

• Early Middle English (1100 – 1300)

• Later Middle English (1300 – 1500)

• Early Modern English (1500 – 1800)

• Modern English (1800 – 1920)

Lecture 3