Standardisation of English (GROUP 1)

What role did the printing press play in the dissemination of the English language during its early development?

• Reduction of vocabulary

• Promotion of regional dialects

• Standardised spelling

• Increased literacy rates

During the reign of King Alfred (b. 849–901), which dialect became the medium of teaching and of scholarship?

• East Midland

• West Saxon

• Kentish

• Northumbrian

The main cultural centre during the Old English period was...

• Winchester

• London

• York

• Normandy

The earliest attempts at standardising English go back to...

• the Old English period

• the Middle English period

• the early Modern English period

• the late Modern English period

What does a “change from above” in sociolinguistics involve? Select the incorrect option.

• A conscious linguistic change

• An unconscious linguistic change

• The imposition of a new code

• The adoption of a prestigious or standardised variant

In sociolinguistic terms, Anglo-Saxon England became a diglossic society

• True

• False

After 1066, the High functions that English had acquired during the Old English period were suddenly taken over by...

• Latin

• French

• Scandinavian

• Old Norse

The standardisation model that is typically used to describe the different developments in the standardisation process of English was devised by...

• Lesley and James Milroy

• Geoffrey Chaucer

• William Barnes

• Noah Webster

How did Noah Webster change English?

• He aimed at giving equal status to his native Dorset dialect as that of standard English

• He developed a standardisation programme for American English

• He wrote the book Authority in Language (1991)

• None of the above is correct

The country’s independent administrative office traditionally associated with the rise of standard English is known as the _________.