Phonological Shifts in English: Vowels, Consonants, Stress
The Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was the greatest and most important phonological change in the history of English. Yet, Old English spelling was maintained because printers based spelling on medieval manuscripts, not on the new pronunciation. For example:
- Middle English: feet [e]
- Modern English: feet [i:]
Learned men preferred an archaic spelling: ‘y’ was used as ‘th’:
- ‘y’ as an abbreviation of ‘that’
- ‘ye’ as an abbreviation of ‘the’
- Example: Ye Olde Shoppe
‘i’ as a vowel and ‘j’ as a consonant
Read MoreMastering Punctuation and Accentuation in Spanish
Punctuation
Punctuation aims to help continue the thought of writing, stating in writing pauses, intonation, and emphasis. You cannot write without punctuation or use the signs without knowing their value and meaning, so it was deemed necessary to make a sketch of the most used.
- Comma (,) represents the shortest pause. It is used to:
- Separate phrases, words, or sentences in a series of similar elements.
- Separate the vocative from the rest of the sentence.
- Separate anything set in front of the subject.
Understanding Spanish Grammar: Parts of Speech
Spanish Grammar: Key Components
Interjection
An interjection often expresses emotion or surprise. Examples include: wham bam sounds bang, ehh antecion call hi, moods ah ay bah.
Adverb
An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It often refers to related circumstances.
- Place: there
- Time: now, después, then
- Manner: well, good, bad
- Amount: far, short, less, but
- Affirmation: if, also, of course
- Negation: not, tampoco
- Question: perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
- Interrogative: where, when, as
Preposition
A preposition
Read More19th-Century Spanish Realism and Naturalism: Authors and Characteristics
Realism: Origins and Evolution
Realism arose in France in the first half of the 19th century, immersed in Romanticism. It even started with authors such as Balzac and Stendhal. It developed as an independent movement with Flaubert in the context of an urban, industrial society, with the bourgeois class established.
In Spain, the realist movement began around 1870, after the “Glorious Revolution,” and had its heyday in the 1880s. It was influenced by Romantic genres, such as the historical novel and
Read MoreSpanish Realism: Authors, Themes, and Techniques
Spanish Realism: A 19th-Century Literary Movement
Origins and Development
Realism was a literary movement that sought to explain and analyze reality by exalting individual liberty. Originating in France around 1830, it arrived in Spain in 1870, reaching its peak in the 1880s.
Two Periods of Realism
- Pre-Realism (1843-1868): This period blended realistic and romantic elements. Notable authors include Fernán Caballero (The Seagull) and Pedro A. de Alarcón (The Three-Cornered Hat).
- Fullness of Realism
Galician Language History: Dark Ages to Pre-Rexurdimento
The Dark Ages and the Precursors of the Galician Language
From the 15th century until the 18th century, there was no longer a significant literary practice in Galician. Historians know this vast stage of silence as the Dark Ages. It came about because Santa Catarina became dependent on the Kingdom of Castile, which implemented a criticized centralist policy. The nobility lost its power, and political, administrative, and ecclesiastical offices were filled by people from outside of Rio de Janeiro.
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