The goal of this assignment is for you to explore a topic of your own choosing within the history of English and thus demonstrate what you have learned and how you can apply that knowledge.

Requirements: Your project should be at least 3300 words, which is equivalent to 10 pages in MLA 8 format (1″ margins, double-spaced, 12pt. font), excluding your works cited. Accepted formats: Word file, pdf file, PowerPoint, or easily accessible website (including Wix, Weebly, YouTube, etc). If you want to use another type of format, you first need to check with me. But note that Google Docs or other Google formats and Dropbox links are NOT acceptable.
ALL projects must be accompanied by a complete works cited and use proper in-text citations, following MLA 8 style.
PROJECT #3 CANNOT BE SUBMITTED LATE—NO EXCEPTIONS. View the grading rubric under the assignment submission link (click on the twinkie or three vertical dots in the right-hand corner of the discussion board to open the rubric).
The goal of this assignment is for you to explore a topic of your own choosing within the history of English and thus demonstrate what you have learned and how you can apply that knowledge. You will need to perform independent research and detailed linguistic analysis, potentially using some of the resources that have been introduced in the course thus far (the OED, OE and ME texts, etc.)—and certainly using good, scholarly sources. Please do NOT regurgitate the relevant OED entries or use long quotations from the OED or any of your other sources. No more than 10% of your project should be direct quotes.
You will need to start with a hypothesis–and be as specific as you can. That way, you have a purpose for doing your project and a goal you’re seeking to accomplish. For instance, you might hypothesize that x% of words are French borrowings while y% are native English words. Or you might speculate that the Norman Conquest of 1066 gave us the majority of our legal or culinary or aristocratic terms and then show whether or not that is tenable throughout your project.
Your project can take many different forms (e.g., a traditional research paper, a custom website or blog, a polished PowerPoint presentation, a detailed lesson plan, etc.). Please contact me if you would like any suggestions or help along the way.
Note: I would be happy to review one draft of your project. I will send more info in an upcoming weekly announcement.
Potential Starting Points
Take a selection of your own writing (5-7 pages) and hypothesize and then discover what percentage of words that are “native” vs. borrowed. Compare the percentages to some estimates in the textbook.
Select a set of Old English runic inscriptions. Transcribe, translate, and analyze them.
Collect a set of 12-15 English words related to a topic of interest and do mini anatomies on each word, using the OED. What do you hope to discover? What does your investigation tell you? Possible topics include painting, music, brewing, sewing, education, makeup, criminal law, etc. You will need a source that provides you with the words you select so your project is cohesive vs. just a haphazard list of words.
Make a website on a topic of interest, again starting with a hypothesis. For example, you could investigate different dialects of OE, ME, EME, or ModE. Just be sure to keep the focus on linguistics since this is a history of the English language course.
Again find a topic you are interested in and look up 12-15 words related to this topic in the Thesaurus of Old English. Find out what happened to these words. Are they still used? How have they (not) changed? Be sure to start with a hypothesis.
Compare two modern translations of Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc. Tell me why you are doing the comparison and what you hope to discover.
Previous Student Projects
Research paper comparing Old, Middle, Early Modern, and Modern English versions of the Lord’s Prayer
PowerPoint identifying the frequency of French loan words in the Paston Letters
Website on the origins of English words related to print journalism
Research paper detailing a complete description of Verner’s Law
Website featuring a textual comparison of traditional English wedding vows throughout history
Comparative analysis of passages from Heaney’s and Tolkien’s translations of Beowulf
Comparative analysis of magical terms in Harry Potter vs. in The Hobbit
Research paper investigating the origins and uses of cycling terms
PowerPoint exploring words and idioms related to witchcraft
Lesson plans for 12th grade English unit on History of the English Language
Website detailing the history of words related to makeup

Last Completed Projects