Master exam - 12

Master’s Degrees— How to answer the exam

                                                 Linguistics and Advanced English Studies

                     Exam N° 12

 Question 1:

The American linguist Noam Chomsky is known for making a theoretical distinction between competence and performance. What do we mean by each one of them, and in which way or ways is this distinction needed for linguistic description?

-----The question also asks why this distinction (difference) between competence and performance is important for understanding and describing languages. You need to discuss why linguists should consider both what people know about a language (competence) and how they use it (performance) to fully understand how languages work.

Question 2:

The English language has developed through various stages (from Old English to Middle English to Modern English). How did it all happen? And what are some of the differences you know that happened when English developed from Middle English to Modern English?

 -----You have to describe how the English language changed and developed through these stages. You also need to mention some specific differences between Middle English and Modern English, such as changes in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

• Old English is the earliest form of the English language, used from around the 5th to the 11th century.

• Middle English came after that, from the 11th to the 15th century, and it was influenced by Norman French after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

• Modern English began around the late 15th century and is the English we use today.