The History of the English Language

The History of the English Language The story of English- from its start in a jumble of West Germanic dialects to its role today as a global language- is both fascinating and complex. This timeline offers a glimpse at some of the key events that helped to shape the English language over the past 1,500 years. To learn more about the ways that English evolved in Britain and then spread around the world, check out The History of English in 10 Minutes, an amusing video produced by the Open University. The Prehistory of English The ultimate origins of English lie in Indo-European, a family of languages consisting of most of the languages of Europe as well as those of Iran, the Indian subcontinent, and other parts of Asia. Because little is known about ancient Indo-European (which may have been spoken as long ago as 3,000 B.C.), well begin our survey in Britain in the first century A.D. 43- The Romans invade Britain, beginning 400 years of control over much of the island.410- The Goths (speakers of a now extinct East Germanic language) sack Rome. The first Germanic tribes arrive in Britain.Early 5th century- With the collapse of the empire, Romans withdraw from Britain. Britons are attacked by the Picts and by Scots from Ireland. Angles, Saxons, and other German settlers arrive in Britain to assist the Britons and claim territory.5th-6th centuries- Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians) speaking West Germanic dialects settle most of Britain. Celts retreat to distant areas of Britain: Ireland, Scotland, Wales. 500-1100: The Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) Period The conquest of the Celtic population in Britain by speakers of West Germanic dialects (primarily Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) eventually determined many of the essential characteristics of the English language. (The Celtic influence on English survives for the most part only in place names- London, Dover, Avon, York.) Over time the dialects of the various invaders merged, giving rise to what we now call Old English. Late 6th century- Ethelbert, the King of Kent, is baptized. He is the first English king to convert to Christianity.7th century- Rise of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex; the Saxon kingdoms of Essex and Middlesex; the Angle kingdoms of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. St. Augustine and Irish missionaries convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, introducing new religious words borrowed from Latin and Greek. Latin speakers begin referring to the country as Anglia and later as Englaland.673- Birth of the Venerable Bede, the monk who composed (in Latin) The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (c. 731), a key source of information about Anglo Saxon settlement.700- Approximate date of the earliest manuscript records of Old English.Late 8th century- Scandinavians begin to settle in Britain and Ireland; Danes settle in parts of Ireland.Early 9th century- Egbert of Wessex incorporates Cornwall into his kingdom and is recognized as overlord of the seven kingdoms of the Angles and Saxons (the Heptarchy): England begins to emerge. Mid 9th century- Danes raid England, occupy Northumbria, and establish a kingdom at York. Danish begins to influence English.Late 9th century- King Alfred of Wessex (Alfred the Great) leads the Anglo-Saxons to victory over the Vikings, translates Latin works into English and establishes the writing of prose in English. He uses the English language to foster a sense of national identity. England is divided into a kingdom ruled by the Anglo-Saxons (under Alfred) and another ruled by the Scandinavians.10th century- English and Danes mix fairly peacefully, and many Scandinavian (or Old Norse) loanwords enter the language, including such common words as sister, wish, skin, and die.1000- Approximate date of the only surviving manuscript of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, composed by an anonymous poet between the 8th century and the early 11th century.Early 11th century- Danes attack England, and the English king (Ethelred the Unready) escapes to Normandy. The Battle of Maldon becomes th e subject of one of the few surviving poems in Old English. The Danish king (Canute) rules over England and encourages the growth of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. Mid 11th century- Edward the Confessor, King of England who was raised in Normandy, names William, Duke of Normandy, as his heir.1066- The Norman Invasion: King Harold is killed at the Battle of Hastings, and William of Normandy is crowned King of England. Over succeeding decades, Norman French becomes the language of the courts and of the upper classes; English remains the language of the majority. Latin is used in churches and schools. For the next century, English, for all practical purposes, is no longer a written language. 1100-1500: The Middle English Period The Middle English period saw the breakdown of the inflectional system of Old English and the expansion of vocabulary with many borrowings from French and Latin. 1150- Approximate date of the earliest surviving texts in Middle English.1171- Henry II declares himself overlord of Ireland, introducing Norman French and English to the country. About this time the University of Oxford is founded.1204- King John loses control of the Duchy of Normandy and other French lands; England is now the only home of the Norman French/English.1209- The University of Cambridge is formed by scholars from Oxford.1215- King John signs the Magna Carta (Great Charter), a critical document in the long historical process leading to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world.1258- King Henry III is forced to accept the Provisions of Oxford, which establish a Privy Council to oversee the administration of the government. These documents, though annulled a few years later, are generally regarded as Englands first written constitution.Late 13th century- Under Edward I, royal authority is consolidated in England and Wales. English becomes the dominant lan guage of all classes. Mid to late 14th century- The Hundred Years War between England and France leads to the loss of almost all of Englands French possessions. The Black Death kills roughly one-third of Englands population. Geoffrey Chaucer composes The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. English becomes the official language of the law courts and replaces Latin as the medium of instruction at most schools. John Wycliffes English translation of the Latin Bible is published. The Great Vowel Shift begins, marking the loss of the so-called pure vowel sounds (which are still found in many continental languages) and the loss of the phonetic pairings of most long and short vowel sounds.1362- The Statute of Pleading makes English the official language in England. Parliament is opened with its first speech delivered in English.1399 At his coronation, King Henry IV becomes the first English monarch to deliver a speech in English.Late 15th century- William Caxton brings to Westminster (from the Rhineland) the firs t printing press and publishes Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. Literacy rates increase significantly, and printers begin to standardize English spelling. The monk Galfridus Grammaticus (also known as Geoffrey the Grammarian) publishes Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae, the first English-to-Latin wordbook. 1500 to the Present: The  Modern English  Period Distinctions are commonly drawn between the Early Modern Period (1500-1800) and Late Modern English (1800 to the present). During the period of Modern English, British exploration, colonization, and overseas trade hastened the acquisition of  loanwords  from countless other languages and fostered the development of new varieties of English (World English), each with its own nuances of  vocabulary,  grammar, and  pronunciation. Since the middle of the 20th century, the expansion of North American business and media around the world has led to the emergence of  Global English  as a  lingua franca. Early 16th century- The first English settlements are made in North America. William Tyndales English translation of the Bible is published. Many Greek and Latin  borrowings  enter English.1542- In his  Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge, Andrew Boorde illustrates regional  dialects.1549- The first version of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England is published.1553- Thomas Wilson publishes  The Art of Rhetorique, one of the first works on  logic  and  rhetoric  in English.1577- Henry Peacham publishes  The Garden of Eloquence, a treatise on rhetoric.1586- The first  grammar  of English- William Bullokars  Pamphlet for Grammar- is published.1588- Elizabeth I begins her 45-year reign as queen of England. The British defeat the Spanish Armada, boosting national pride and enhancing the legend of Queen Elizabeth.1589- The Art of English Poesie  (attributed to George Puttenham) is published.1590-1611- William Shakespeare writes his  Sonnet s  and the majority of his plays.1600- The East India Company is chartered to promote trade with Asia, eventually leading to the establishment of the British Raj in India. 1603- Queen Elizabeth dies and James I (James VI of Scotland) accedes to the throne.1604- Robert Cawdreys  Table Alphabeticall, the first English  dictionary, is published.  1607- The first permanent English settlement in America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.1611- The Authorized Version of the English Bible (the King James Bible) is published, greatly influencing the development of the written language.1619- The first African slaves in North America arrive in Virginia.1622- Weekly News, the first English newspaper, is published in London.1623- The First Folio edition of Shakespeares plays is published.1642- Civil War breaks out in England after King Charles I attempts to arrest his parliamentary critics. The war leads to the execution of Charles I, the dissolution of parliament, and the replacement of the English monarchy with a Protectorate (1653–59) under Oliver Cromwells rule.1660- The monarchy is restored; Charles II is proclaimed king.1662- The Royal Societ y of London appoints a committee to consider ways of improving English as a language of science. 1666- The Great Fire of London destroys most of the City of London inside the old Roman City Wall.1667- John Milton publishes his epic poem  Paradise Lost.1670- The Hudsons Bay Company is chartered for promoting trade and settlement in Canada.1688- Aphra Behn, the first woman novelist in England, publishes  Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave.1697- In his  Essay Upon Projects,  Daniel Defoe  calls for the creation of an Academy of 36 gentlemen to dictate English  usage.1702- The Daily Courant, the first regular daily newspaper in English, is published in London.1707- The Act of Union unites the Parliaments of England and  Scotland, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain.1709- The first Copyright Act is enacted in England.1712- Anglo-Irish satirist and cleric  Jonathan Swift  proposes the creation of an English Academy to regulate English  usage  and ascertain the language.1719- Daniel Defoe publishes  Robinson Crusoe, considered by some to be the first modern English novel.1721- Nathaniel Bailey publishes his  Universal Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, a pioneer study in English  lexicography: the first to feature current  usage,  etymology,  syllabification, clarifying  quotations, illustrations, and indications of  pronunciation. 1715- Elisabeth Elstob publishes the first grammar of Old English.1755- Samuel Johnson  publishes his two-volume  Dictionary of the English Language.1760-1795- This period marks the rise of the English grammarians (Joseph Priestly, Robert Lowth, James Buchanan, John Ash, Thomas Sheridan, George Campbell, William Ward, and Lindley Murray), whose rule books, primarily based on  prescriptive  notions of grammar, become increasingly popular.  1762- Robert Lowth publishes his  Short Introduction to English Grammar.1776- The  Declaration of Independence  is signed, and the American War of Independence begins, leading to the creation of the United States of America, the first country outside the British Isles with English as its principal language.1776- George Campbell publishes  The Philosophy of Rhetoric.1783- Noah Webster  publishes his  American Spelling Book.1785- The Daily Universal Register  (renamed  The Times  in 1788) begins publication in London.1788- The English first settle in  Australia, near present-day Sydney. 1789- Noah Webster publishes  Dissertations on the English Language, which advocates an  American standard of usage.1791- The Observer, the oldest national Sunday newspaper in Britain, begins publication.Early 19th century- Grimms Law  (discovered by Friedrich von Schlegel and Rasmus Rask, later elaborated by Jacob Grimm) identifies relationships between certain  consonants  in Germanic languages (including English) and their originals in Indo-European. The formulation of Grimms Law marks a major advance in the development of  linguistics  as a scholarly field of study.1803- The Act of Union incorporates Ireland into Britain, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.1806- The British occupy Cape Colony in South Africa.1810- William Hazlitt  publishes  A New and Improved Grammar of the English Language.​1816- John Pickering compiles the first dictionary of  Americanisms.1828- Noah Webster publishes his  American Dictionary of the English La nguage. Richard Whateley publishes  Elements of Rhetoric. 1840- The native Maori in  New Zealand  cede sovereignty to the British.1842- The London Philological Society is founded.1844- The telegraph is invented by Samuel Morse, inaugurating the development of rapid communication, a major influence on the growth and spread of English.Mid 19th century- A  standard variety of American English  develops. English is established in  Australia,  South Africa,  India, and other British colonial outposts.1852- The first edition of  Rogets Thesaurus  is published.1866- James Russell Lowell champions the use of American  regionalisms, helping to end deference to the  Received British Standard. Alexander Bain publishes  English Composition and Rhetoric. The transatlantic telegraph cable is completed.1876- Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, thus modernizing private communication.1879- James A.H. Murray begins editing the Philological Societys  New English Dictionary on Historical Principles  (later renamed the  Ox ford English Dictionary).1884/1885- Mark Twains  novel  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  introduces a  colloquial  prose  style  that significantly influences the writing of fiction in the U.S. 1901- The Commonwealth of Australia is established as a dominion of the British Empire.1906- Henry and Francis Fowler publish the first edition of  The Kings English.1907- New Zealand is established as a dominion of the British Empire.1919- H.L. Mencken  publishes the first edition of  The American Language, a pioneer study in the history of a major national version of English.1920- The first American commercial radio station begins operating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.1921- Ireland  achieves Home Rule, and Gaelic is made an official language in addition to English.1922- The British Broadcasting Company (later renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation, or  BBC) is established.1925- The New Yorker  magazine is founded by  Harold Ross  and Jane Grant.1925- George P. Krapp publishes his two-volume  The English Language in America, the first comprehensive and scholarly treatment of the subject.1926- Henry Fowler publishes the first edition of his  Dictionary of Mo dern English Usage.1927- The first speaking motion picture,  The Jazz Singer, is released. 1928- The Oxford English Dictionary  is published.1930- British linguist C.K. Ogden introduces  Basic English.1936- The first television service is established by the BBC.1939- World War II begins.1945- World War II ends. The Allied victory contributes to the growth of English as a  lingua franca.1946- The Philippines  gains its independence from the U.S.1947- India is freed from British control and divided into Pakistan and India. The  constitution  provides that English remain the official language for 15 years. New Zealand gains its independence from the U.K. and joins the Commonwealth.1949- Hans Kurath publishes  A Word Geography of the Eastern United States, a landmark in the scientific study of American  regionalisms.1950- Kenneth Burke  publishes  A Rhetoric of Motives.1950s- The number of speakers using  English as a second language  exceeds the number of  native speakers.1957- Noam Chomsky  publishes  Syntactic Structures, a key document in the study of  generative  and  transformational grammar.1961- Websters Third New International Dictionary  is published. 1967- The Welsh Language Act gives the Welsh language equal validity with  English in Wales, and Wales is no longer considered a part of England. Henry Kucera and Nelson Francis publish  Computational Analysis of Present-Day American English, a landmark in modern  corpus linguistics.1969- Canada  officially becomes bilingual (French and English). The first major English dictionary to use corpus linguistics- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language- is published.1972- A Grammar of Contemporary English  (by Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik) is published. The first call on a personal cell phone is made. The first  email  is sent.1978- The Linguistic Atlas of England  is published.1981- The first issue of the journal  World Englishes  is published.1985- A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language  is published by Longman. The first edition of M.A.K. Hallidays  An Introduction to Functional Grammar  is publish ed.1988- The Internet (under development for more than 20 years) is opened to commercial interests. 1989- The second edition of  The Oxford English Dictionary  is published.1993- Mosaic, the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web, is released. (Netscape Navigator becomes available in 1994, Yahoo! in 1995, and Google in 1998.)1994- Text messaging  is introduced, and the first modern blogs go online.1995- David Crystal publishes  The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.1997- The first social networking site (SixDegrees.com) is launched. (Friendster is introduced in 2002, and both MySpace and Facebook begin operating in 2004.)2000- The Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED Online) is made available to subscribers.2002- Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum publish  The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Tom McArthur publishes  The Oxford Guide to World English.2006- Twitter, a social networking and microblogging service, is created by Jack Dorsey.2009- The two-volume  Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary  is pub lished by Oxford University Press.2012- The fifth volume (SI-Z) of the  Dictionary of American Regional English  (DARE  ) is published by Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Resources and Further Reading Algeo, John.  The Origins and Development of the English Language, 6th edition. Wadsworth, 2009.Baugh, Albert C., and Thomas Cable.  A History of the English Language, 5th edition. Prentice Hall, 2001.Bragg, Melvyn.  The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. Hodder Stoughton, 2003.Crystal, David.  The English Language. Penguin, 2002.Gooden, Philip.  The Story of English: How the English Language Conquered the World. Quercus, 2009.Hogg, Richard M., and David Dennison, editors.  A History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2006.Horobin, Simon.  How English Became English: A Short History of a Global Language. Oxford University Press, 2016.Lerer, Seth.  Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language. Columbia University Press, 2007.McArthur, Tom.  The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992.McWhorter, John.  Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English. Gotham, 2008.Millward, C.M., and Mary Hayes.  A Biography of the English Language, 3rd  ed. Wadsworth, 2011. Mugglestone, Linda.  The Oxford History of English. Oxford University Press, 2006.Nist, John.  A Structural History of English. St. Martins Press, 1966.

Two Journals Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Two Journals - Movie Review Example The case of Na’vi humanoids, however, is way beyond a frightening state of dominion from species of other forms, for humans in this regard would be found the emerging culprits whose greed causes perils even upon the unseen world. Even though the Na’vi possess looks and stature that are nearly dreadful, the feelings they convey are deeply heartfelt it almost moves me to tears while watching some scenes that exhibit tribe members communicating warmly with each other. Like real humans, they manage to deliver thoughts and emotions in a sensible manner just as how Jake Sully under his avatar suit is able to derive fruitful and solemn interactions with Neytiri. It is greatly fascinating to see that instead of anticipated mysteries or mystic potentials, creatures of another dimension are revealed as almost equal to men in strength, intelligence, and general capacity in coping with love, fear, and hatred. Despite all the wonders and beauty to marvel at in the Pandora’s biosphere, science-oriented humans have reached that stage of discontent in simply navigating cosmic systems. It turns out they desire moreover to explore and gain further knowledge to meet intellectual objectives even at the expense of the moon’s habitat. This is something that makes me reflect on human nature at depth especially when it comes to the extent to which greed among humans may proceed just so the amply increasing demands on human economy are satisfied. The film exemplifies a future possibility when men are no longer astonished by the exquisite sights and encounters of the wonder-filled nature whether on this planet or in a region of outer-space yet to be fathomed. How awful indeed it is to realize when human beings become consumed with covetousness whereby as long as we are conscious regarding the adjustable measure of our potentials, there seems no room for rest until

How Has Photography Been Used To Reflect Upon The Ways In Which Essay

How Has Photography Been Used To Reflect Upon The Ways In Which Looking Is Socially Structured - Essay Example Ergo, what exists for women is a sort of masochistic pleasure of observing one’s own pain. In her work, â€Å"Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema† (1975), Mulvey states that women’s place in society is to compensate for the weakness in men by submitting her own strength, thus removing the threat of emasculating and upsetting the male world, or as Mulvey calls it, the phallocentric order. She goes on to state that mainstream cinema was formed in the language of the dominant group, that being men, and that only a cinema that rejected the mainstream cinema’s oppressive format and paternal structure could truly be considered alternative. In her analysis of cinematic visual pleasure, Mulvey refers to Sigmund Freud’s definition of scopophilia, that being the taking of a person as an object, and subjecting them to a controlling gaze. The extreme version of this, Freud explains, can develop into a fixated perversion where the viewer can only attain sexual satisfaction from objectifying others by watching them. The narcissistic aspect of scopophilia oc curs at the time of mirror phase during childhood, where the viewer not only recognizes himself or herself in the mirror, but also perceives the mirrored image to be superior to the real image. In an attempt to understand the relationship spectators have to film and cinema, earlier theorists, such as the auterists, formalists, structuralists, and Marxists, attempted to measure how moviegoers respond to films. Their attempts proved to be inaccurate, however, because the theorists failed to take into account the dissimilar natures of the spectators, and thus wrongly assumed that they would respond to the same text in the same manner. Any individuality that the spectators brought to the act of viewing the film was not considered in the study’s conclusion; therefore the resulting determination can not really explain the significance or meaning that the film

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Example for Free

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Although there are parallels between Irish and Welsh sagas of elopement, the powerful self confident women depicted in these narratives do not represent the real women of Medieval Ireland and Wales. Proinsias Mac Cana has suggested that the dominant roles of Deirdre and Grainne in their respective tales (Longes mac nUislenn and Toruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne) are ‘literary variations on the exemplar of the sovereignty goddess’ (Doan, 1985: 90). Bitel (1996: 2) asserts that Celticists have been seduced by these dominant female characters viewing them as representative of real women with considerable power over men, a depiction which if true should be reflected in the law tracts or ‘custom in action’(Stacey, 2002: 1107). This paper will argue that the ecclesiastical and legal tracts of both Ireland and Wales offer many images of women, judgements about women, and regulations for women. They do not however present the stereotypical medieval woman as the sovereignty goddess depicted in the secular sagas. Because women left no written records, we are dependent on male literature (probably all of the texts written in early Ireland and Wales) for a definition of woman and her cultural role. These male authors wrote of women in: ‘saint’s lives; poems; sagas and myths; gnomic texts; histories; chronicles; genealogies; folktales; theological tracts; and extensive ecclesiastical tracts; and secular laws’ (Bitel, 1996: 12). Although these texts offer insights on women they must be viewed through the hermeneutical lens of the socio-historical context of the era in which they were written. Early medieval Ireland was a patriarchal society and a woman’s role and identity was determined by patriarchal norms and conventions. The literati of this era did not define woman as an independent individual. Women existed only in relation to men and therefore their representation in literature was not entirely objective or according to Bitel consistent. Tensions exist between various texts. The portrayal of women as ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1995:137) presented in the eighth century wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic contrasts sharply with the recognition of a woman as home-maker and wife with limited recourse to the law depicted in Cain Lanamna or the law of couples (O Croinin, 1995: 127) . The majority of the extant Irish law books were composed between the seventh and ninth centuries. At this stage the Irish literati were members of the nobility educated in monastic communities. Many were monks but this elite group also included jurists, historians, poets and story tellers. Mc Cone has suggested that these learned elite produced literature for the monastery which was heavily influenced by Biblical texts (Bitel, 1996: 14). Donnchadh O Corrain, Liam Breatnach and Aidan Breen have argued that there exists a close connection between ecclesiastical law and Irish vernacular law (Stacey, 2002: 1108). Stacey asserts that although the legal sources from Wales (compiled in the twelfth and thirteen centuries) are later than the Irish sources there is also a significant link between ‘legal, poetic and ecclesiastical learning’ (2002: 1108). The Irish penitential books written between the sixth and the ninth centuries reveal conflict between the ideals of Christian leaders and the customs of early Irish communities. These penitentials were designed as moral guides for confessors in attributing penance in the rite of confession (Gula, 1989: 25). According to Bitel, Christian clergy were intent on transferring social control of sex from the kin group to the individual Christian (1987: 67). Fox concurs with Bitel, asserting that by liberating the individual from the bonds of clan and family, the church was attempting to reduce kinship to ‘its lowest common denominator [the nuclear family: the lowest kinship group that is compatible with reproduction] while appearing to support basic kinship values’ (1993: 109-110). The Clergy in promoting Christian morality for the individual attempted to reorganize Early Irish society. According to Bitel, the kin group were influential in controlling sexual activity. This was necessary to ensure the survival of the community as an interdependent group. Archaeological evidence suggests that houses consisted of one room. This allowed for little individual privacy and sex was a natural and visible part of family life. Illicit encounters had to take place outside of the home, and even then they were monitored by the community. Any kind of sexual relationship that had to be conducted in secrecy was considered dangerous. The survival and welfare of the clan depended on social stability and this principle determined the attitude of the pre-Christian Irish toward sexuality. Sex in itself however was not considered immoral. Celibacy was not portrayed as a virtue in the secular literature. Cu Chulainn’s sexual exploits are recorded in the sagas; however his casual encounters did not threaten the community (Bitel, 1987: 70-71). Bitel asserts that ‘the tension between individual desire and community need had always to be resolved in favour of the community’ (1987: 72), and herefore marriage was a contractual arrangement determined not by romance or love but by the necessity of producing children and the survival of the kin group. Woman’s reproductive capacities themselves are integrated into the economic life of the society. The image of woman depicted in Cain Lanamna is a woman whose social emotional and economic orientation is directed towards the family and home. Early Irish Law, commonly known as Brehon Law was a series of civil laws which governed every aspect of daily life including marriage and divorce. Marriage and divorce were interlinked by virtue of a contract agreed and a contract dissolved. Under the Brehon system, women were free to marry in one of nine ways, although the primary type of marriage, lanamnas comthinchuir was the most common. Both partners enter this marriage with equal financial resources. In the second type of marriage, lanamnas for ferthinchur, the woman contributes little or no financial assets to the marriage. In the third category, lanamnas for bantinchur, the woman contributes the greater share of the marriage assets. These three categories required formal pre-nuptial agreements. With the remaining six types of marital union (including cohabitation with a woman with family consent, voluntary eloping without family consent, voluntary abduction without family consent, illicit rendezvous, marriage by rape and marriage of two insane people) marriage entailed the assumption of financial responsibility for child rearing (O Croinin, 1995: 128). Corresponding to the wide variety of marriages recognized by law, there were many grounds for divorce. A woman might divorce a man who failed to satisfy her sexual needs because he was sterile, impotent, bisexual or homosexual. In this instance she was entitled to be paid her coibche in addition to a fine in compensation. A woman could divorce her husband on the grounds of indiscretion should he discuss intimate details of their marriage outside of the home. A woman could also divorce her husband should he abandon her either for the church or for a life on the road as he would no longer be in a position to maintain her. Physical abuse was also considered legitimate grounds for divorce. Even if the original blemish disappeared, a woman was entitled to the equivalent of her bride price as compensation. The laws are quite clear about the validity of female testimony in matters concerning consummation of marriage. This testimony is verified by a physical examination of the woman by female dignitaries. In a case where a woman refuses her husband his conjugal rights either because of a problem pregnancy or her menstrual cycle, the law regarded her objections as valid. A woman could also choose to divorce on grounds of infidelity although extra marital relations were recognized by law (O Croinin, 1995: 129). O Croinin suggests that in general terms many women were recognized by the law in ‘their capacity as wives and in their own right as individuals’ (1995: 133) Law texts are clear that a woman’s rights in divorce are specific to each type of marriage and related marriage contract. Lanamnas Comthinchuir was regarded as the most common type of marriage at this time. It was a dignified state for the wife, she was known as a be cuitchernsa, literally ‘a woman of joint dominion, a woman of equal lordship’ (O Croinin. 1995: 128). If this category of marriage ended in divorce, the woman received what she had initially contributed to the marriage in addition to a share of the profit accrued from the couple’s joint activities during the marriage period. O Croinin records that the division of property was in accordance with fixed proportions: ‘one third went to the partner who provided the land; one third to the partner who provided the stock; and one third to the partner who provided the labour’ (1995: 128). This last provision recognized the woman’s work in the home and on the farm. The second type of marriage lanamnas for ferthinchur represented a different kind of divorce settlement. Since the woman provided neither land nor stock, she was entitled to half of her own handiwork and one sixth of the dairy produce in store. If she had worked diligently on the farm and in the home she took one ninth of the corn and cured meat in store. She also received a sack of corn for a specified time. Divorce in the third category of marriage, lanamnas for bantinchur, ensured that the woman retained a life interest in the farm. She could not however transfer any rights to the estate to her children. She could however marry one of the heirs to the property and preserve her children’s right to inherit. Although the Irish lawyers appealed to Scripture, particularly to Leviticus to justify parallel cousin marriages, church law declared parallel cousin marriages incestuous (O Corrain, 1985). The Welsh tractate ‘the laws of women’ contains rules governing marriage and division of property in medieval Wales. There are four redactions of Welsh law manuscripts: the Cyfnerth and the Blegywryd redactions both derive from south Wales; Iorwerth is classed as a north Wales redaction; and finally the Latin manuscripts (there are similarities between the Latin laws and the Welsh redactions). Although the sources from Wales are dated to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, women in the Welsh tractate like women in Cain Lanamna are portrayed as wives and home-makers (Roberts, 2008: 58-59). Stacey asserts that the most ‘striking’ passage of the ‘Laws of Women’ outlines the domestic and agricultural goods granted to each partner in cases where the marriage had lasted longer than seven years (2002: 1109). This passage is common to each of the Welsh redactions of the law books and can also be found in four of the five Latin compilations. The couple must divide their possessions equally, the pigs become the property of the man and the woman takes ownership of the sheep. If there are only sheep and goats, the sheep go to the man and the goats to the woman. The children are also divided between the couple ‘two parts go to the father, the eldest and the youngest, and the middle to the mother’ (Stacey, 2002: 1111). The division of household goods is itemised: all milk vessels, except for one pail and one dish becomes the property of the woman. The man is entitled to all of the drinking vessels and the riddle while the woman is entitled to the sieve. The man is entitled to the upper stone of the quern and the woman to the lower stone. The bed clothes which cover the couple becomes the property of the woman while the clothes which they lay on belong to the man. The man receives the cauldron and the blanket and the pillows from the bed together with the wood axe, coulter and all the sickles except for one which the woman obtains. The woman is granted the pan, the broad axe, the bill hook and all of the flax, linseed and wool. She also receives the plowshare. Any gold or silver is divided equally between the couple. The man is entitled to the corn above and below the ground, all of the hens and one cat. The remaining cats become the property of the woman. The woman receives the salted meat but if it is hung it becomes the property of the man. The woman is also granted as much flour as she can carry along with the cut meat and the partly used cheese. They each retain their own clothes except for their cloaks which must be divided equally. Any balls of wool in stock become the property of the sons (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Like Irish Marriage Law, the Welsh Laws of Women attempted to secure a measure of financial independence for each partner in the event of divorce . Unlike Irish marriage law however which divided property according to specific marriage contracts, some rovisions in the Welsh divorce law appear illogical. Jenkins suggests that the Welsh division of property on divorce, attempts to ensure that each partner has the necessary provisions to survive but he asserts that the division of the quern stones is ‘curious’ since they cannot be used independently (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Similarly the coulter is granted to the man while the plowshare is received by the woman. Since both blades would have been required for planting this division appears to make little logical or practical sense. Stacey also points out that the man receives all of the corn and hens but only one cat to protect them from vermin while the woman receives the remaining cats although she has no grain or hens to protect (Stacey, 2002: 1113-1116). Welsh divorce law does not seem to be based on the wealth brought to the marriage by each party or indeed on the status of the marriage. In Irish Law the apportionment of property is determined by both of these factors (Stacey, 2002: 1113). Stacey suggests that the division of property in a Welsh divorce is symbolic of the destructiveness of divorce and failed marriage. He asserts that this was a secular ‘homily’ on the improvident nature of divorce (2002: 1124). Although the marriage property is divided the woman ultimately is disadvantaged because under Welsh Law, she has no claim to land and must be satisfied with portable goods. Although women under Welsh law were afforded the opportunity to divorce their husbands due to his impotency, leprosy or bad breath (Roberts, 2008: 63), Nerys Patterson suggests that the woman was further disadvantaged in the wake of marital separation: female virginity was highly valued and her loss of virginity would affect her chances of remarriage (2002: 1121). These medieval divorce laws clearly situate the woman in the home, rearing children, cooking, spinning wool and working on the farm. It is tempting to view these laws as depictions of a progressive egalitarian society, however the political and social realities of a woman’s life suggest otherwise. A woman’s legal definition derived from that of her father, brother or her legal husband. A legal tract on honour price (dire) defined women’s legal and social position ‘her father had charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she is a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children . . the Church when she is a woman of the Church [i. e. , a nun]. She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorization of one of her superiors’ (Bitel, 1996: 8). According to Bitel, these legally and socially incapacitated women were the real Medbs of medieval Ireland. When measuring a woman’s status, the laws measured women against the legal norm of the free adult male and as such a woman’s worth remained only half that of her male guardians honour price. The Irish literati along with many medieval authors considered female bodies as ‘less valuable copies of mens’ (Bitel, 1996: 19). This principle is reflected in the only extant Irish medico-legal tracts namely Bretha Crolige and Bretha Dein Checht which accorded women less medical attention and food rations than men (Bitel, 1996: 21). Women therefore were considered physically and psychologically less than man, less than human (Bitel, 1996: 23). The ninth century Triads text, Trecheng Breth Fene unveiled some basic assumptions about the nature of woman. The Triads suggested that ‘the three drops of a wedded woman’ were drops of blood (a good wife was a virgin at marriage); sweat; and tears (a good wife should be willing to suffer hardship to support her husband and children). One of the three misfortunes of a man was proposing marriage to a bad woman. According to the Triads, women were their husband’s property and were akin to animals. ‘When a man loaned either a woman or a horse, he had to expect it to be used by the borrower’ (Bitel, 1996: 23). The wisdom text also suggested that ‘like a cow’s udder, women through her womb, was one of the three renovators of the world’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). Another wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic suggested that women ‘should be feared like beasts’ because they were ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). A woman’s physical characteristics and fertility therefore were animal like and unreliable. The eighth or ninth-century wisdom text Senbriathra Fithail considered the characteristics of ‘a good wife’ (Bitel, 1996: 27). Advising his pupil Cormac mac Airt, Fithal (a druid) asserted that a good woman had ‘common sense, prudence, modesty, excellent Irish, delicacy, mildness, honesty, wisdom, purity and intelligence’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). All of these attributes according to Fithal were necessary for a woman to become a desirable wife. A bad wife on the other hand was characterised by ‘wretchedness, stinginess, vanity, talkativeness, laziness, indolence, noisiness, hatefulness avarice, visiting, thieving, keeping trysts, lustfulness, folly and treachery’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal asserted that it was possible to detect a woman’s character based on her physical appearance. He suggested that Cormac should avoid: ‘the fat short one’; ‘the slender short one with curling hair’; the fair tall one’; ‘the dark-limbed, unmanageable one’; ‘the dun coloured yellow one’; and ‘the slender prolific one who was lewd and jealous’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal determined that the worst wife was a be cairn or a whore. A successful marriage however could be assured by a union with the ‘tall, fair, very slender ones’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal admitted to Cormac however that the ideal woman may not exist and that most women had character flaws. The author of Tecosca Cormaic was adamant that all women were ‘chronically dissatisfied, bad tempered, untrustworthy, wanton, manipulative, ambitious, greedy, arrogant whiners’ (Bitel, 1996: 29). Bitel suggests that the real problem with women is that they were not men and the writers of the gnomic tracts could only define them by their many indefinable natures: they had similar physical bodies to men but were not men; they had reproductive characteristics and temperaments similar to animals but were not animals. The only certainty appeared to be was that women must be controlled and her inferior position in society maintained (Bitel, 1996: 30). The writers of ecclesiastical canons suggested that women could only be redeemed by denying their female characteristics and their female sexuality. Bitel argues that canonists established a ‘gender hierarchy’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Unlike the typologies found in secular and wisdom texts, the cannon scribes attributed a moral value to virginity and abstinence. Nuns were accorded a high moral value as were ‘widows who took the veil’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Thomas O’ Loughlin suggests that the Collectio canonum hibernesis, a systematic collection of law, codified certain patristic theories producing an understanding of marriage ‘as a state secondary to virginity’ (1997: 188). The canonists justify their position by quoting Jerome who asserts that ‘virginity follows the lamb wherever he goes’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). Jerome expands on this theme suggesting that ‘earth is populated by marriage, so heaven is by virginity’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). The underlying concept is clear, virginity is exemplified and sexuality creates problems. According to O’Loughlin this principle was the basis of ecclesiastical thinking on marriage throughout the middle ages and Jerome’s opinion that sexual activity was ‘inferior and earthy’ in comparison to virginity which was ‘noble and superior’ has been held responsible for the cult of virginity and celibacy in the Latin church (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). Augustine also considered sexuality dangerous but (quoting Paul in 1 Corinthians 7) asserted that while celibacy was the desired state, ‘lawful marriage is to be preferred to burning with desire and fornication’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). The dangers of sexuality therefore were to be contained within the institution of marriage. Although canonists admitted that clerics could fall to sexual temptation, the general consensus was that women as the weaker sex were more likely to succumb to sexual temptation.

What Causes Teenagers to Lose Motivation in School? Essay -- Education

What Causes Teenagers to Lose Motivation in School? missing works cited Some reasons for high school student academic failure, which range from drug use to individual student insecurity, can be plainly traced to the nature of adolescence. Social acceptance and a desire to belong to a crowd are placed above academics in the minds of teens. When academic underachievement is the norm, devoted students may come under ridicule as being "nerds" or "teacher's pets". There is a difficulty, therefore, in getting students to become motivated. How do you propose to motivate a group of students who feel that they cannot jeopardize their social status for doing well in school? Other reasons for academic failure range from student feelings of incompetence in learning the materials, to boring class subjects and busy work. To adequately solve the problem of academic failure, researchers are looking for ways to build a connection between identifying these students and reinforcing motivation in them. Causes and Effects of Adolescent Academic Failure: Lack of Motivation This category encompasses discussion of drug use, peer pressure, inadequate study and time management skills as well as adolescence itself, as they pertain to the causes and effects of each of these issues. "Facts About Alcohol and Drugs: Grades 9-12" is a web page containing statistics compiled by a national school health survey. The poll taken by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the fall of 1987 revealed that eighty-nine percent of the tenth graders surveyed reported having tried alcohol. Thirty-five percent of tenth graders reported having tried marijuana. The survey was conducted among eleven thousand eighth and tenth graders in a nationwide survey... ...uate to get by. The way sociological and psychological aspects of student motivation relates to the overall topic of student motivation lies in the fact that the root of the problem resides in the minds of students and teachers, rather than in the outward manifestation of low grades, test scores, etc. In other words, even if a teacher makes it possible for students to raise their grade from an "F" to an "A", it does not necessarily mean that students learned anything at all. It is possible that the teacher made special provisions for a certain student to get through the class easier, such as offering extra credit. Only by tapping their minds for the want to learn will students actually thirst for knowledge, putting our educational standards on par with Japan and other world powers that pride themselves on preparing their kids for entrance into the real world.

Smart Metrobus Stops

Reduce the traffic The metrobus system, which IETT has effectuated in order to reduce the traffic density at the main arteries of traffic in Istanbul and to provide quick and comfortable transportation, primarily started to serve at Topkapi-Avcilar route. * To encourage more use of public transport The metrobus system, which reduced the Access time of Topkapi-Avcilar to 22 minutes, it  was 67 minutes previously, will be extended to Beylikduzu at the European side of Istanbul and to Kozyatagi the Anatolian side of Istanbul.One bus can carry   600. 000/day. The number of people that  typically travel in a car –  making bus travel greener and reducing congestion on our roads. Metrobus  improves reliability and more people will be encouraged to leave the car at home and use the bus more often. The metrobus system, which displays further development potential than other express lines; whose investment and operation costs are absolutely lower than other railways; whose est ablishment is completed in a shorter time relatively, has primarily reduced the traveling period, providing time saving.Since the vehicles move on their specific road, the accident rate and risk reduces. High-tech devices within the system provide a safer and more comfortable travel. By means of its environment-friendly engines, the emission rates reduce drastically and the hybrid engine provides approximately 40% fuel savings Its drawing near alongside the stop facilitates the disabled travelers to get on the metrobus. Operational Capabilities * Intelligent Metrobus Signs provide; * Real time travel information at high-use bus stops Timetables, route maps and local area maps * Need minimum maintenance and have a long service life * No need excavation, easy fitting * Promoting more people to use public transit * Audiable signange fort he visually impaired * Save %75 energy more than traditional stops * Solar-powered system, friendly to environment * Can be used as a lighting and 220 Volt AC power supply in case of emergency or natural disaster * Can call emergency with the emergency/panic button Intelligent metrobus sign system should be designed to withstand malicious use (A push button also triggers an audible message of the same information to help passengers with a visual impairment) . User Classes * Public: people who are using metrobuses searching which line they will use, arrival time of the metrobus or looking at the city map. * Maintenance personnel: people who service, adjust, maintain and repair equipment STAGE 2: OPERATIONAL CONCEPT FORMULATION * Existing metrobus stops  are being  upgraded and some new metrobus stops  built along for future metobus routes.This ensures that passengers have reduced waiting times and easier  access to buses. * LCD displays on metrobus stops show arrival, departure and estimated time of arrival calculation information based on the vehicle tracking data. This tracking information is provided using satellite sig nals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) . The data is transferred to the control centre by GPRS communication. * Positions of all metrobuses are tracked so that predictions of arrival times on  information displays at metrobus stops are continually updated. The metrobus stop acts as an active environmental sensing node, powering itself through sunlight and collecting real-time information about the surrounding environment STAGE 3: OPERATIONAL CONCEPT FORMULATION * Main task The system would provide real-time information on LCD display screens at these stops. The information indicate the fixed route of the metrobuses on graphic maps, the number of stops and the estimated time before arrival. * Human Task The user will be able to check his current location, closest metrobus stop's location and name and all metrobus lines and their routes.And there will be a panic buton to be used just in case of an emergency ( will be located to a certain level of height in order to be kept aw ay children’ reach). Different views of system * Physical view * The size of the Metrobus Stop is modular and adjustable depending on the number of people using the bus stop at the specific site. * Schedules and timetables for each route are visible on LCD screens and there will be 2 LCD screens located the midpoint of the distance between 3 doors. The navigation positioning device (GPS) retrieving current vehicle geographic longitude and latitude coordinates from the received satellite signal * The position data transfers to Metrobus Stop Control Center * Compute a distance from the current position to a next target position value and the current geographic longitude and latitude coordinates * Analyzes the current vehicle speed based on a basic vehicle speed, and sends the analyzed speed data and the computed distance data to ETA (estimated time of arrival) unit. Compute parameters for adjusting a remaining distance and the remaining distance based on the received data * And determine the remaining time to the next stop according to the remaining distance to the next target position value and vehicle speed. * The data is transferred to the Metrobus Stop by GPRS communication Using the Metrobus stop, public transit operators can provide passengers reliable estimated time of arrival predictions, achieving greater passenger satisfaction and significantly improving their public image.A Global Positioning System unit would be installed on every metrobus to send real time information to the metrobus stop display via satellite. STAGE 4:CONCEPT DEMONSTRATION AND VALIDATION * The concept of design which is chosen during concept exploration is now modeled, simulated and model tests are performed. * Making sure that the proposed design encourages more people to use public transport is the major phase of this stage. Questions should be answered are; * Does the desing concept meet requirements for operating, maintaining and supporting the system? * Does it meet saf ety and personal training requirements?Personnel Requirements The stuff who are responsible with servicing ans maintaining are required to have necessarry technical knowledge and go through training programmes that may be necessary to bring their skills up to required levels STAGE 5: FULL-SCALE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT Products are not only tested by consumers, but also will be tested during the process of design and manufacture. Usabbility Testing and Reference of Testing Results * Intelligent metrobus stop provides timely passenger information based on fast and effective communications. In average, the connection is established in less than 0. seconds, instantly providing accurate information on metrobus status. * When the metrobus passes through a tunnel, the global positioning device  Ã‚  is not able to transmit and receive signal to and from the satellite  . and therefore, could not retrieve the current vehicle geographic longitude and latitude coordinates and the current ve hicle speed to result in incorrect announcement of arrival at a next stop by the metrobus stop announcing system * Pressure and strength test are applied on the intelligent metrobus stops. * The metrobus stop shelter material is made from 99. 9% uv protection policarbonate. serlite Polycarbonate Selter prevents the transmission  of more than 99. 9% of harmful UV radiation, measured to   standard ISO 9050:2003. Its co-extruded UV barrier protects the   sheet from UV degradation and discolouration. It remains stable  under extreme climatic conditions (-20 ° to +120 °C). Shelters also stop the rain. * Laserlite Polycarbonate  Roofing is self extinguishing, stops the spread of flame   and also has excellent fire resistant properties. Therefore, this   product complies with many fire related tests, including Heat and   Smoke Release   Rates   (AS/NZS   3837:1998) STAGE 6: PRODUCTION AND DEPLOYMENTUsers don’t need any training period. Training is only for technical service and operator workers. A timetable is available for convenience, and there is a slot for advertisement in order to create a surplus in cash flow, allowing more metrobus stops to be built. The technology would enable people to leave their cars and encourage more people to use public transport. Changes that should be made for later versions will allowed you to check your e-mail, share community information on a digital message board or monitor the local air quality. STAGE 7 : OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE The system require minimum maintenence and have a long service life.

Giving A Voice Langston Hughes, An American Poet And...

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