Kim, Myung-Sook. 2002.Benefits of Historical Studies on English. The History of English, 13. benefits of the Historical Study of the English Language: Why study the history of the English language? Although answers vary, most Scholars in the field of historical English linguistics agree that studying the history of English provides us not only with an understanding of the origins of the language and what it was like during the Old, Middle, and Early Modem English periods, but also a fundamcntal tool for understanding how English has arrived at its present form. A survey conducted on eighty college students reveals that the his historical study of English also provides answers to practical, everyday questions concerning present-day English: changes in the English word stock, the often confusing disparity between English spelling and pronunciation, the many varieties of English currently used in different regions of the world, and even its path to becoming accepted as the lingua franca of the world today. This paper illustrates the numerous ways in which the historical study of English leads us to a more comprehensive understanding of the English language as we know it today. Key words: history of English, benefits of historical study of English survey study, present and future of English, college curriculum for English majors
(0)
(0)