The comparison and contrast of noun categories in Old and Middle English written standards

Abstract

Nobody can argue that language does not undergo changes. Language is not static but on the contrary it is alive and it is on a path of constant shifts and changes. English is no exception. There have been substantial changes in the pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, so too have been substantial changes in every other aspect of the structure of the English language. Fundamental changes were brought by the Middle English period in the English language. Many Old English grammatical features were simplified or disappeared. The process of gradual development from the highly synthetic language of the Old English period to the analytic language of the Late Middle English and Modern English period can be observed through the reduction of inflections. However, my paper is concentrated only on some of the inflectional changes (such as: gender in nouns was lost, the number of cases was diminished, the morphological division into stems or types of declension disappeared) that the nominal system underwent from the Old English period to the Middle English period. Furthermore, it describes the process of reduction of inflections in nouns in Middle English period and observes its advancement through the course of the period.