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East Midland

East Midland

9.9
A form of Middle English from the East Midlands that later forms the basis of Modern English
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : Midlands del Este
  • The rise of the East Midland as the literary standard marked a major turning point in English history.

Examples

  • Linguists study the East Midland dialect for its influence on the development of Modern English.

  • Chaucer's works are often cited as prominent examples of East Midland Middle English.

  • The East Midland dialect has unique features.

  • Did you know that the East Midland dialect influenced Shakespeare's writing?

  • Chaucer's works are often cited as prominent examples of East Midland Middle English.

  • Linguists study the East Midland dialect for its influence on the development of Modern English.

  • The rise of the East Midland as the literary standard marked a major turning point in English history.

Surface Forms

East Midland singular
East Midlands plural

Morphology

East + midland

The compound is directly compositional: 'East' (direction/region) + 'midland' (inland region) straightforwardly denotes the eastern part of the Midlands, so a learner who knows both words can infer it names a geographic area or its dialect. This kind of locative compound follows common cross-linguistic patterns and is therefore immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner given context.

Etymology

East Midland comes from the name for the eastern part of the English Midlands, where people spoke a clear, common form of Middle English. Because many writers such as Chaucer used this speech and it was the form used in books and towns, it became the main written form and helped make 'Modern English'.