Grammar: 🌐 Grammar in Specialized Contexts - Application (C2) - Lesson 5: Awareness of Historical Grammar & Language Change (Optional overview)

C2 - Lesson 5: Historical Grammar & Language Change Overview What you will learn: This lesson provides a high-level overview of language evolution, explaining why English grammar and spelling are the way they are and how the language continues to change today. At the peak of language mastery, it's fascinating to understand that the English we speak today is just a snapshot in time. Languages are living things that undergo constant evolution . This optional overview of historical grammar explores why English has its strange rules and how it continues to change today. 1. The Great Vowel Shift: Why Spelling is "Weird" One of the biggest reasons for English's confusing spelling is a massive change in pronunciation called the Great Vowel Shift (c. 1400-1700). During this period, the way long vowels were spoken changed dramatically. However, spelling was already becoming standardized and did not change with the sounds. For example, the word 'mouse' used to be pro…