Premium Essay

History of the English Language

In:

Submitted By amnido
Words 442
Pages 2
History of the English Language
English Language is one of the oldest Languages in the world. To become what it is today it has been through a series of changes in the course of history. The three main periods have been characterized by different influences which have made English a rich and complex language.
During the 5th Century AD three Germanic tribes came to the British Isles from various parts of northwest Germany as well as Denmark. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different Germanic dialects. This group of dialects forms what linguists refer to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. The arrival of St. Augustine in 597 and the introduction of Christianity into Saxon England brought more Latin words into the English language. Around 878 AD Danes and Norsemen, also called Vikings, invaded the country and English got many Norse words into the language. The most famous is a heroic epic poem called "Beowulf". It is the oldest known English poem and it is notable for its length - 3,183 lines. Experts say "Beowulf" was written in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person who wrote it is unknown. After William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD he brought his nobles, who spoke French, to be the new government. By about 1200, England and France had split. English changed a lot, because it was mostly being spoken instead of written for about 300 years. The use of Old English came back, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. The most famous example of Middle English is Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". Modern English developed after William Caxton established his printing press at Westminster Abbey in 1476. Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany around 1450, but Caxton set up England's first press. By the time of Shakespeare's

Similar Documents

Free Essay

History of English Language

...LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN OLD ENGLISH AND MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD……………………………………………………………..5 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTHARK……………………………………5 1.1.1 THE RUNIC ALPHABET AS AN OLD GERMANIC WRITING TRADITION……………………………………………………………………6 1.1.2 OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE PERIOD OF ANGLO-SAXON ETHNIC EXTENSION…………………………………………………………7 1.2 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH………………..11 1.2.1 LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST……………………………………………….……….11 1.2.2 DIALECTAL DIVERSITY IN THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD.…...13 1.3 THE MIDDLE ENGLISH CORPUS……………………………………….15 1.3.1 GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND HIS LENDING SUPPORT OF THE LONDON STANDARD’S DIFFUSION……………………………………….17 1.3.2 THE ROLE OF THE PRINTING IN THE FORMATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE………………………………………………….…….19 1.3.3 PRINCIPAL MIDDLE ENGLISH WRITTEN RECORDS AS A REFLECTION OF ONGOING CHANGES IN STANDARDIZATION………25 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….…………....28 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………….30 APPENDIX 1……………………………………………………………………33 INTODUCTION linguistic history english language The English language has had a remarkable history. When we first catch it in historical records, it is a language of none-too-civilized tribes on the continent of Europe along the North Sea. From those murky and undistinguished beginnings, English has become the most widespread language in the world, used by more peoples for more purposes than any language on Earth. The early part of the Modern English saw the establishment...

Words: 9916 - Pages: 40

Premium Essay

History of English Language

...English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and/or settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually became predominant. The English language underwent extensive change in the Middle Ages. Written Old English of AD 1000 is similar in vocabulary and grammar to other old Germanic languages such as Old High German and Old Norse, and completely unintelligible to modern speakers, while the modern language is already largely recognisable in written Middle English of AD 1400. The transformation was caused by two further waves of invasion: the first by speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic language family, who conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries; the second by the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. A large proportion of the modern English vocabulary comes directly from Anglo-Norman. Close contact with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English. However, these changes had not reached South West England by the 9th century AD, where Old English was developed into a full-fledged literary...

Words: 340 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

History of English Language

...ИСТОРИЯ АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА I. Внешняя история 1. Периодизация истории АЯ. Основные события в истории английского народа и его культуры, на которых основана эта периодизация. 2. История Британских островов до переселения англосаксонских племен. 3. Англосаксонские племена на континенте и их переселение в Британию. 4. Образование диалектов древнеанглийского (да.) языка и их соотношение с племенными диалектами. Роль Уэссекского диалекта. 5. Памятники письменности да. периода. 6. Влияние скандинавского завоевания на развитие АЯ. Скандинавские заимствования, их специфические черты и распределение по диалектам. 7. Нормандское завоевание и его значение для истории АЯ. Борьба между французским и английским языками. 8. Памятники письменности среднеанглийского (са.) периода. Изменения в графике и орфографии, внесенные нормандскими писцами. 9. Территориальные диалекты среднеанглийского периода. Роль лондонского диалекта. Англо-нормандский диалект и его значение для истории АЯ. 10. Нормандские заимствования, их специфические черты и распределение по диалектам. 11. Этимологический состав нормандских заимствований. Этимологические дублеты. 12. Взаимодействие англ.и франц.лексики. Возникновение синонимов и их дальнейшая судьба. 13. Образование англ.нации и англ.националього языка. Степень участия в этом процессе различных диалектов. Диалекты современного АЯ. 14. Деятельность грамматистов и лексикографов в р-на периоде. Роль У Кекстона...

Words: 20186 - Pages: 81

Free Essay

English

...HISTORY OF ENGLISH General Bambas, Rudolph C. The English Language: Its Origin and History. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1980.* Barber, Charles. The Story of Language. _____. The English Language: A Historical Introduction. (Cambridge Approaches to Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Rpt. Cambridge UP-Canto, c. 2000.* (Rev. version of The Story of Language). Baugh, A. C. A History of the English Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1951. 1952. 1954. 1956. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1959. 1960. 1962. 1963. 1965. 1968. 1971. 1974. 1976. Baugh, A. C., and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 3rd. ed: London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.* _____. A History of the English Language. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 1993. 1993. 1994. 996. 1997. 2000. 2001. 2002. _____. A History of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Englewood Cliffs: Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2002; London: Routledge, 2002.* _____. A History of the English Language. London: Taylor and Francis-Routledge, 2010. Bex, Tony. "2. A (Very Brief) History of English." In Bex, Variety in Written English: Texts in Society /Societies in Text. (Interface). London: Routledge, 1996. 30-50.* Blake, Norman F. A History of the English Language. London: Macmillan, 1996. Rpt. Palgrave.* Bloomfield, M. W., and L. Newmark. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English. New York: Knopf, 1963. _____. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English.. Connecticut: Greenwood...

Words: 2220 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Copy

... Spain) History of English General Bambas, Rudolph C. The English Language: Its Origin and History. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1980.* Barber, Charles. The Story of Language. _____. The English Language: A Historical Introduction. (Cambridge Approaches to Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Rpt. Cambridge UP-Canto, c. 2000.* (Rev. version of The Story of Language). Baugh, A. C. A History of the English Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1951. 1952. 1954. 1956. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1959. 1960. 1962. 1963. 1965. 1968. 1971. 1974. 1976. Baugh, A. C., and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 3rd. ed: London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.* _____. A History of the English Language. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 1993. 1993. 1994. 996. 1997. 2000. 2001. 2002. _____. A History of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Englewood Cliffs: Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2002; London: Routledge, 2002.* _____. A History of the English Language. London: Taylor and Francis-Routledge, 2010. Bex, Tony. "2. A (Very Brief) History of English." In Bex, Variety in Written English: Texts in Society /Societies in Text. (Interface). London: Routledge, 1996. 30-50.* Blake, Norman F. A History of the English Language. London: Macmillan, 1996. Rpt. Palgrave.* Bloomfield, M. W., and L. Newmark. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English. New York: Knopf, 1963. _____. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English.. Connecticut:...

Words: 2247 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Fadfafds

...|History of Patois (wi dialect) princess black | |[pic] | |(It long but I think it could give us a brief history of de patois) | | | |Creole languages are found all over the world on every continent. When two or more languages come into contact to form a new | |language a Creole language is born. Some type of human "upheaval" that forces people to find a way to communicate, without using | |their own languages, stimulates the creation of a Creole language. In the case of Creole languages in the Caribbean, the | |"upheaval" is the past history of slavery. Most Creole languages are based on one language. In Jamaica the African slaves were | |thrown into a situation where the only common means of communication was English, or at least broken English, therefor Jamaican | |Creole has a majority of its roots in English (Sebba 1, 1996). Essential words which people could not find an English name for, | |such as people, things (like plants and animals) and activities (especially religious ones) were taken from a variety of West | |African languages. ...

Words: 1458 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Extinction Of Navajo And Gaelic Language

...Throughout centuries, many languages have been disappearing due to political and social impacts. Many schools do not have the funding to be able to teach a certain language and many people choose not to speak their native or cultural language as well. There are many different languages that have gone extinct due to these issues and impacts. Navajo and Gaelic are considered endangered languages due to these political and social issues. Some of the political issues are the lack of funding from the government to the schools and the lack of experience from teachers who are not able to speak and teach the language. Some of the social issues are that as generations evolve, many choose not to speak their native language, due to the evolution of the...

Words: 1952 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

English Essay

..."Advantages & Disadvantages of Mastering the English Language and Politics" Mastering the English laguage and politics can cause a possitive and negative efffect on a person by pointing out the flaws of society and government issues. Mastering the english language enlightens one on how to survive in this society and what this government is based on. Language can cause conflict to ones emotions an thoughts about this society and government,and its history. Fredrick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Jonathan Kozol help me show how when a person lives in this society without mastering its language they are unable to properly provide for themself or others, mastering the English language educates one in many differet political aspects, an how mastering the English language can open ones eyes to the flaws in this government and society and make them have negative feelings towards it. A person is unable to properly provide for themselves or their families if they have not mastered the english language. The histroical Fredick douglass shows this in his passage " Learning to Read and Write". He states, " the though of being a slave forever began to bear heavily upon my heart. Just about this time, i got hold of a book entittled "columbian Orator." every opportunity i got i used to read this book" (147) . Douglass felt like he would never be able to be free if he didnt continue to read and educate himself. Jonothan Kozol's passage "The Human Cost of an Illiterate society" also express this issue...

Words: 1170 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

History of English

...Lecture ( 4 ) The Formation of the National Literary English language 1. Some effects of the Renaissance. The introduction of printing and the fixation of the written standard. 2. Growth of Literature in the Early English Language. 3. The formation of the spoken standard. 4. New sources of information about Language History in the 15th and 16th Centuries. The formation of the national English language, or Standard English, is considered to date from the period between the 15th and the 17th centuries. After that time the language continued to change, so one can speak of the evolution of Standard English instead of tracing the similar or different trends in the history of its dialects. We must mention at least two of the external factors that led to this development: the unification of the country and the progress of culture. Other historical events, such as the increased foreign contacts, produced a more specific kind of influence on the language: they affected the wordstock. The changes in the economic and social conditions were accompanied by the intermixture of people coming from different regions, the growth of towns with a mixed population, and the strengthening of social ties between the various regions. All these processes played an important role in the unification of the English language. All over the world the victory of capitalism over feudalism was linked up with the consolidation of people into nations and the unification...

Words: 2058 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Academy Education

...the regular school day. A minimum of 240 credits is required for graduation. 5 credits = 1 semester; 10 credits = 1 year. Graduation requirements include: 40 credits (4 years) English; 30 credits (3 years) Mathematics; 30 credits (3 years) Science; 30 credits (3 years) Social Science; 20 credits (2 years) of Language other than English; 10 credits (1 year) Visual and Performing Arts; 40 credits (4 years) Religion;20 credits (2 years) Physical Education/ Health and/or Sports Affiliation; 5 credits (1 semester) Speech Communication; 15 credits (1.5 years) of elective credit (may include core courses).Advanced Placement courses are offered in American Government; Art History; Biology; Calculus AB; Calculus BC; Chemistry; Economics; English Language; English Literature; Environmental Science; European History; Physics; Spanish; Statistics; Studio Art; United States History; World History. AP courses have prerequisites that students must meet in order to be enrolled. There is no limit of how many AP courses a student may enroll. In 2010-2011 462 students enrolled in AP courses; 462 students sat for 884 exams. Of the 884 exams taken, 583 received scores of 3,4 or 5. Honors courses are offered in most subject areas, specifically: Algebra 2/Trigonometry; Anatomy and Physiology; Asian Studies; English; French; Latin; Pre-Calculus. GRADING AND RANKING The Academy assigns letter grades using a 4.0 system. Letter grades are assigned as follows: A = 90-100%; B = 80-89%; C...

Words: 564 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Faultline Between English and French

... Faultline between English and French For many years, hostility has existed between the two largest ethnic denominations in Canada, the French and the English. To understand the cause of this continuing bitter saga, one must take a journey back in time. Throughout the Canadian history, the issue of separation of the nation between two big dominate groups have never been suppressed due the deprive of sovereignty. As the British successfully defeat the French and took control of the New France, there was still a continual threat of separation from the French, which naturally developed the fault line between English and French. There were many occasions where French and English Canadians clashed. Though the British adopted different acts and laws to grant the fairness between two cultures include founding factors such as religion, language and values, the crack between the two groups were still there. In recent crisis, the conflict of “sovereign’s independence” even sharpen after the newly elected Quebec Premier, Pauline Marios taking the office. On March 7,2013 the National Post published an article stating the Quebec Premier Pauline Maoris and Education Minister Marie Malabo has ordered an outside research body, the Cole national d’administration publique, to “define the problems” raised by intensive English instruction and examine its impact on students’ success in other subjects (“Quebec puts brakes on intensive English language program” 2013). This article...

Words: 1612 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Cachau Bant: Mind Your Language

...”Cachau Bant: Mind your own language” is an article written by Tom Law, that appeared on the website Sabotage times, an online magazine that’s meant to create public debate. The article discusses how a country with so much culture and history like Wales can be stripped of their native language, without any furthermore questions. The author aims to prove that the language of a country is what helps to develop and maintain the countries culture, without the language the culture will not remain the same. In addition to that Law manages to discus the reasons behind the eradication of the Welsh language. This essay aims to analyse the reasons behind the use of history in the article through an understanding of the way in which Law draws in his audience through the tone and style used in the article. The topic that Tom Law covers in this article is of most interest to Welsh people, who still haven’t given in to the storm of the English implementation in Wales. He explains how English has become such a dominant language, to be exact the third most common language in the world, and how English speakers do not have to worry about losing their language “It’s hard to give a toss about language when you’re an English speaker. Because losing your language is not something you’ll ever have to worry about; thanks to the British Empire.” Compared to welsh that has slowly been drifting away for 150 years. When considering the fact that the reason behind the eradication of Welsh from the...

Words: 1006 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Five Factors or Historical Events Which Influenced the English Language

...Five Factors or Historical Events which Influenced the English Language English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages as well as most of the European languages spoken today. Latin and the modern Romance languages, Greek, the Germanic languages, Indo-Iranian languages, Slavic, Baltic, and Celtic languages are a part of the Indo-European family. English is in the Germanic group of languages; West Germanic is the ancestor of modern Dutch, German, Flemish, Frisian and English. The Gaelic-speaking Celts were one of the earliest people to migrate westward and they were natives of the British Isles long before the English (McCrum 48). “The Celtic Britons had the misfortune to inhabit an island that was highly desirable for both its agriculture and for its minerals.”(p.52) The Angles, Saxons and the Jutes were the first invaders of the British Isles and they caused the Britons to flee to the west. The Angles, Saxons and the jutes mixed their different Germanic dialects and formed what linguists now refer to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. “Englisc’ was Old English for English, and it comes from the name of the Angles. “The basic building blocks of an English sentence- the, is, you and- are Anglo-Saxon. It is impossible to write a modern sentence without using a feast of Anglo-Saxon words.”(p.58) The Anglo-Saxons were the first speakers of English, but the English they spoke is very much different from what we speak today and it is unintelligible to modern ears. This is an...

Words: 2061 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Cool

...Broward Virtual School / Florida Virtual School -High School 2010-2011 Course Offerings 2010-2011 Online High School Courses Broward Virtual School Broward County students have the opportunity to take courses for middle and high school credit taught online by Broward County teachers. Florida Legislators have made virtual education a component of parent/student choice. Broward Virtual School (BVS) has franchised the award-winning program for online learning from the Florida Virtual School, sponsored by the State of Florida. All courses are based on the Sunshine State Standards and the curriculum is directly linked to the benchmarks established by the Florida Department of School. Students may learn wherever they are, whenever they choose, maintaining a specified course pace. Students will use the Internet to participate in a learning experience quite different from the traditional school classroom. BVS serves full-time students as well as students who take courses at traditional high and middle schools. Broward County Schools will offer courses not otherwise available to students at their schools, such as select Advanced Placement classes. Any student eligible to enroll in a Broward County middle or high school may select the online environment. Successful online students are self-disciplined, motivated to learn, possess time management skills, and 21st century technology skills. Course Offerings Students may register for any BVS course offering (contingent...

Words: 1074 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Welsh Decline

...Engelsk Årsprøve 2015 In the article “Cachau Bant: Mind Your Language” by Tom Law, is written about the oppression of the Welsh people that has been going on since the 1840’s. Tom Law talks about the way the English have oppressed the Welsh people, and robbed them of their language and their nationality. Tom Law is a Welsh writer and journalist, and has been raised in the reformed Wales, that is more English that Welsh nowadays. This article is written on the website Sabotage Times, which is known for its intent to create public debate. The fact that Tom Law is writing this article on a website like this shows us the intent with the article, to create a public debate about the oppression of Wales. Tom Law starts out the article by stating facts of the English language being superior to other languages in the world, and how the Language has helped civilize countries throughout the world. Tom Law then explains an unlikely scenario where the German language has become the main language in the European Union, and how English has become unnecessary. This is written in a way that will make the reader feel like the story could be true, and that way make the reader more alert for the following statements. In this article Tom Law uses repetition to get the reader to understand the context better, an example of this is “some bloke in Aberystwyth demanding a bi-lingual sign on his local fish and chip shop” and “some bloke in Altrincham moaning about the German signs on his local...

Words: 928 - Pages: 4