The History of English Language

The History of English Language

1. Old English 450-1150

   • Anglo-Saxon - language from Germanic and Denmark invaders who settled in Britain
   • Not much grammar used
   • Before language used was latin because of relgion
   • Latin was still considered the formal language and legal institutions still used it
   • More verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns
   • Gender specific grammar in nouns and adjectives

2. Changes in language after 1066

   • Normans attempted to conquer British
     • Vikings got defeated - normans settled with OLD NORSE language
       • Simplified grammar and new words were introduced
       • West Saxon dominated the writing form of language

3. Middle English 1150-1500

   • Plural 's' standarised Norman, French and German words
   • Grammar of language change - relied less on inflectional endings and more on word order
   • Grammatical gender was removed
   • Range of nouns was reduced
   • Vocabulary changed due to more words from other countries

4. Early Modern English 1500-1700

   • Henry 8th
     • Religious and Political views started to grow
   • Scientific technology started to grow
   • Accents Welsh and Scottish Appeared
   • Social classes had different dialects because of literate levels between high and low formalities

5. Great Vowel Shift 1300-1750

   • Pronounciation of language
     • Value of long vowel sounds
       • IPA
   • Different Accents

6. Caxton's Printing Press 1476

   • First printing press in England
   • Printed over 100 books in his lifetime
     • Many were translated into other languages
   • First standardisation of English
   • Invention of the alphabet
     • Books were available more easily
   • More people were literate

7. Geoffrey Chaucer 1389

   • Canterbury Tales - 24 uncompleted stories
   • One of the first writers to write in English

8. Shakespeare 1585

   • Performing and using new words - writing the lexis down in the plays
   • Many words and phrases are still used now which he invented
     • Colourful and expressive words and phrases
   • Deep Emotion and analysing ability in few words

9. King James' Bible 1611

   • Authorised version of the English version of the Christian Bible for Church of England
   • Replaced the Great Bible translated by WILLIAM TYNDALE

10. Johnson's Dictionary 1755

    • first published dictionary
    • 40,000 words
      • Defined in detail, illustrated with quotations

11. Prescriptive

    • Grammar rules trying to keep word structure
    • Politically correct words

12. First grammar books

    • For schools and academies - changes to the English language with Latin American

13. Modern English 1700-1900

    • The Language change after the great vowel shift

14. Industrial Revolution

    • Technical machines - wider lexis
      • Fashion, technology, food, leisure, medicine, chemistry and psychology

15. American English 1600's

    • Colonialisation of N.America created distinct American variety of English
      • 'Americanisms' - Old British expressions
    • Still big influence now - entertainment and trade
    • Spanish and french had an impact through surrounding settlements

16. Oxford English Dictionary 1857

    • Re-examined Anglo-saxon dictionary
    • Took 50 years with 10 different volumes
      • 1992 made the dictionary electronic constantly updating

17. National Curriculum 1988

    • Standardised education - same language used throughout
      • Then language passed through generations

18. Global English

    • Words and phrases known worldwide
      • 'Okay'
      • 375 million speak english as first lang, and same for 2nd language

19. 21st Century Technological Changes

    • More expensive lifestyles
    • Technological advancements
      • Removing more manual labour
      • Lexis used for a specific item and words surrounding it known world wide
        • Brand names E.g. Hoover