History of the English language

Early beginnings
1. before 100 BC - Britain populated by a mix of tribes - Celts, Picts, Irish and Cornish
2. all spoke a variety of Celtic languages
Origins of English
1. 5th century AD, settlers from west Germany crossed to Britain
2. tribes were called Saxons, Jutes and Angles - set up East Anglia, West Saxon & East Saxon
3. spoke a dialect of the Germanic language and this slowly evolved into the English we speak nowadays
Old English - 400-1100
1. language spoken by the Germanic settlers developed differently to the forms found in what is now known as Germany
2. early form of English known as Old English
3. Influences
  1. Viking invaders started arriving in the north east England in 8th century
  2. parts of Scandinavian language including words describing family and animals spread through northern England
  3. these words were integrated into Old English
Middle English - 1100-1450
1. 1066 - French became the dominant language while the rest of the country spoke versions of English
2. Gradually English became more widely used by the educated upper classes and by 1425 English was universally again in speech and writing
3. had changed completely since the Old English period and became known as Middle English
4. Features of Middle English
  1. grammar - became much simpler, reflecting the way the 2 languages had to co-exist
  2. French lexis - especially legal, religious and administrative terms such as justice, jury, govern and soveregin
  3. pronunciation - vowels becoming shorter, no standardised system of spelling
  4. Latin words - found in French, replaced Old English terms
Early Modern English - 1470-1700
1. 1476 - printing press
2. texts could now be mass-produced meant the move towards standardisation - spelling and writing
3. Caxton chose the East Midlands dialect to print works in - soon became most prestigious form of English
4. Features if Early Modern English
  1. word exploration - brought words from African, Asian and New World languages
  2. Shakespeare - coined around 1700 new words, such as courtship, excitement and outbreak
  3. European Renaissance - huge number of Latin, French and Greek words in the English language
Late Modern English - 1700-modern day
1. English became more standardised
2. 1755 Samuel Johnson finished the first 'Dictionary of English'
3. 1762 Robert Lowth published the first English grammar book
Standardisation and prescriptivism
1. many writers made attempts to define the lexicon and grammar of English
2. led to the view that non-standard English varieties were inferior - prescriptivism
3. Latin upheld as the ideal language and used for model of English grammar
Modern developments
1. electronic media (moblie phones) have changed the way we communicate
2. more colloquial and casual style of language
3. American English influences British English

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History of the English language

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	Created by 07huntk almost 11 years ago