History of the English History of the English LanguageLanguage

History of the English History of the English LanguageLanguage

A language develops A language develops over centuries of time; as over centuries of time; as it develops, it changes. it develops, it changes. We have no idea when We have no idea when English language started.English language started.

The Stonehenge People

Around 1900 B.C., Stonehenge was built. The Stonehenge people had a language; however, they left no written records. These people left a remarkable monument to their culture in the form of huge stone circles with cap stones. These guide stones align with the sun during solstices.

Dictionary skill: Solstice

Huge stones were moved from miles away, raised to a vertical position, and capped with huge stones. The method used to transport and raise the stones is uncertain. Stonehenge stands today as an awesome accomplishment; although, many stones have been removed and used in other structures.

StonehengeStonehengeCap stone

Celtic PeopleCeltic PeopleThe Celts immigrated to England

in the 5th century B.C. and drove out the Stonehenge people. The Celtic tribes wandered widely from Spain to Russia and Britain. Therefore, the Celtic language was spoken over a vast area of the European continent.

Pronunciation guide: Celt (hard c, K)

A Druid was A Druid was the priestly the priestly class in ancient class in ancient in in Celtic polytheism societies. societies.

Dictionary skills: polytheism

Celtic TribesCeltic Tribes The Celtic tribes spoke a language that survives today in Scotch Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, and Breton. It also survives in the names of many places in Britain.

There is a town with the following Celtic name: Lian \ vire \ pooll \ guin \ gill \ go \ ger \ u \ queem \ drop \ ooll \ llandus\ illo \ gogo \ goch!

This village has the longest train station name in the world! The name of the village means:

St Mary's Church by the white hazel tree near the fierce whirlpool by the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.

It was reputedly invented by an innkeeper during the last century to drum up more trade from train travelers.

Dictionary skills: reputedly

The RomansThe RomansIn 43 A.D., an army of 40,000

Roman soldiers invaded Celtic Britain and made it part of the Roman Empire.

During the 400 year Roman rule, the Romans introduced Christianity, Latin, built roads, established Roman laws, and kept the fierce Picts and Scots on the north side of Hadrian’s Wall.

The RomansThe RomansInternet skills:

Who was Julius Caesar?

Who was Claudius?

Who was Boudica (also spelled Boudicca)?

Who was Hadrian?

BBC History of BritainBBC History of BritainTime LineTime Line

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index.shtml

Hadrian’s WallHadrian’s Wall Hadrian’s Wall was built across the narrow part of England to keep the Pics and Scots from invading the south.

Hadrian’s Wall

Roman Roman SoldierSoldier

Romans spoke Latin. * Roman soldiers were also engineers and built roads to link Rome with the Roman Empire.*Internet search: BBC, Why is it important to the way we speak that Romans spoke Latin?

The RomansThe Romans

The Romans (Italy) Romans soldiers came from the area we call Italy today. Rome is still the capital city of Italy.

After serving in the army, many soldiers married Celtic women and settled down in England.

Rome

Britain was the western Britain was the western edge of the Roman edge of the Roman Empire. Empire.

England

Italy

End of Roman Rule End of Roman Rule 410 A.D.410 A.D.

The Romans began to pull her legions out of Britain in 410 A.D. after 400 years of Roman rule. Rome was crumbling from the attacks of the barbarians. The Celts were left without the protection of the Roman army and had no weapons to defend themselves.

Scandinavia

After the Romans left, the Picts and Scots came south into England.

Bands of Vikings came south from Scandinavia.

Scandinavia

After 400 years of having Roman protection, the Celts were civilized, peace- loving, and accustomed to Roman laws. They had not needed to fight for a long time. They needed help against the Pict, Scots, and Viking raiders.

The The JutesJutesA Celtic chieftain, Vortigern, had a

plan. He hired Jutes, a Germanic tribe, to come over and fight the Picts and Scots. Vortigern promised the Jutes the isle of Thanet. After the Jutes defeated the Picts and Scots, they liked England better than the island of Thanet or their old home in Germany. They stayed in England in an area called Kent.

Why did the Jutes want to stay?

England is a beautiful island. It is located in the path of the warm Gulf Stream waters that make a warmer climate than one would expect at that latitude. It provides excellent grazing and farm land. It is a land worth conquering.

•

The Gulf Stream is an ocean The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that moves north from current that moves north from the Gulf of Mexico at the the Gulf of Mexico at the equator. It brings warm, moist equator. It brings warm, moist air to Britain.air to Britain.

The Angles and SaxonsThe Angles and Saxons

The Angles and Saxons were Germanic cousins of the Jutes. They invaded Britain and drove the Celts far to the west of Britain. They added insult to injury by calling them “Wealas” (Welsh), which means “foreigners”. Among these “Wealas” was probably King Arthur from the legends of chivalry.

Jutes

Angles

Saxons

GERMANY

Britain

Jutes, Angles, and Jutes, Angles, and SaxonsSaxons

These German tribes spoke German although each spoke a different dialect.

Dictionary skills:

dialect

The Celts, renamed Wealas (foreigners), were driven west by the Angles and Saxons and settled in Wales. The heir to the English throne, Prince Charles, is titled the Prince of Wales. Welch is a form of the Celtic language.

By the middle of the 6th century, the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons were settled on the land they had taken from the Celts.

An error was made by historians when they determined that the Angles’ dialect was the origin of Angleish; therefore, English was the name used for all three Germanic tribes.

(Angleish, English, speech of the Angles)

Scholar, statesman, and general, King Alfred the Great, ruled the West Saxons from 871 to 899 A.D. He learned Latin and had the most important Latin books translated into Saxon, collected folk tales and history, and taught his people to read and write, too. His love of reading and language preserved English during the Dark Ages.

Because of Alfred the Great’s love of learning, we speak Saxonish not Anglish.

Angles and Saxons, Angles and Saxons, etcetc.*.* *Etc.(et cetera) – and so forth (L)

Latin

The language known as Old English was spoken 450 A.D. – 1150 A.D. Most surviving Old English documents are in West Saxon dialect. Beowulf is one of these.

King Alfred foughtViking raiders who had been attacking English towns off and on for a century. First, they came in small bands to loot, murder, and burn; but later, they brought in armies to seize the land. Alfred dealt them a smashing defeat in 878 A.D..

The Vikings came from Scandinavia. There were many places on the British island to beach their boats and raid the English countryside.

The VikingsThe Vikings

Internet – Interactive game: Be a Viking Raider. Decide your strategy:•How large will your ship be?• Who will you include in the crew? •Plan and execute a raid on Lindisfarne monastery on the coast of Britain in Northumbria.

For another century, the Viking invaders kept coming. Finally, in 1014, a Danish Viking named Canute was crowned King of England. He was wise and humble king.

Once, he took all his flattering courtiers down to the sea. He asked, “Am I so powerful that I can stop the tide from coming in?”

They answered, “Oh, yes!” So, he commanded the tide to stay out. Of course, they all got their feet wet.

The Vikings gradually stopped speaking Danish or Norse and learned English. However, they gave us such words as:

they, their, them, are, skirt, sky,

skin, scrub, whisk,

and names ending in –son.

French Vikings, the French Vikings, the NormansNormans

Scandinavian Viking bands invaded the northern coast of France, settled there, and learned French. They forced the French king to name their leader the Duke of Normandy and to give them the province of Normandy (Northman lands). They were called Normans (Northmen).

Meanwhile, England …Meanwhile, England … 1066 1066

Edward the Confessor, a Edward the Confessor, a descendant of King Canute, descendant of King Canute, died with no heir to claim the died with no heir to claim the throne of England. Two Viking throne of England. Two Viking nobles, Harold of England and nobles, Harold of England and William, Duke of Normandy, William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the right to the claimed the right to the throne. Harold was in England throne. Harold was in England and had himself crowned. and had himself crowned.

1066, the Battle of Hastings

William, Duke of Normandy, and his French Vikings crossed the English Channel, invaded England, and attacked army of newly crowned King Harold of England. Harold was killed when an arrow entered his visor and pierced his eye. William the Conqueror became King of England.

The Normans built towers and castles style quite different from the old Celtic hill forts.

NormansNormans(Northme(Northme

nn)) The Normans nobles spoke French with a Viking accent.

The peasants spoke the English of the German Saxon tribe.

For 200 hundred years after 1066, French was the language in the government, church, education, and the arts. English was spoken, but only by the lower classes. Often, modern English has inherited two different words for the same item. The peasant called the beast a cow (Engl.), but the Norman lord called it beef (FR.).

English Became ClassyEnglish Became Classy

In 1204, the Anglo-Normans and the French king fought once more for possession of Normandy. The Anglo-Normans lost the battle and their possessions in Normandy to the French king.

English Became ClassyEnglish Became Classy

The King of France added insult to the loss of Normandy. He said, “The King of England can’t fight or speak French well.” This angered the English king, and he ordered all his subjects to speak English. English moved up the social scale.

The Anglo-Normans learned English but kept to more than 10,000 of their French words.

The result was neither Old English nor Norman French, but a new combination: Middle English.

Geoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer

The most famous writer of Middle English during this period (1150 – 1500) is Geoffrey Chaucer. The next slide has an excerpt of a Chaucer poem. Listen to the poem. What does it say?

Dictionary skills: excerpt

““The Pardoner’s Tale” The Pardoner’s Tale” (an excerpt)(an excerpt)

“Now, sires,” quod he, “if that ye be so leef

To fynds Deeth, turne up this croked wey,

For in that grove I lafte hym, by my fey,

Under a tree, and there he wole abyde;

Noght for youre boost he wole him no thyng hyde.

Se ye that ook? Right there ye shal hym fynde.”

Three foolish men set out to kill Death. They are helped in their search for Death by a mysterious old man in a long black cloak.

Who was he?

What do you predict happened when the foolish men found Death?

Modern English

• We use Germanic words when we talk about everyday, essential things of life:

sleeping, walking, loving, hating,

the sun, moon, and stars; house and hearth, floor

and roof, the parts of the human body.

•These Germanic words are the most frequently used, but they make up only one fifth of our total vocabulary words.

Interesting Facts about modern English

About three fifths of the vocabulary came originally from Latin and Greek, usually passing through French on the way. The rest of the English word stock consists of borrowings from dozens of other languages.

Interesting Facts about modern English

The Language Family The Language Family TreeTreeThe Indo-European languages are

called a language family because they are believed to be the descendants of a parent language spoken in Central Europe in the late Stone Age. There are no written records; but similar words in many languages have made it possible to reconstruct the possible original forms. On the next slide there are some common Indo-European words.

Indo-EIndo-E SanskriSanskritt

RussiaRussian n ModerModernn

GreekGreek LatinLatin Germ Germ EarlyEarly

Engl. Engl. Modern Modern

PuhterPuhter PitaPita …….... PaterPater PaterPater FadarFadar FatherFather

TreiesTreies TrayahTrayah TreeTree TreisTreis TresTres ThreisThreis ThreeThree

KmtoKmtomm

SatamSatam StawStaw E-katonE-katon CentumCentum HundHund HundredHundred

Ed-Ed- AdmiAdmi YestYest EdoEdo EdoEdo ItaIta EatEat

YugomYugom YugamYugam YarmoYarmo DzugonDzugon JugumJugum JukJuk YokeYoke

BheroBhero BharaBharamimi

…… FeroFero FeroFero BairaBaira Bear Bear (verb)(verb)

SourcesSources

Amery, Tucking, and Cartwright. The First 1,000 Words in German: Edc Publishers,1988.

Bryson, Bill. Mother Tongue, English & How It Got That Way: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000.

Chart. “History of the English Language”. No origin shown.

Glencoe, Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition, Glencoe,2001.

BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index.shtml 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index.shtml