What is English - Analy High School



What is English?

History of the English Language

A short history of the origins and development of English

from:

The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and English are derived.

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Old English (450-1100 AD)

Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century.

The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

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Middle English (1100-1500)

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

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Modern English

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published.

Late Modern English (1800-Present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Varieties of English

From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).

Today

Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.

The Germanic Family of Languages

English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.

Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.

A Brief Chronology of English

BCE 55 Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar. Local inhabitants speak Celtish. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.

ca. 450CE Roman withdrawal from Britain complete. Invasion and settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders (Viking Tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes) begins.

450-480 Old English begins. Earliest known Old English inscriptions.

750 Second wave of Viking Invasions, aka Germanic invaders. The most famous Old English work of literature was composed, Beowulf, most likely by an illiterate poet who sang it.

ca. 1000 Beowulf was probably written down for the first time.

1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (aka France), invades and conquers England.

ca.1150 Middle English begins: Notable influence of French on English appears.

1348 English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.

1362 English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time.

ca. 1388 Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales, the most famous Middle English work of literature.

ca. 1400 The Great Vowel Shift begins.

ca. 1450 The first printing press invented.

1476 Early Modern English begins: William Caxton establishes the first English printing press.

1564 Shakespeare is born.

1604 Modern English begins. Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published.

1607 The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established.

1616 Shakespeare dies.

1623 Shakespeare's First Folio is published.

1702 The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London.

1755 Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary.

1776 Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence.

1782 Britain abandons its American colonies.

1828 Late Modern English begins. Webster publishes his American English dictionary.

1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.

1928 The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

Where did English come from? The Adventure of English



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Versions of “The Lord’s Prayer”

in Old English, Middle English, Modern English, and languages closely related to English

Atta unsar thu in himinam

weihnai namo thein

quimai thiudinassus thein

wairthai wilja theins

swe in himina jah aria airthai hlaif unsarana

thana sinteinan gif uns himma daga jah aflet uns

thatai skulans sijaima swaswe jah weis afletam

thaim skulam unsaraim jah ni briggais uns in

frauistubnjai ak lausai uns of thamma ubilin

unte theina ist thiudangardi jan mahts jah wulthus in aiwins amen. (Gothic ca. 350)

. . .g fæder, þu þe on heofonum eardast,

geweorðad wuldres dreame. Sy þinum weorcum halgad

noma niþþa bearnum;

þu eart nergend wera. Cyme þin rice wide, ond þin rædfæst willa

aræred under rodores hrofe, eac þon on rumre foldan.

Syle us to dæge domfæstne blæd,

hlaf userne, helpend wera, þone singalan, soðfæst meotod.

Ne læt usic costunga cnyssan to swiðe,

ac þu us freodom gief, folca waldend,

from yfla gehwam, a to widan feore. (Old English, ca. 800-1000)

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;

Si þin nama gehalgod

to becume þin rice

gewurþe ðin willa

on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.

urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg

and forgyf us ure gyltas

swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum

and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge

ac alys us of yfele soþlice. (Late Old English 11th century)

Oure fadir that are in heuenes

halwid be thi name

thy kyngdom cumme

to be thi wille don

as in heuen and in earthe

gif to us this day oure breed ouer other substance

and forgeue to us oure dettis as we forgeue to oure dettours

and leede us nat in to temptacioun

but delyuere us fro yeul. Amen (Middle English, 1389)

Our father which art in heauen,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdome come.

Thy will be done,

in earth, as it is in heauen.

Giue vs this day our daily bread.

And forgiue vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters.

And lead vs not into temptation,

but deliuer vs from euill:

For thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer, Amen.

(Early Modern English, King James Bible, 1611)

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. (Modern English, 20th century traditional)

Vater unser im Himmel,

Geheiligt werde dein Name.

Dein Reich komme.

Dein Wille geschehe,

wie im Himmel so auf Erden.

Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute.

Und vergib uns unsere Schuld,

wie auch wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern.

Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,

sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen.

Denn Dein ist das Reich und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit. Amen. (20th century German)

Notre Père qui es aux cieux

Que ton nom soit sanctifié

Que ton règne vienne

Que ta volonté soit faite

Sur la terre comme aux ciel.

Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour.

Pardonnes-nous nos offenses,

Comme nous pardonnons aussi

A ceux qui nous ont offensés.

Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,

Mais délivre-nous du Mal.

Car c'est à toi qu'appartiennent la règne, la puissance et la gloire,

Pour les siècles des siècles.

Amen. (20th century French)

Vor Fader, du som er i Himlene!

Helliget vorde dit navn;

komme dit rige;

ske din vilje

på jorden, som den sker i Himmelen;

giv os i dag vort daglige brød;

og forlad os vor skyld,

som også vi forlader vore skyldnere;

og led os ikke ind i fristelse;

men fri os fra det onde;

thi dit er Riget og magten og æren i evighed! Amen (20th century Danish)

Questions:

1. How did Old English change to become Middle English?

2. How did Middle English change to become Modern English?

3. When did orthography become fixed? How can you tell?

4. How did fixed orthography change the English language?

5. What language is English closest to now?

6. Why would a religious text like “The Lord’s Prayer” be the only piece of writing to survive all periods of the English language?

English language relatives: Cognates

|Sanskrit |Latin |Anglo-Saxon |German |Danish |French |Spanish |

|aham |ego |ic |ich |jeg |je |yo |

|ma |me |me |mich |mig |mois/me |me |

|asti |est |is |ist |er |suis |es |

|matar |mater |modor |mutter |mor (moder) |mere |madre |

|bhratar |frater |brothor |bruder |bror (broder) |frere |hermano |

|dasam |decem |tien |zehn |ti |dix |diez |

| | | | | | | |

| |unus | |eins |en |un |uno |

| |duo | |zwei |to |deux |dos |

| |tres | |drei |tre |trois |tres |

| |venire | |kommen |komme |venir |venir |

| |cantare | |singen |synge |chanter |cantar |

| |habere | |haben |have |avoir |haber |

Grimm's law: two consonant shifts occurred, one several thousand years ago, another about 1500 years ago, These shifts show a correlation between diverse languages. For example, a Latin or Greek "f" corresponds to a Germanic "b". So the Latin root "flor-" is related to the English word "blossom". We might symbolize this law as follows:

1. f>b, b>p, p>f (for ex. flor-blossom, labium-lip, poly-flow)

2. th>d, d>t, t>th

3. h>g, g>k, k>h

Great Vowel Shift: The main difference between Chaucer’s language and our own is in the pronunciation of the “long” vowels. The consonants remain generally the same, though Chaucer rolled his r’s, sometimes dropped his “h”s and pronounced both elements of consonant combinations, such as “kn,” that were later simplified. And the short vowels are very similar in Middle and Modern English. But the “long” vowels are regularly and strikingly different. This is due to what is called The Great Vowel Shift.

Between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries (but mainly in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries) the sounds of the long stressed vowels in English changed their places of articulation (i.e.,where and how the sounds are made).

Chaucer’s English Modern English Vowel Shift

heeth, breeth heath (vs. breath) ee-e

ye, melodye eye (vs. melody) ie-ee

mayde, sayde maid (vs. said) e-ae

post, cost post (vs. cost) o-aw

hous, plenteous house (vs. plenteous) ow-uh

cam, ram came (vs. ram) ae-a

goot, hoot goat (vs. hot) oe-aw

two, so two (vs. so) oo-oe

loude, koude loud (vs. could) ow-ou

wyn, Latyn wine (vs. Latin) ie-i

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