A Brief History of the English Language.docx
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A Brief History of the English Language.docx
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ABriefHistoryoftheEnglishLanguage
ABriefHistoryoftheEnglishLanguage
EnglishisamemberoftheIndo-Europeanfamilyoflanguages.ThisbroadfamilyincludesmostoftheEuropeanlanguagesspokentoday.TheIndo-Europeanfamilyincludesseveralmajorbranches:
LatinandthemodernRomancelanguages(Frenchetc.);theGermaniclanguages(English,German,Swedishetc.);theIndo-Iranianlanguages(Hindi,Urdu,Sanskritetc.);theSlaviclanguages(Russian,Polish,Czechetc.);theBalticlanguagesofLatvianandLithuanian;theCelticlanguages(Welsh,IrishGaelicetc.);Greek.
TheinfluenceoftheoriginalIndo-Europeanlanguagecanbeseentoday,eventhoughnowrittenrecordofitexists.Thewordforfather,forexample,isvaterinGerman,paterinLatin,andpitrinSanskrit.Thesewordsareallcognates,similarwordsindifferentlanguagesthatsharethesameroot.
OfthesebranchesoftheIndo-Europeanfamily,twoare,asfarasthestudyofthedevelopmentofEnglishisconcerned,ofparamountimportance,theGermanicandtheRomance(calledthatbecausetheRomancelanguagesderivefromLatin,thelanguageofancientRome).EnglishisamemberoftheGermanicgroupoflanguages.ItisbelievedthatthisgroupbeganasacommonlanguageintheElberiverregionabout3,000yearsago.BythesecondcenturyBC,thisCommonGermaniclanguagehadsplitintothreedistinctsub-groups:
∙EastGermanicwasspokenbypeopleswhomigratedbacktosoutheasternEurope.NoEastGermaniclanguageisspokentoday,andtheonlywrittenEastGermaniclanguagethatsurvivesisGothic.
∙NorthGermanicevolvedintothemodernScandinavianlanguagesofSwedish,Danish,Norwegian,andIcelandic(butnotFinnish,whichisrelatedtoHungarianandEstonianandisnotanIndo-Europeanlanguage).
∙WestGermanicistheancestorofmodernGerman,Dutch,Flemish,Frisian,andEnglish.
OldEnglish(500-1100AD)
CLICKHERETOSEEAMAPOFANGLO-SAXONENGLAND
WestGermanicinvadersfromJutlandandsouthernDenmark:
theAngles(whosenameisthesourceofthewordsEnglandandEnglish),Saxons,andJutes,begantosettleintheBritishIslesinthefifthandsixthcenturiesAD.Theyspokeamutuallyintelligiblelanguage,similartomodernFrisian-thelanguageofthenortheasternregionoftheNetherlands-thatiscalledOldEnglish.FourmajordialectsofOldEnglishemerged,NorthumbrianinthenorthofEngland,MercianintheMidlands,WestSaxoninthesouthandwest,andKentishintheSoutheast.
Theseinvaderspushedtheoriginal,Celtic-speakinginhabitantsoutofwhatisnowEnglandintoScotland,Wales,Cornwall,andIreland,leavingbehindafewCelticwords.TheseCelticlanguagessurvivetodayintheGaeliclanguagesofScotlandandIrelandandinWelsh.Cornish,unfortunately,is,inlinguisticterms,nowadeadlanguage.(ThelastnativeCornishspeakerdiedin1777)AlsoinfluencingEnglishatthistimeweretheVikings.Norseinvasionsandsettlement,beginningaround850,broughtmanyNorthGermanicwordsintothelanguage,particularlyinthenorthofEngland.Someexamplesaredream,whichhadmeant'joy'untiltheVikingsimparteditscurrentmeaningonitfromtheScandinaviancognatedraumr,andskirt,whichcontinuestolivealongsideitsnativeEnglishcognateshirt.
ThemajorityofwordsinmodernEnglishcomefromforeign,notOldEnglishroots.Infact,onlyaboutonesixthoftheknownOldEnglishwordshavedescendantssurvivingtoday.Butthisisdeceptive;OldEnglishismuchmoreimportantthanthesestatisticswouldindicate.AbouthalfofthemostcommonlyusedwordsinmodernEnglishhaveOldEnglishroots.Wordslikebe,water,andstrong,forexample,derivefromOldEnglishroots.
OldEnglish,whosebestknownsurvivingexampleisthepoemBeowulf,lasteduntilabout1100.ShortlyafterthemostimportanteventinthedevelopmentandhistoryoftheEnglishlanguage,theNormanConquest.
TheNormanConquestandMiddleEnglish(1100-1500)
WilliamtheConqueror,theDukeofNormandy,invadedandconqueredEnglandandtheAnglo-Saxonsin1066AD.ThenewoverlordsspokeadialectofOldFrenchknownasAnglo-Norman.TheNormanswerealsoofGermanicstock("Norman"comesfrom"Norseman")andAnglo-NormanwasaFrenchdialectthathadconsiderableGermanicinfluencesinadditiontothebasicLatinroots.
PriortotheNormanConquest,LatinhadbeenonlyaminorinfluenceontheEnglishlanguage,mainlythroughvestigesoftheRomanoccupationandfromtheconversionofBritaintoChristianityintheseventhcentury(ecclesiasticaltermssuchaspriest,vicar,andmasscameintothelanguagethisway),butnowtherewasawholesaleinfusionofRomance(Anglo-Norman)words.
TheinfluenceoftheNormanscanbeillustratedbylookingattwowords,beefandcow.Beef,commonlyeatenbythearistocracy,derivesfromtheAnglo-Norman,whiletheAnglo-Saxoncommoners,whotendedthecattle,retainedtheGermaniccow.Manylegalterms,suchasindict,jury,andverdicthaveAnglo-NormanrootsbecausetheNormansranthecourts.Thissplit,wherewordscommonlyusedbythearistocracyhaveRomanticrootsandwordsfrequentlyusedbytheAnglo-SaxoncommonershaveGermanicroots,canbeseeninmanyinstances.
SometimesFrenchwordsreplacedOldEnglishwords;crimereplacedfirenandunclereplacedeam.Othertimes,FrenchandOldEnglishcomponentscombinedtoformanewword,astheFrenchgentleandtheGermanicmanformedgentleman.Othertimes,twodifferentwordswithroughlythesamemeaningsurviveintomodernEnglish.ThuswehavetheGermanicdoomandtheFrenchjudgment,orwishanddesire.
ItisusefultocomparevariousversionsofafamiliartexttoseethedifferencesbetweenOld,Middle,andModernEnglish.TakeforinstancethisOldEnglish(c.1000)sample:
Fæderureþuþeeartonheofonum
siþinnamagehalgodtobecumeþinricegewurþeþinwillaoneorðanswaswaonheofonum
urnegedæghwamlicanhlafsyleustodæg
andforgyfusuregyltasswaswaweforgyfaðurumgyltendum
andnegelædþuusoncostnungeacalysusofyfelesoþlice.
RenderedinMiddleEnglish(Wyclif,1384),thesametextisrecognizabletothemoderneye:
Ourefadirþatartinheueneshalwidbeþiname;
þireumeorkyngdomcometobe.Beþiwilledoninherþeasitisdouninheuene.
yeuetoustodayoureechedayesbred.
Andforyeuetousouredettisþatisouresynnysasweforyeuentoouredettourisþatistomenþathansynnedinus.
Andledeusnotintotemptacionbutdelyuereusfromeuyl.
Finally,inEarlyModernEnglish(KingJamesVersion,1611)thesametextiscompletelyintelligible:
Ourfatherwhichartinheauen,hallowedbethyname.
Thykingdomcome.Thywillbedoneinearthasitisinheauen.
Giueusthisdayourdailybread.
Andforgiueusourdebtsasweforgiueourdebters.
Andleadusnotintotemptation,butdeliuerusfromeuill.Amen.
ForalengthiercomparisonofthethreestagesinthedevelopmentofEnglishclickhere!
In1204AD,KingJohnlosttheprovinceofNormandytotheKingofFrance.ThisbeganaprocesswheretheNormannoblesofEnglandbecameincreasinglyestrangedfromtheirFrenchcousins.Englandbecamethechiefconcernofthenobility,ratherthantheirestatesinFrance,andconsequentlythenobilityadoptedamodifiedEnglishastheirnativetongue.About150yearslater,theBlackDeath(1349-50)killedaboutonethirdoftheEnglishpopulation.Andasaresultofthisthelabouringandmerchantclassesgrewineconomicandsocialimportance,andalongwiththemEnglishincreasedinimportancecomparedtoAnglo-Norman.
ThismixtureofthetwolanguagescametobeknownasMiddleEnglish.ThemostfamousexampleofMiddleEnglishisChaucer'sCanterburyTales.UnlikeOldEnglish,MiddleEnglishcanberead,albeitwithdifficulty,bymodernEnglish-speakingpeople.
By1362,thelinguisticdivisionbetweenthenobilityandthecommonerswaslargelyover.Inthatyear,theStatuteofPleadingwasadopted,whichmadeEnglishthelanguageofthecourtsanditbegantobeusedinParliament.
TheMiddleEnglishperiodcametoaclosearound1500ADwiththeriseofModernEnglish.
EarlyModernEnglish(1500-1800)
ThenextwaveofinnovationinEnglishcamewiththeRenaissance.TherevivalofclassicalscholarshipbroughtmanyclassicalLatinandGreekwordsintotheLanguage.Theseborrowingsweredeliberateandmanybemoanedtheadoptionofthese"inkhorn"terms,butmanysurvivetothisday.Shakespeare'scharacterHolofernesinLovesLaborLostisasatireofanoverenthusiasticschoolmasterwhoistoofondofLatinisms.
ManystudentshavingdifficultyunderstandingShakespearewouldbesurprisedtolearnthathewroteinmodernEnglish.But,ascanbeseenintheearlierexampleoftheLord'sPrayer,ElizabethanEnglishhasmuchmoreincommonwithourlanguagetodaythanitdoeswiththelanguageofChaucer.ManyfamiliarwordsandphraseswerecoinedorfirstrecordedbyShakespeare,some2,000wordsandcountlessidiomsarehis.NewcomerstoShakespeareareoftenshockedatthenumberofclichescontainedinhisplays,untiltheyrealizethathecoinedthemandtheybecameclichesafterwards."Onefellswoop,""vanishintothinair,"and"fleshandblood"areallShakespeare's.Wordshebequeathedtothelanguageinclude"critical,""leapfrog,""majestic,""dwindle,"and"pedant."
TwoothermajorfactorsinfluencedthelanguageandservedtoseparateMiddleandModernEnglish.ThefirstwastheGreatVowelShift.Thiswasachangeinpronunciationthatbeganaround1400.WhilemodernEnglishspeakerscanreadChaucerwithsomedifficulty,Chaucer'spronunciationwouldhavebeencompletelyunintelligibletothemodernear.Shakespeare,ontheotherhand,wouldbeaccented,
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