History of English Language

English languageWest Germanic language, originated from theAnglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and settlers from various parts of what is now Northwest Germany and the NetherlandsOld English - a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of theAnglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain (Late West Saxon dialect eventually became predominant)

Old Englishthe languages of Germanic peoples. MostAngles and Saxons arrived in Britain in the 6th century;pagans, independent of Roman control. Traded, fought with and lived alongside the Latin-speaking people Latin loan words (wine, cup and bishop) entered the vocabulary before their arrival in Britainin contact with Roman civilization (economy, residing within the Roman borders, serving in theRoman military)

Transformation - the waves of invasion:

1) Viking invasion - conquered and colonized in 8th and 9th century a significant grammatical simplification lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English

2) the Norman invasion in 1066

- developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman- large proportion of the modern English vocabulary comes directly from Anglo-Norman

3) Renaissance - developing European languages such as German and Dutch, Latin and Ancient supplanted Norman and French as the main source of new words. English developed into a borrowing language.

Old English (OE) - 5th to 11th centuryLatin - later by missionaries from both the Celtic and Roman churches, a major impact on English

OE varied in many dialects and languages of the colonising tribes

local variation, the remnants found in dialects of Modern English.

introduction of Christianity (late 6th century) over 400 Latin loan words fewer Greek loan words The Old English period formally ended some time after the Norman conquest starting in 1066 ADthe language was influenced by the Normans (French dialect called Old Norman)

Old English - 9th to 11th centuryOE strongly influenced by the North Germanic language spoken by the Norsemen who invaded and settled mainly in the North East of England

Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavians spoke related languages (different branches of the Germanic family)

Lexical roots were the similar, but grammar was more divergent

Middle E late 11th to late 15th centuryafter the(1066) the Norman kings and high-ranking nobles spoke the French languages, called Anglo-Norman, a variety of Old Norman used in Englandmerchants and lower-ranked nobles were often bilingual in Anglo-Norman and English,English continued to be the language of the common people.standard French retained the status of a formal or prestige language had a significant influence on the language (visible in Modern English today)

Examples: 1 cordial reception (French) more formal than hearty welcome (Germanic) 2 words for animals being separate from the words for their meat, e.g., beef and pork (from the French buf and porc) - products of .cows and pigs animals with Germanic names

English literature reappeared after 12001258 - The Provisions of Oxford was released - first English government document to be published in the English language after the Norman Conquest1362 -Edward III -the first king to address Parliament in English end of 13th century - the royal court switched to EnglishAnglo-Norman remained, but it had ceased to be a living language

Geoffrey Chaucer - the most famous writer from the Middle English period;- The Canterbury Tales - his best-known work- varies from that of Modern English, but can be read with minimal assistance

In Middle English:- diminishing of grammatical endings - 10,000 French (and Norman) loan words entered Middle English terms associated with government, church, law, the military, fashion, and food- English spelling was also influenced by Norman in this period

Early Modern E late 15th to late 17thEnglish language underwent extensive sound changes during 1400s, spelling conventions remained constant.Modern English is often dated from theGreat Vowel Shift, which took place mainly during the 15th century. further transformed by the spread of a standardised London-based dialect in government and administration and by the standardising effect of printing period.

by the time of William Shakespeare (mid 16th - early 17th century), the language had become clearly recognisable as Modern English

increased literacy and travel have facilitated the adoption of many foreign words (borrowings from Latin and Greek since the Renaissance)

Modern E late 17th to the presentEarly Modern English and Late Modern English vary essentially in vocabulary.Late Modern English - more wordsa) from the Industrial Revolution b) technology that created a need for new words c) international development of the language.

- the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the Earth's surface, - the English language adopted foreign words from many countries. - British English and American English, the two major varieties of the language, are spoken by 400 million persons.

In percent:Latin 29%, French 29%, Germanic 26%, Greek 6%, others 10%

A loan word a word borrowed from a donor language incorporated into a recipient languagea calque of the German Lehnwortterms borrow and loanword conflict with the ordinary meaning because nothing is returned to the donor languagesdonor language terms enter a recipient language as a technical term (terminus technicus) the specific reference point may be to the foreign culture or to a field of activity where the foreign culture has a dominant role

Loanwords from a dominant field of activity:Arts - technical vocabulary referring to classical music (from Italian, in ballet from French)Religion technical terms from the language of the originating culture - borrowed rather than translated Examples: Hebrew (Judaism) shabbat ("day of rest") English SabbathGreek (Christianity) - baptisma baptism Latin (Catholicism) missa mass; communio communionSanskrit (Hinduism) - guru(teacher)

Business - English exports English terms to other languages in business and technology

Science (Latin) - medicine uses a large vocabulary of Latin terms

Philosophy - many technical terms derive from Greek dominance in philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, economic theory and political theory in Roman times (democracy, theory)

Examples of Old English words

A abide, above, alive, apple, awake, axeB back,bath,bed,bird,blood,body,brotherC can,carve,chicken,child,clean,cold,cupD daughter,dead,deer,door,drink,duskE each,ear,elbow,end,evening,evil,eyeF fair,fall,feather,find,fish,fox,friendG game,gate,god,gold,good,ground,greenHhammer,hand,high,honey,house,husbandI ice,if,in,island,it,itchK keen,keep,kind,king,kiss,knife,knotL ladle,land,laugh,lip,listen,long,loveM make,man,marsh,meadow,milk,moon,mouth

Old English words (cont.)N nail,name,needle,nest,night,now,nutO oak,of,on,old,open,orchard,owlP path,pin,pipe,plant,plough,poppy,prettyQ queen,quickR rag,rain,rat,read,ride,right,rockS say,see,send,shadow,sheep,sister,swordTtake,thank,thimble,thirst,thumb,today,tomorrowU udder,under,up,usV vatW wake,walk,west,winter,woman,wrongY yard,yarn,yawn,year,yes,yolk,you,young

Latin words actor, administrator, agenda, alibi, animal, appendix, area, aroma, audio, axis, basis, creditor, delirium, dictator, doctor, dogma, editor, ego, enigma, error, exit, extra, favor, item, labor, major, medium, minister, neuter, ratio, saliva, sculptor, senior, species, specimen, status, professor,

Borrowing from French - 2 phases:First phase (1066-1250) about 900 words borrowed during this phase, with most of them showing the effects of Anglo-Norman phonology. Social: baron, noble, dame, servant, messenger, feast, Literary: story, rime, lay, Church: words used in religious services

Second phase of borrowing from French:The words borrowed during this phase found in many areas.Government and administration: govern, government, administer, crown, state, empire, royal, majesty, treaty, statute, parliament, tax, rebel, traitor, exile, chancellor, treasurer, major, noble, peer, prince, princess, duke, squire, page (butnotking, queen, lord, lady, earl), peasant, slave, servant, vassal.

Law: justice, equity, judge, advocate, attorney, petition, inquest, felon, evidence, sue, accuse, arrest, blame, slander, felony, adultery, property, estate, heir, executor.

Military, Army and Navy: army, navy, peace, enemy, arms, battle, spy, combat, siege, defence, soldier, guard, mail, besiege, defend

Clothing: gown, robe, garment, attire, cape, coat, collar, train, lace, embroidery, button, fur, blue, brown, jewel, ornament, broach, ivory, turquoise, topaz, ruby, pearl, diamondFood: feast, mess, appetite, tart, sole, sardine, beef, veal, mutton, port, bacon, toast, cream, sugar, salad, raisin, jelly, spice, clove, thymeSocial: curtain, couch, lamp, wardrobe, screen, closet, leisure, dance, lute, melody

Art, Learning, Medicine: painting, sculpture, music, beauty, color, image, cathedral, palace, mansion, chamber, ceiling, column, poet, prose, romance, paper, pen, volume, chapter, study, logic, geometry, grammar, noun, gender, physician, pain, plague, pulse, remedy, poison

Common words and expressions: age, air, city, cheer, honor, joy,chaste, cruel, poor, nice, pure, advance, advise, carry, cry, desire,draw near, hand to hand, by heart, without fail

English and French words retained with a differentiation in meaning:

hearty - cordial ox - beef sheep mutton swine - pork calf - veal house - mansion

EXERCISES

Latin loan words:

1 agenda- things to be done2 in memoriam- in memory (of)3 interim- meanwhile, interval4 memorandum- reminder5 proandcon- for and against6 ultra- beyond7 quasi- as if it were8 census- count of citizens9 veto- 'I forbid' used as a way of stopping the passage of a law.10 sponsor- one who accepts responsibility for another

Latin abbreviations:

1 A.D. anno Domini = in the year of the Lord2 & = and3 a.m.-ante meridiem = before noon4 c., ca., ca or cca. circa = around, about, approximately5 cf. confer = bring together and compare6 C.V. or CV curriculum vitae = course of life7 et al. et alii = and others, and co-workers8 etc. - et cetera = and so forth9 e.g. exempli gratia = for example, for instance10 ff. folio = and following

11 ibid. ibidem = in the same place (book, etc.) 12 id. idem = the same (man) 13 i.e. id est = that is, in other words14 M.A. Magister Artium = Master of Arts 15 N.B. nota bene = note well16 op. cit. opere citato = the work cited17 per cent. - per centum = for each one hundred18. Ph.D. - Philosophi Doctor = Teacher of Philosophy19 p.m.-post meridiem = after noon20 vs or v. versus = against

Latin terms used in speaking and writing:

1 per se = by itself2 vice versa = to change, turn around,3 bona fide = good faith4 alter ego = second self5 status quo = the state in which 6 magnum opus = works done by one artist7 ex libris = from the library of 8 de facto = from the fact9 tabula rasa = clean slate

10 mea culpa = my fault11 persona non grata = unacceptable person12 in situ = it happens on site13 in vitro = in glass in a laboratory14 a priori = taking a statement without needing experimentation or observation15 ad hoc = something that is done quickly to meet the needs of a particular problem 16 quid pro quo = this for that