Warm-up: September 4, 2013Refer to the NYT article you read for homework to answer the following questions:1.Why are the options presented in the “fill-in-the-blank” introduction in the post likely to not interest or impress a college admissions official? 2.Why are more mundane topics often preferable? 3.What other alternatives to the standard college essay fare does this post offer? What are some things to avoid in a college essay?

• Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote• The droghte of March hath perced to the

roote• And bathed every veyne in wich licour• Of which vertue engendred is the flour

The History of the English Language

Proto Indo European (3,000 B.C.)

Proto Indo European (3,000 B.C.)

Sir William Jones (end of 18th century)

Sanskrit

• Classical language of the Hindus• Studied it in India

Sanskrit + Ancient Greek + Latin = Epiphany!

Back to England…

The Celts

The Celts

The Celts

The Celts

The Celts

The Celts

Angles and Saxons and Jutes – oh, my!

3 Powerful Germanic Tribes(early 5 century AD)

1. Angles– Language called “Englisc”– One of the main groups that settled in Britain.– Got their name from Angeln (city in Germany).– “England” and “English”– English people ended up being referred to as “Anglo”

2. Saxons3. Jutes

Latin Alphabet

• All three tribes spoke similar languages.– They didn’t write.

• Were given the Latin Alphabet.• Languages merged.• Began writing it down AND…

VOILA! We got the first written version of English.

Uh, except to us, it looks and sounds nothing likeEnglish…

Three attested periods:

…what does “attested” mean?

Old English

Old English• Germanic tribes languages meshed together.• Formed “Old English”• Looks nothing like modern English.– Native speakers wouldn’t know what it means.

• Our word roots can be traced back to Old English.

Ex: Beowulfhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13cES7MMd8

Middle Engish

Middle English• 1066-William the Conqueror

– French influence– French was language of the

Royal Court– Class division: lower classes

(English) upper class (French)• Decline of Feudalism/growth of

cities– English became dominant in

Britain again– But French words were

intermixed– The result was a new form of

English: Middle English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0MtENfOMU

Modern English

Modern English

• Early Modern (1500-1800)– Renaissance brought with it many new words and

phrases.– Shakespeare.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2KeALDmztQ&feature=fvst&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Late Modern English (1800-Present)– British Empire• Foreign languages filtered into English language.• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti5OaadrS9I

Chaucer’s English – Your Turn

• Read through the passage from Canterbury Tales a couple of times.

• Use the translation on the back to try to interpret each line of the passage.

• Annotate in the margins what each line is saying, using context clues to make your best interpretation.– Don’t worry if you don’t get it totally correct; just

try to get the gist of each line.