History of

the English
Language:

Why is our
language so
inconsistent ?
Why is English so inconsistent?
 Through
 Though
 Bough
 Ought
 Cough
 Rough
 Today’s goals and plans:
 1) Today we will look more at how our
language developed.
 2) You should takes notes of what caused
major shifts in language and include a few
examples.
 Linguistically Influential Periods of
Early English History

1. Pre-Roman/Celtic Period  up to 55 B.C.

2. Roman Occupation  55 B.C. – 410 A.D.
3. Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes  410–1066 A.D.
4. Norman Conquest  1066 A.D.
5. Renaissance & Great Vowel Shift  aft. 14th century
 (1) Pre-Roman/Celtic Period
Stonehenge was
built during the
time of the
Celts.

 Historical Notes:

– The island we know as England was occupied by a

race of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was
called they Brythons or Britons (where we get the
term Britain)
– The Celts were Pagans and their religion was known
as “animism,” a Latin word for “spirit.” Celts saw
spirits everywhere.
– Druids were their priests; their role was to go
between the gods and the people.
(1) Pre-Roman/Celtic Period
 (2) Roman Occupation
 Historical Notes:
– Julius Caesar began
invasion/occupation in 55 B.C.
– Occupation completed by Claudius in
1st century A.D.
– Hadrian’s Wall built about 122 A.D. to
identify the northernmost reaches of
the Roman Empire
– Romans “left” in 410 A.D. because
Visigoths attacked Rome
– St. Augustine landed in Kent in 597 and
converted King Aethelbert (king of
Kent, the oldest Saxon settlement) to
Christianity; Christianity began to take
hold in England (but does not fully
displace Paganism for several hundred
years)
 (2) Roman Occupation
 Some Characteristics of the Language:
– LATIN influence:
 Latin was the official language of the Romans and it heavily
influenced the development of the English language
– The Roman practice of recording history led to the
earliest English “literature” being documented
– The Latin Alphabet
 (2) Roman Occupation
 Early Latin Borrowings
Latin Meaning Mod. Eng
caseus cheese cheese
pondo weight pound
calx chalk chalk
uncia twelfth inch
milia thousand mile
paces
strata road street
 (3) Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes
 Historical Notes:
– 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,
Saxons, and Jutes, crossed
the North Sea from what
today is Denmark and
northern Germany.

– The Angles were named from

Engle, their land of origin.
Their language was called
Germanic invaders entered Britain on the
Englisc from which the word, east and south coasts in the 5th century.
English derives.
(3) Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes

 What happened to the Celts?

– Most of the Celtic speakers
were pushed west and north Scotland
by the invaders, mainly into
what is now Wales, Scotland
and Ireland.
– One group migrated to the Ireland

Brittany Coast of France where Wales

their descendants still speak

the Celtic language of Breton
today.
Brittany Coast
of France
(3) Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes
 Germanic invaders called the native Celtic peoples
“wealas,” meaning foreigners. Their territory became
known as Wales.

 The Celts called all Germanic invaders “Saxons,”

regardless of tribe, but by the 6th century, the term
”Angli” began to be used. (This is where the term
“Anglo-Saxon” is derived).

 Because the language spoken by the German invaders

was Englisc, their territory became known as Englaland
(England).
 (3) Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes
 During the “Anglo-Saxon”
Period, England was divided
into seven sovereign
kingdoms (heptarchy)
 Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy=
Seven Kingdoms
1. Northumbria 1

2. Mercia
3. East Anglia 2

3
4. Wessex (West Saxon)
5
5. Essex (East Saxon) 4
6. Sussex (South Saxon) 7

7. Kent 6
(3) Invasion of Angles, Saxons, & Jutes

 Some Characteristics of the Language:

– GERMAN / NORSE / DANISH / SCANDINAVIAN
influence:
 Old English, the earliest form of our language,
finally developed.
Old English (450-1066 A.D.)
 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 Part of Beowulf, a poem written in
now would have great difficulty Old English.
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.

 There were many dialects of Old English,

because there were separate kingdoms
founded by related , but different cultures:
Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Scandinavians, etc.
 Old English (450-1066 A.D.)
 The Runic Alphabet
– Old English was
first written in an
alphabet called
Runic, derived
from the
Scandinavian
languages, but
shifted to the
Latin alphabet
that was
reintroduced to
the land by
Christian
missionaries
coming from
Ireland.
 Old English (450-1066 A.D.)

 Old English is mainly Germanic in grammar

(syntax and morphology) and lexicon (words)
the core of or modern English is vastly
influenced by this early linguistic “DNA”
 Old English (450-1066 A.D.)
 Old English vocabulary
– an Anglo Saxon (German) base
Many pairs of English and Norse words
coexisted giving us two words with the
same or slightly differing meanings.
Examples below.

– borrowed words from the Scandinavian Norse English

languages (Danish and Norse)
anger wrath
 sky, egg, cake, skin, leg, window (wind
nay no
eye), husband, fellow, skill, anger, flat,
fro from
odd, ugly, get, give, take, raise, call,
ill sick
die, they, their, them
bask bathe
– borrowed words from Latin
skill craft
 street, kitchen, kettle, cup, cheese,
ski hide
wine, angel, bishop, martyr, candle
skirt shirt
– surviving Celtic words (mainly place scatter shatter
names and river names) skip shift
 Devon, Dover, Kent, Trent, Severn,
Avon, Thames
 Can you tell what this is?
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.
 Old English (450-1066 A.D.)
 What did Old English look like?
Line Original Translation
[1] Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, Father ours, thou that art in heaven,
[2] Si þin nama gehalgod. Be thy name hallowed.
[3] To becume þin rice, Come thy rich (kingdom),
[4] gewurþe ðin willa, on eorðan swa swa Worth (manifest) thy will, on earth also
on heofonum. as in heaven.
[5] Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us Our daily loaf sell (give) us today,
todæg,
[6] and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we and forgive us our guilts as also we
forgyfað urum gyltendum. forgive our guilty (lit. guiltants).
[7] And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac And lead thou us not in temptation, but
alys us of yfele. loose (release) us of evil.
[8] Soþlice. Soothly.
Old English (450-1066 A.D.)
 What did Old English sound like?

 Old English (450-1066 A.D.)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av-
37L0G8lw
 (4) Norman Invasion
 Historical Notes:
– 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.
 (4) Norman Invasion
 Some Characteristics of the Language:
– A period of linguistic class division…
 Upper classes, political leaders, royal court: spoke French
 Lower classes: spoke Old English

– By the 14th Century…

 English became dominant in Britain again, but with many
French words added.
 In 1399, King Henry IV became the first king of England
since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was
English. By the end of the 14th Century, the dialect of
London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we
now call Middle English.

OLD ENGLISH
(Celtic, Latin, Germanic,
Scandinavian)
+ FRENCH = Middle English
 Middle English (1100-1485)
 WORDS: In 1066 the Normans conquered
– Because the English underclass cooked for Britain. French became the
the Norman upper class, the words for most language of the Norman aristocracy
domestic animals are English (ox, cow, calf, and added more vocabulary to
sheep, swine, deer) while the words for the English. More pairs of similar words
meats derived from them are French (beef, arose.
veal, mutton, pork, bacon, venison). French English
close shut
 PLURALS:
reply answer
– The Germanic form of plurals (house,
housen; shoe, shoen) was eventually odour smell
displaced by the French method of making annual yearly
plurals: adding an s (house, houses; shoe,
shoes). Only a few words have retained their demand ask
Germanic plurals: men, oxen, feet, teeth, chamber room
children.
desire wish
 SPELLING: power might
– French also affected spelling so that the cw wrath /
sound came to be written as qu (eg. cween ire
anger
became queen).
Middle English (1100-1485)
 Middle English was the language of the great
poet Chaucer (c. 1340-1400), but it would still
be difficult for native English speakers to
understand today.
 Middle English (1100-1485)
 What did Middle English look and sound like?
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye-
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.
When in April the sweet showers fall
That pierce March's drought to the root and all
And bathed every vein in liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has with his sweet breath,
Filled again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and leaves, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)
Then folk do long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in distant lands.
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury went,
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak
 Early English
1
Roman Occupation
2
Anglo-Saxon and Viking
55 B.C.-410 A.D. Invasions 410 – 1066 A.D.

GERMAN(IC)

LATIN
The Norman Invasion
3 (The Battle of Hastings)
in 1066 A.D.

FRENCH
Modern English (1485-Present)
 Modern English began around the 16th
century (late 15th century).
– Early Modern English (1485-1800)
– (Late) Modern English (1800-Present)

 Why did it change?

 Modern English:
Early Modern English (1485-1800)

 Why did it change?

– (1) 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.
 Modern English:
Early Modern English (1485-1800)
 Why did it change?
– (2) Other things that helped the evolution from Middle English to
Modern English:

 New words and phrases

– Resulted from…
 Increased contact with many peoples from around the world
 The Renaissance of Classical learning

 Standardization of language, dialect, spelling, grammar

– Resulted from…
 Invention of printing
 Mass availability of books
 Increased literacy
 Dialect of London standardized by publishing houses located there
 Publication of the 1st English Dictionary (1604)
 Modern English:
Early Modern English (1485-1800)

 Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English.

Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to

be" lines were written in Early
Modern English by Shakespeare.
 Modern English
 Although Modern English began around
the 16th Century, like all languages it is
still changing.
– One change occurred when the th of some
verb forms became s (loveth, loves: hath,
has).
– Auxiliary verbs also changed (he is risen, he
has risen).
 Modern English:
(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:
– (1) the Industrial Revolution and technology created
a need for new words;
– (2) the British Empire at its height covered one
quarter of the earth's surface, and the English
language adopted foreign words from many
countries.
 So what does the evolution of
English look like?
Old English 400-1066 Beowulf “Gaæþ a wyrd swa hio scel” (OE)
(from =
Beowulf!) “Fate goes ever as it must” (MnE)
Middle English 1066-1485 Chaucer “Whan that Aprille with his shoures
(from CT) soote . . . ” (ME) =
“When that April with its sweet showers
. . .” (MnE)
Early Modern 1485-1800 Shakespeare “Sir, I loue you more than words can
English (from KL) weild ye matter” (EMnE) =
“Sir, I love you more than word can
wield the matter” (MnE)
Modern English 1800- Austen It is a truth universally acknowledged,
present (from P&P) that a single man in possession of a
good fortune must be in want of a wife.

OE=Old English ME=Middle English EMnE=Early Modern English MnE=Modern English

What about “American” 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).
 Other Varieties of English
 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.
 Bibliography
 http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
 http://www.krysstal.com/english.html
 Abrams, M. H., and Stephen Greenblatt, Eds. Introduction. The Norton
Anthology of English Literature, seventh ed., vol. 1. New York: W.W.
Norton, 2000. 1-22, 29-32.
 Anderson, Robert, et al. Eds. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course,
Literature of Britain. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993. 2-42.
 Burrow, J. A. “Old and Middle English Literature, c. 700-1485.” The Oxford
Illustrated History of English Literature. Ed. Pat Rogers. Oxford: Oxford UP,
1987.
 Grant, Neil. Kings and Queens. Glasgow: Harper Collins, 1999.
 Hollister, C. Warren. The Making of England, 55 B.C. to 1399. 6th ed.
Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1988
 Pyles, Thomas and John Algeo. The Origins and Development of the English
Language. 4th Ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993.
 Wikipedia (articles on “Norman Invasion,” “Roman Occupation of Britain,”
“King Alfred,” “King Aethelbert,” “Vikings,” and “Battle of Hastings”). Dates
of access: August 10-20, 2006.
Some Characteristics of the Language:
CELTIC
A vigesimal number system (counting by
twenties)
verb-subject-object (VSO) word order
bifurcated demonstrative structure

Examples:
(Irish) Ná bac le mac an bhacaigh is ní
bhacfaidh mac an bhacaigh leat.
(Literal translation) Don't bother with son
the beggar's and not will-bother son the
beggar's with-you.

(Welsh) pedwar ar bymtheg a phedwar

ugain
(Literal translation) four on fifteen and