WHAT IS ENGLISH?Prof. Gretchen V. Santos

Forward = Toward=

front/ phoneme /o/ alvelum/

phoneme /ow/

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

What is English? History of the English Language

The history of the English language started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD(number of years that have passed since the birth of Jesus Christ) . 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. Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century.

Old English (450-1100 AD)

Part of Beowulf, a poem written in Old English.

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. For example: be, strong and water, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

This may be translated as:

Ohthere said to his lord, King Alfred, that he of all Norsemen lived north-most. He quoth that he lived in the land northward along the North Sea. He said though that the land was very long from there, but it is all wasteland, except that in a few places here and there Finns [i.e. Sami] encamp, hunting in winter and in summer fishing by the sea. He said that at some time he wanted to find out how long the land lay northward or whether any man lived north of the wasteland. Then he traveled north by the land. All the way he kept the waste land on his starboard and the wide sea on his port three days. Then he was as far north as whale hunters furthest travel. Then he traveled still north as far as he might sail in another three days. Then the land bowed east (or the sea into the land — he did not know which). But he knew that he waited there for west winds (and somewhat north), and sailed east by the land so as he might sail in four days. Then he had to wait for due-north winds, because the land bowed south (or the sea into the land — he did not know which). Then he sailed from there south by the land so as he might sail in five days. Then a large river lay there up into the land. Then they turned up into the river, because they dared not sail forth past the river for hostility, because the land was all settled on the other side of the river. He had not encountered earlier any settled land since he travelled from his own home, but all the way waste land was on his starboard (except fishers, fowlers and hunters, who were all Finns). And the wide sea was always on his port. The Bjarmians have cultivated their land very well, but they did not dare go in there. But the Terfinn’s land was all waste except where hunters encamped, or fishers or fowlers.[citation needed]

Middle English (1100-1500):

An example of Middle English by Chaucer.

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, 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.

From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, 14th century:

Whan that Aprille 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 yë (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages); Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages

Glossary:

soote: sweet swich licour: such liquid Zephirus: the west wind (Zephyrus) eek: also (Dutch ook; German auch) holt: wood (German Holz) the Ram: Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac yronne: run (German gerannt) priketh hem Nature: Nature pricks them hir corages: their hearts

Middle EnglishThis 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.

Modern English

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare.

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.

Early Modern EnglishFrom Paradise Lost by John Milton, 1667:

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, Sing, Heavenly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed, In the beginning how the Heavens and Earth Rose out of chaos: or if Sion hill Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flowed Fast by the oracle of God, I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song, That with no middle Flight intends to soar Above the Aonian mount, whyle it pursues Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.

Modern EnglishTaken from Oliver Twist, 1838, by Charles Dickens:

The evening arrived: the boys took their places; the master in his cook's uniform stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served out, and a long grace was said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared, the boys whispered each other and winked at Oliver, while his next neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger and reckless with misery. He rose from the table, and advancing, basin and spoon in hand, to the master, said, somewhat alarmed at his own temerity—

"Please, sir, I want some more."

The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder, and the boys with fear.

"What!" said the master at length, in a faint voice.

"Please, sir," replied Oliver, "I want some more."

The master aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle, pinioned him in his arms, and shrieked aloud for the beadle.

Modern English

The invention of printing 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.

Varieties of 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: 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.

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 influence on American English

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, 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

A brief chronology of English

BC 55 Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar.

Local inhabitants speak Celtish

BC 43 Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.

436 Roman withdrawal from Britain complete.

449 Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins

450-480 Earliest known Old English inscriptions. Old English

1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England.

c1150 Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English.

Middle English

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.

c1388 Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales.

c1400 The Great Vowel Shift begins.

1476 William Caxton establishes the first English printing press.

Early Modern English

1564 Shakespeare is born.

1604 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 Webster publishes his American English dictionary.

Late Modern English 1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.

1928 The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

Modern English

1564 Shakespeare is born.1604 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 published1702 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. Early Modern English.1782 Britain abandons its American colonies.

Late Modern English.

1828 Webster publishes his American English dictionary.

1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.1928 The Oxford English Dictionary is published.