English 121
The Mother Tongue
--Language Families
--Old English influences
--Celtic
--Anglo-Saxon
--Vikings
--Norman (French)
--Middle English
--William Caxton
Language Families:
How do we know about the relationship of English to
other languages?
William Jones:
--Noted the similarities of Sanskrit to Latin
and Greek
ex. Sanskrit pitar-Latin/Greek pater
A quote from William Jones
The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is
of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the
Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more
exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both
of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of
verbs and the forms of grammar, than could
possibly have been produced by accident; so
strong indeed, that no philologer could examine
them all three, without believing them to have
spring from some common source, which,
perhaps, no longer exists . .
Grimm’s Law
The connection between sounds p—f
Ex: Latin piscisEnglish fish
The Grimm Brothers also famous for…
Philology: the study of the historical
relationship between languages
Languages contributing to modern
Day English
Celtic language:
--The “original” language of modern-Day Great
Britain
--Welsh still spoken today in northern, western,
and southern Wales
Some facts:
--508,098 speakers (1991 census)
-- Also spoken in Argentina, Canada
--Also known as CYMRAEG
Modern Day England
Anglo-Saxon People: Peat Bog men
Anglo-Saxon
The most common words in modern day
English as of Anglo-Saxon origin
the; a; and; to; it; was; you; that
All of these are Anglo Saxon words
In fact the 100 most common words are
originally Anglo-Saxon words
Christian influence on Anglo-Saxon
words
Anglo-Saxons did not have words for things
such as—angel, shrine, psalm
The Bible also introduced words with
Eastern origins such as camel, cedar,
orange, pepper.
Anglo-Saxon words borrowed from Latin
Anglos Saxon Art
Wessex remained Anglo-Saxon as King
Alfred of Wessex defeated the Vikings in
battle.
Gradually, the areas of England under Viking
rule were reconquered by Alfred's
descendents.
Viking influence:
By 878 the Vikings had
conquered all of England except Wessex.
King Alfred:
King Alfred decided that a book should be written
about the Anglo-Saxons. It was called the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and it
one main reason why we know so much about the Anglo Saxons.
Two cultures—two laws
► Anglo-Saxon
Law
 Feudal system
► Dane
Law
 More free land-owners who were not required
to work on their lord's lands
Danes and Anglo Saxons lived side by side
their languages were pidginized
Pidgin: a language created out of a mixture of other languages
as a means of communication between speakers of different
language backgrounds
This coexistence contributed to the loss of
word endings (i.e.,inflections) in Old English
Norman Conquest in 1066
French as a prestige language in
England
English not spoken by people in power
French the language of government and law:
attorney, felony, jail
Food names: beef, pork
Why didn’t French survive in
England? Five main reasons
1.
Language of most people in England was
in English and not in French
--Farmers
--Laborers
--Servants
French had overt prestige but English had covert
prestige.
2. Intermarrying resulted in a stronger English
influence.
--French noblemen would marry their
English workers and be surrounded by
English-speakers
3. During the reign of King John, he lost
control of areas of France (around 1200)
and this forced French nobles to choose
between living in England or living in
France. The French nobles left for
Normandy.
4. Hundred Years War (1337-1454):
a greater decline in French influence
5. Black Death
Loss of valuable artisan skills disappeared when large numbers of the
working class died. Those who had skills became even more valuable than
the rich people. Poor laborers had more influence. They all spoke English.
Middle English
► Still
some French influence but now a
politically strong language.
► Many
middle English texts, the most famous
Geoffrey Chaucer
What did Middle English look like?
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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 half cours yronne,,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(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.
Try to figure out what this says…
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Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with its sweet-smelling showers
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
Has pierced the drought of March to the root,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
By which power the flower is created;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
When the West Wind also with its sweet breath,
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In every wood and field has breathed life into
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
The tender new leaves, and the young sun
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
Has run half its course in Aries,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
And small fowls make melody,
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That slepen al the nyght with open ye
Those that sleep all the night with open eyes
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
(So Nature incites them in their hearts),
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
And professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
To distant shrines, known in various lands;
And specially from every shires ende
And specially from every shire's end
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
Of England to Canterbury they travel,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
To seek the holy blessed martyr,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Who helped them when they were sick.
► What
differences does Middle English have
from Old English?
► What
differences does Middle English has
from Modern English?
Problem of dialects of English at that time:
1. English had emerged as a national language
separate from French
2. A lack of conventionalized spellings and
authoritative sources
3. Language change was rapid—the English
language was chiefly spoken.
William Caxton and the printing
press
First printed book in English: The
History of Troy (1483)
What effect does printing have on
language?
►
►
Identical material for everyone to read
Fairly cheap to reproduce
However…
►
Caxton had to choose one dialect to
represent—he chose the east midlands
dialect.
Features of East Midlands
I not ich
home and not hame
► Printing
had a “levelling effect” on English
► Also contributed to Standardization
Thursday 09/22
► Film
#2: The Mother Tongue
► Quiz
#2: Material up to today