HISTORY OF ENGLISH ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT Arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. Angles Saxons Jutes Formed Anglo- Saxon England 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. OLD ENGLISH (450-1100 AD) Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different Germanic dialects. This group of dialects forms what linguists refer to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. The word "English" was in Old English Englisc, and that comes from the name of the Angles. The Angles were named from Engle, their land of origin. Part of the oldest English poem, Beowulf, a poem written in Old English Latin win (wine) candel (candle) belt (belt) weall (wall) ecclesia (church) epicopus (bishop) baptismus (baptism) monachus (monk) eucharistia (eucharist) presbyter (presbyter) ("Language Timeline", The British Library Board) Old Norse eyra (ear) ǫrr (liberal) illiligr/ illr/ ljótr (ugly) (See full list: <http://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old _Norse_Dictionary_E2N.shtm#l>) MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100-CIRCA 1500 AD) After William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD with his armies and became king, he brought his nobles, who spoke French, to be the new government. The Old French (Normans) took over as the language of the court, business, administration, and culture. Latin was mostly used for written language, especially that of the Church. Meanwhile, The English language, as the language of the now lower class, was considered a vulgar tongue. An example of Middle English poem by Chaucer, “Canterburry Tales” Old French crown castle court parliament army mansion beauty romance servant peasant traitor Lower- class English Upper- class French ("Language Timeline", The British Library Board) ox cow calf sheep swine deer beef lamb mutton pork bacon venison EARLY MODERN ENGLISH (1500-1800) Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation—the Great Vowel Shift (GVS) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many people from around the world. Great Vowel Shift is a massive sound change affecting the long vowels of English during the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Basically, the long vowels shifted upwards; that is, a vowel that used to be pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced in a different place, higher up in the mouth. This period in English cultural history (early 16th century to the early 17th century) is sometimes referred to as "the age of Shakespeare" or the Elizabethan era, taking the name of the English Renaissance's most famous author and most important monarch, respectively. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I there was an explosion of culture in the form of support of the arts, popularization of the printing press, and massive amounts of sea travel. Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare LATE MODERN ENGLISH (1800-PRESENT) The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. 2 Factors: Industrial Revolution and technology; and the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries. Britain was an Empire for 200 years between the 18th and 20th centuries and English language continued to change as the British Empire moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa. They sent people to settle and live in their conquered places and as settlers interacted with natives, new words were added to the English vocabulary. Native Australian Industrial Revolution trains engine pulleys combustion electricity telephone telegraph camera Malayo- Polynesian (Tagalog) Yo- yo boondocks Kangaroo boomerang India (Pubjabi) turban curry Tamil mango curry anaconda Brief chronology of English 55 BC Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar 43 AD Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain 436 Complete withdrawal of the Romans from Britain 499 Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins 450-480 1066 c. 1150 Local inhabitants speak Celt Earliest known Old English inscriptions William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England Old English Earliest surviving manuscripts in 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 c. 1388 Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales c. 1400 The Great Vowel Shift campaign Middle English Brief chronology of English 1476 William Caxton establishes the first English printing press 1604 Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published 1607 The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established 1702 The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London 1755 Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary 1782 Britain abandons its colonies in what is later to become the USA 1828 Webster publishes his American English dictionary 1922 The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded 1928 The Oxford English Dictionary is published Early Modern EnglishContemporary Age Modern English Simplified timeline of developments in the English language (from Dan Short's History of the English Language) The main influences on the development of the English language.
