IH San Isidro
Teacher Development
England and English… a potted history
1) When the Romans arrived in the British Isles, who did they find living there? a.
Celts b.
c.
Vikings
Anglo Saxons
The Roman invasion began around 43AD. The Anglo Saxons arrived in the 5 th century as the Roman power began to wane. The Vikings began to invade in the 9 th century.
2) The original name for the British Isles Prettania was first used by which ancient culture? a.
Romans b.
c.
Greeks
Egyptians
Historians largely agree that the name was drawn from native Celticlanguage names for the archipelago.
It was during Caesar’s reign that the P was changed to a B.
3) The British Isles have an official name in how may regional languages/dialects? a.
3 b.
c.
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English: British Isles Norman: Îles Britanniques
Eorpa or Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór
Irish: Oileáin Iarthair
Manx: Ny h-Ellanyn GoaldaghScottish
Gaelic: Eileanan Bhreatainn Welsh: Ynysoedd Prydain
4) English originates from a fusion of languages and dialects that existed in the British Isles. Which of the following is not believed to have formed part of this fusion? a.
Old English b.
Old Gutnish c.
Old Norse
Old English is a West Germanic language that originates from the Anglo
Frisian dialects brought to the British Isles by Germanic invaders.
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was brought to England by the Norsemen who settled in NE England.
Old Gutnish is an Old Norse dialect that was spoken on the island of
Gotland
1066 and all that…
The Norman Conquest brought another new language to the British Isles. For about 300 years following the
Conquest the Norman Kings and their high nobility only spoke one of the langues d’oïl – Anglo Norman.
At the same time, the lower classes carried on speaking Old English and the influence of the Norman languages was restricted mainly to the courts and government.
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Middle English…
Middle English is closest to what we speak today. There was a big influence from Anglo Norman, and to this day we still have two or more words for the same thing. It is generally agreed that the words of Norman origin have a more formal connotation.
Old Frankish bandjan / bannjan
Germanic
Abandon
Ache Proto Germanic
Akiz
OF PGmc lat / lēti lataz/lētiz
Allegiance
Old Norse angr
West Germanic
Anger
Ask
Relinquish
Pain
Fidelity
Rage
Inquire
Latinate relinquere puena
(Gk poinē) fidēlitās rabiēs
In + quarere
Source: Emma Cresswell IH San Isidro &
Doctor Antonio J. Recca (Share Convention 2010)

IH San Isidro
Teacher Development aiskōn
Old Frankish stikkan
West Germanic bī + ginnan
Proto Germanic grautaz
Middle English jobbe
Proto Germanic kilÞam
PGmc Old Saxon wagōjanan wogōn
Etiquette
Begin
Great
Job
Child
In Vogue
Manner
Commence
Grand
Employment
Infant
Elegant manuāria < manuārius com + initiāre grandis implicāre + mentum īnfāns
Ēlegāns < ēlegere
Orm and his Ormulum…
In the 12 th century, a Lincolnshire monk, at the request of a fellow brother set about writing a biblical exegesis (critical explanation/interpretation).
Called Ormulum, this text is invaluable to experts wanting to trace the development of English.
Orm was concerned with the fact that the priests were unable to read church writings properly to their congregations, so he developed an idiosyncratic spelling system to tell readers how to pronounce each vowel.
In addition to particular spelling and pronunciation rules, he is also credited with having introduced the /d ʒ/ for the letter <g> as well as the hard /g/.
15 rules of thumb:
1.
Double consonants are used to show that the preceding vowel is short and doesn’t glide: common / ɒ
/ ≠ local / əʊ/ little / ɪ
/ ≠ title /a ɪ
/
2.
In order to show the difference between homonyms, the letter w or k was introduced before the word: ring
⇒ wring rite
⇒ write
3.
An e was added to the end of a word to lengthen the sound and produce a glide: cake, make
4.
Words with the accent on the last syllable double the final consonant when affixing: refer
⇒ referred kidnap
⇒ kidnapping
5.
Words ending in al, el, il, ol, ul double the l when affixing, regardless of where the accent falls, in order to keep a short vowel sound: cancel
⇒ cancelled annul
⇒ annulled
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Source: Emma Cresswell IH San Isidro &
Doctor Antonio J. Recca (Share Convention 2010)

IH San Isidro
Teacher Development control
⇒ controlling
6.
Rule 5 also applies in regards to prefixes: prove
⇒
approve / ə
/ ply
⇒
apply / ə
/
7.
Monosyllabic words written with a single vowel do not end with the single consonants s f c l z: miss – jazz – mess – kiss – cliff
B.
Monosyllabic words written with a single vowel cannot end in a single c, they require a ck: luck – sick pick
C.
Monosyllabic words written with two vowels end in k: look – leek – meek
D.
Monosyllabic words written with a single vowel cannot end in a single l, they require a double l: still – pill – mill
8.
The spelling ea generally has two ways of pronunciation due to an historical assimilation process: /i:/
(heat) /e/ (head)
The exceptions are: great, break, steak /e ɪ
/
9.
ph becomes /f/: physics - philosopher
10.
Only one vowel precedes dge: bridge – ridge
11.
Only one vowel precedes tch: match – bitch
12.
Mute h for: hour, honest, heir, honour
13.
th in the middle of words becomes
θ
for Greek words: method – mathematics
B.
th becomes
θ at the end of words: month - moth - cloth
C.
th is pronounced / δ / when used at the beginning of Saxon words: this – there – though
D.
th is pronounced / δ / when used in the middle of Germanic words: father – mother – brother
14.
Words ending in the are pronounced / δ /
Clothe / δ / ≠ Cloth /
θ
/
Bathe / δ / ≠ Bath /
θ/

Don’t forget our friends Thomas and Ester who live by the Thames…
15.
In some old words that end in gh are pronounced f:
Enough – laugh – rough – tough - cough
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Source: Emma Cresswell IH San Isidro &
Doctor Antonio J. Recca (Share Convention 2010)

IH San Isidro
Teacher Development
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormulum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Germanic_and_Latinate_equivalents_in_English
Dr. Recca recommends the following reference books:
History of Britain by David McDowall
The people of England by Maurice Ashley
English Practice by P Corder
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Source: Emma Cresswell IH San Isidro &
Doctor Antonio J. Recca (Share Convention 2010)