History of English

Early English Development• Major influences on the

development and spread of the English language begins in 400 CE.– Around 400 AD, the Celts were

living in modern day Britain and ruled by the Romans.

– During Roman rule, the Romans protected the Celts from invasions by the Germanic tribes.

– However, when the Roman Empire began to decline, they left Britain (410 AD) and the Celts vulnerable to invasion.

Germanic Invasion• When the Romans left Britain,

the Germanic tribes – the Anglos, the Saxons, the Jutes and Frisians – began to invade the Celts (450 AD) and defeated them.

• The Germanic tribes settled and developed kingdoms there and for centuries began using Anglo-Saxon (Old English) to communicate.

• In 597 BC, Christian missionaries began to come to Britain and so began Latin’s influence on the English language.

Viking Invasions• In the 700s AD, the Vikings

began to invade the Britons (Germanic tribes).

• After much fighting, a treaty was signed that split Britain in half.

• The northern half was awarded to the Danes (Vikings) and the southern portion was occupied by the Saxons.

• The Danes spoke a language called Old Norse which influenced English giving it words like freckle, leg, root, skin and want.

The Norman Conquest• In 1066 AD, the Normans (Vikings

from France) invaded Britain again.• While in France, they adopted French

culture, language and customs.• The Normans conquered all of Britain

and inserted a Norman king as the ruler of Britain.

• As a result, for 300 years, French was the language of the British government.– This is why English is filled with French

words, especially legal and political words like council, judge, jury, evidence, marriage, sovereign, govern, damage, justice and parliament.

The Norman Conquest

• Two levels of society emerged during this time; first, the French speaking nobility and secondly, the Old English speaking peasants.

• In addition, Roman Catholic clergy accompanied the Norman invasion and furthered its influence.

100 Year’s War and English’s Rise to Prominence

• In 1337, the 100 Year’s War (which lasted 116 years) broke out between the British and the French.

• In 1453, the war ended with an British loss but the rise of English as the dominant language in the region.

Modern Influences on English1. Shakespeare ( 1564 – 1616 AD)

– Shakespeare gave English 2,000 words and phrases!

2. King James Bible (1611 AD)3. Emergence of science in the 17th

century4. British imperialism (1583 – 1914

AD)5. American Colonization (1607 AD)6. Standardization of the English

language with the dictionary (1746-1755 AD and again in 1857 – 1928)

7. The Internet

Bibliography

1. http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/11/13/open-university-history-of-the-english-language-animated/ (Video)

2. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-english-evolve-kate-gardoqui (Video)

3. http://film.britishcouncil.org/history-of-the-english-language (Video and research)