OXFORD ENGLISHlsBN 978-0-.r 9- 423397 -2ilililltttlilt|[lutil[tl

THE HISTORY OT.THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The time: from about 5000 BC to the twenty-first centuryand beyond. The place: a distant corner of southernRussia, the railways of the Unitcd States, the Caribbcanfarms where sugar is grown' an airport in Japan, thechat rooms of the Internet -'and almost every place inthe world today. The machines; the printing press, TV'the mobile phone, the computer. The people: Celtictravellers, Viking invaders, French landowners, kings,business people, writers, singers, and millions of peoplelike you or me.

Bring them all together, and you have the history of theEnglish language, with its changing grammar, spelling,pronunciation, and vocabulary. It's a story without anend, that involves millions of people. Some helped toshape the language of the past, and others are makingthe English of the future. And one of those people isvou. . .

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( )xt , ( ) t ( t ) t r ( ) ( )K w() l ( Ms l . l l tR A R\l ; tc t l i las

Thc Histr)ry of thc Engl ish LarrguagcStrgc 4 ( 14(X) he rrr lwords)

Factfiles Series Editor: Christine Lindoo

BRIGIT VINEY

The History ofthe English Language

-/OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

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A worLd language

I l r , ' l i , r ru, l is l r l , r r rqtr , r t , . ' is sPol ie ' r r tot l : ry in l ) iu ' (s () l I i . rn 'o1' t t ' ,t l r , r \ t r t ' t ' ic : ts, Asir t , Alr ic ' : r , Arrstrrr l r r r , Nt 'w Zt ' r r l r r r r r l , rur t lur \ ( )n l ( 'o l t l t t ' is l : r r r r ls o l t l rc At l r r r r t ic , l r r r l i r r r r . r r r r . l I ' , r t i l i r '( ) t r ' r l t ls . I t is sPoke r t , ts, t f i t 's t l ru)uur lsc by i70 to - l (X) rrr i l l iorrpr ' ,p l r ' . l t is r r lso uscr l l rs:r sccorrr l l l r r rg,u,rgc by: t s i r r r i l l r rr r r rnr l r t ' r 'o l pcoplc, r rncl r rs rr l i r rc igrr l : r r rgrr , rgt ' l ' ty l rurrr l rct ls, ,1 rrr i l l io l ts rrrorc. l l r rg l ish is probrrhly rrsct l i r r sonrc wrry l ry.r l r , r r t r t ( l r . r r l r tcf of r r l l t l rc 1 ' rcoplc in thc wor lc l . I lccrrrrsc sorrr . rny 1.rcoplc, in so rrrrrny plrrccs, spcel< ()r usc l rnglrsh, i t is, ' l t t ' t r c:r l lcc l r r 'w()r lc l lengLregc' .

Wlro uscs l rngl ish, r rncl wlry is i t such e wic lc ly spokcrrl , r r rurragc? ln cor,rrrrr ics l ikc l l r i te in rrncl thc LlS, F-rrgl is l r is thc f i rstl . r r rsrreuc of t r rost 1-rcoplc: in othcr wr l rc ls, i t is thc f i rst l r r r rgurrgc1tt 'o;r lc lcr t rn r ts c l r i lc i rcn etrc l t l rcy cor.rur.r r rn icrr tc in l , .ngl ish al lt l r t ' t i rnc. ln othcr courr t r ics, l ikc Inclre, l (cnyrr , Sinurr l ' rorc, r rnr ll ) ; l l r r11 \gw ( iu incrr , l r r rgc rrur lbcrs of pcol , lc r rsc l t r rs l ish r ts,r scc

I ' l t r I l is tor t ' o l t l t , ' l : t ty l is l t I . , r t rgt t , rgt '

l l r rg l is l r wort ls r t t t r l sct t tcnccs to t t t : r l

thought that a group of people called the Kurgans spoke thislanguage, or dialects of it, and lived in what is now southernRussia from some time after 5000 BC. In about 3500 BC theKurgans probably began to spread west across Europe andeast across Asia. As groups of Kurgans travelled further andfurther away from each other, they began to develop strongerdifferences in their dialects. 'With the passing of time, thesedialects became different languages. When some of them(the Greek, Anatolian, and Indo-Iranian languages) appearin written form in about 2000 to 1000 BC they are clearlysbparate languages.

Similarities between some languages as they are spokentoday suggest that they probably come from Proto-Indo-European. For example, there are similar words in Europeanand Indo-Iranian languages for people in the family (mother,fatber), animals (dog, sheep, horse), parts of thebody (eye,ear), the weather (rain, snou), and for weapons. Thesesimilarities allow us to imagine something of the life of theKurgans: they worked on the land some of the time, madeclothes from wool. and used wheels.

The heginnings of b)nglish

Morc thirn 2 bill iorr peoplc speirk nrr lrrcftr-liuropcirrrl i l r f iu irge ns their f i rst languargc. The speaker of Hirrdi inI tr t l i i r , thc speaker of Portuguese in Brazi ln arrcl the spcakernl l r rrgl ish in Austral ia al l express thcmselves in Indo-| ; r r ro1'rclr rr languages.

l' lrc (lclts were the first group of Indo-Europeau speakerst( | nlove ilcross Europe. Towards the end of the fifth centuryll( i thcy lregan to leave their homeland north of rhe Alpsnr ecntral Europe. They went ro rhe Black Sea, Turkey,Fr)utlr-west Spain and central ltaly, rhe whole of Britain,nrrrl lreland. As they travelled, differenr dialects of theirInttgunge developed. The Celts who settled in Turkey spoke( iirlrrtian, those in Spain spoke Celtiberian, and those inl;rirrlcc, Italg and norrhern Europe spoke Gaulish. The( iclts who went to Ireland and later Scotland spoke Goidelic(( lrrclic) and those who went ro southern England and Walesrpokc Brythonic (or British).

Unfortunately for the Celts in Britain, other people wantedto tirke advantage of the island's good farming land andvrtluirt'rle metals. In AD 43 the Romans invaded Britain. Theyrcrnrrined there for almost four hundred years, and almostrrll of what is now England came under rheir control. (Theyf rcvcr went very f.ar into Wales or Scotland.) They introducedir ncw way of life and a new language - Latin. British Celtsin thc upper classes and the towns became used to life withlrtws and police, roads, baths, and theatres. Some learnt tospcnk and write Latin. However, a new language did notdcvclop from Latin in Britain as French did in Gaul andSpirrr ish did in Spain.

From the middle of the third century AD, the Romans grewwcrtker and weaker as the Germanic peoples of northernllrrrope invaded more and more Roman lands. In AD 410

' l ' lx ' I l is t t t r l ,o l l l tc l ; t ry l is l t I r t t tNtt t t l t '

t l rc l {orrr i rns f i r r i r l ly le l ' t l } r i t r r i r r . Wit l rot t t thc l {ot t r r t r r i l l ' l l ly l ( )grr l t r r l i t , t l te cot t t t t ry wrts i t t c l , t t tgcr f r r l t t t ot l rcr i t tv : t t lcrs.

ln Al) 449, pcople f rot t t . f t t t l r t r r t l i r t t t toclcr t t l )et t t l t i t rk * t l te. f t t tcs r t r r ivccl i t t sot t t l tcr t t l l r i t r r in r t t td thc Arrglcs - : t ls

' l ' l tc I l istory ol ' t l tc I;.nglisb I tutfutlgt, () l l I :nsl is l t

( lc l t ic worcls for prrrrs of thc countrysi( lc which wcrc ncwt() t l rcnl : f

t0 l ' l tc I l is tor t , o l !1t , , ! ; t tg l is l t l , ryt l l l t ! t ,

Writc ls t rstr l r l ly c l rosc t l rc i r . ( )wn spr ' l l i r rgs ol ' worr ls,r t t td t l rcy t r icc l to show irr t l rc spcl l i r rg l row i r word wirsl)r()n()ur ' rcc(| . Al l thc lct tcrs i rr l r worr l wcrc pr()n() l rrrcccl . l t r rexrt t t tplc t l rc lct tcr / . r i r r hr ing (r ln,q) wrrs l )rol louncccl. ' l ' l rcpr

| . r I1, , ' I l t , t , , t t ' r , l 11, , . I t r t i l t '1, Lt t t , , i t t , r , ,1, .

ot ' l ) , t t t t 's ' i ts l l l ( Arr l i lo S; lxorts t : r l l t ' t l t l r r ' t t t . l i ronr l f i - t l r t ' t '( , lnr( ' in t t t . tnt snt ; r l l l l r ' ( ) l r l ) \ l rorrr | ) t ' r r r r r ; t r ' l i rur t l Nolrr ' : r t '; tnr l stol t ' l io l t l r r r r t l s i lv t ' r ' l ronr l ( ) \ \ 'ns,rrr , . l . l r r r r ' . 1rr . 's ( )n l l r ( 'I ror l l t to:rs l . l l r 7t) . i ; t r r t l 7t) . .1 t l t t .y t l t .s l royt . t l l . l t t l is l ; r l l r t . r r r r t l. l :u ' r 'or , r , , lw() \ / ( ' t 'y in l l ) ( ) r l i ln l ( , l t r is t i ; r r r t t . r r t r t 's o l l t . l r r r r i r r ti r r t l r t ' t to l t l t t ' r tst o l l r , r rg l r r r r r l . ln f i .50 i t l i l r ' l l ( 'Vi l i i r rg rrr t r ryIool i l .ot t t lor t r t t r t l ( , lut t t ' t ' l r t r ly , l r r r . l s() r l \ \ ' r l r l r t 'u:rr luvlr ic l r( ( )nt inu( ' ( l unt i l l iTS. lht ' r r h i r rg Al l t ' r ' t l ( t l rc Atrglo-S;rxorr

luflpn ('u(r uL('llrtnl *errruchmtrrl iiip.

( ) l , l I t r t l r ' l ' l l

I r r r l ' . , r1 \ \ t 'sst ' r l totr t f iT l to St) t ) ) \ \ ' ( ) l l : l l l i l l l l ) ( ) l l . l l l l l r : t t t l t ', , , , l t r r , r , l t ' , r r l , l ! l t ( ' ( ' t t l ( ' t l l wi l l ) t l l t 'Vi l i i l t t ' ,s lo\( ' l ) ; l l : l l ( ' l r . r l1 i l ; t r r , li t | ro l \ \ ' ( )P, t t ' ls . Al t t ' r ' t l r ; l t , t l l t ' l l ( ) l ' l l t ( ' l l l : l l l ( l ( ' i ls l ( ' t ' l l l ) i l l l ,I r r , '11 11 ,r \ t l r ( ' l ) r t t r t ' l : t rv, \ \ ' r ts (( ) t t l r . t l l t ' t l l t t ' t l l t Vr l i r r r l "s ' . t r r , lr l r , r r ' , , t , ,1 l r . r rp, l r r r r t l wi ls r ' ( ) t t t r r , l l . ' .1 l ry Ki l rg Al l r t ' . '1.

I t t , , t t l r ' t ' to br i r rg brtc l i t l t t 'et ' t t t t ' t 's o l l t ' r t t ' t t i r rg t l r : r t l r ; r t ll , r r n r l r 's l r ' , , \ ' t ' r .1, l . . i r ru Al l r t ' t l . l t ' . i . l t ' .1 to t t l r t l

t4 l ' l t t I l isltry ol ' t l tc l inglish Ldrt$ud!1t'

writ tcrr rr f tcr Kirrg Alfrccl 's c lcrr th. Orrc of t l rc grci l tcst wrircrswirs i r tnonk fronr Wcsscx cal lccl Al fr ic (9.5.5-1010). F{cwr()te nl :ury Christ ian works arrd rr guiclc for youu14 uroukscrrlfccl (,'ol/rryuy.'fltis wirs written irr l,atirr rls il convcrsrltionbctweerr ir tcacher lncl ir student, and it is importrut for tworcilsor'rs. lt tclls us a lot irb()ut thc daily lifc of trrorrks irnclordinary pcoplc, and i t also tc l ls us a lot lbout Old Engl ish,because in one copy someone lras wri t ten the Old Engl ishwords above the Latin words.

The greatest piece of literature in Old English that hassurvived is a poem of about 3,000lines called Beowulf.Thiswas probably made in the middle of the eighth century,although it was not actually written down until about twohundred and fifty years later. It tells the story of a brave manfrom Scandinavia called Beowulf. He fights and kills a terribleanimalcalled Grendel, and then kills Grendel's mother, whois just as terrible. It is a poem about life and death, braveryand defeat, war and peace.

Here is a short piece from it in which Beowulf describeshis fight with Grendel ('the devil'):

. . . w&s t6 fore-mihtigfEond on fepe. Hwrpere he his folme forletto lif:wrape list weardian,earm ond eaxle . . .

. . . the deuil pulled freewith enormous force. But, in order to sauehis life, he left behind his hand,his arm and his shoulder . . .

In the Danelaw the Vikings and the English were able tocommunicate quite well, because their two languages, OldNorse and Old English, were both Germanic. One effect

() ld I t ,nsl is l t

ol rhis wrrs thi l t ( )k l l ingl ish bccrrrrrc sirnpler. Mrrrry of t l rcd iH'ererrt worcl ettcl i rrgs cl i sappreir rccl. l)l urrrl cucl irrgs becir rrrcritttgrler rrs thc -s crrcling wrls r'n()rc wiclely usccl, lrrrcl nrirrryvt'rbs wlriclr usccl to chirrrge thcir v

l ( t I ' l r t , I l is l0, t t ,of t l t t ' l i t ru l i . t l t L, t r tgt t , ryt '

t l r r r t t l rc s l rcrr l

l f l l ' l t t ' I l is lor t t o l l l t t ' l t t tg l is l t Lr t t t !ur t f t '

! , ( )vcnr in l l e l r tsscs r t t t t l ret t t r t i t tc t l so l i r r t l tc t tcxt two l tut t r l t 'c t lyc i l rs. l i rcnch rrrrd l . i l l i r r wcr ' ( ' r rscr l i r r F,()vcnlnlcnt , thc ( lhrrrch,t l re l r rw, rrrr t l l i tcrrr t rn 'c. Vcly l i t t lc wrrs wl i t tcn in l ingl ish,r t f r l r

from the landowners. Many left the land and went to workfor more money in the towns. As ordinary people becamemore important, their language - English - became moreimportant too. It was used more and more in government,as fewer and fewer people could understand French. In1,362, English was used for the first time at the openingof Parliament.

When Henry the Fourth became king in 1399, England hadits first English-speaking king since 1066. In the followingcentury English took the place of French in the home, ineducation, and in government. It also became the language ofwritten communication so that after 1450 most letters werein English, not Latin.

English had survived - but it had changed.

t l

5 M iddte Engt ish

Itr tlre fonr ccnturics thirt f

.tl I '1, , ' I l i . t t , t t t , t t l t l t t ' l i . t tv , l i . '1, L,ut1 ' . t t , r1;r '

l ) r ' ( 's( 'nt . l r r t \ , l i t l t l l t ' l r r rg l is l r o l l t t ' t ' l r ' t tsr 's .1. . ' r , , ' l , , l t t ' l .1 i ' r , l t i t l r t ts. ' .1l , t ' ,1r ,11'1 ' . .s1r, t / / , , r r r . l t t ' i l l . . \ l t , t l l tn, , l t t ' i l l l r t '1 i : t t t lo l r t ' r rst ' t l lo( ' \ l ) f ' ( 'ss t l r t ' l r r t vrr t ' . I Lt t ' t ' : tn. l / r r ' r t tct ' t ' l ro( l r t tst ' t l l i r l t l r t 'pt ' t ' l t 'c tt ( 'ns( 's i l t l i rst , l r r r l in t l t t ' t 'nt l / t , / t t 'w: ts t ts. ' t l l i r l 'Pt ' t ' l t ' r ' l l ( ' t rs( ' \( r rs i r r / / r r ' t , l t , t t , t ' gort t ' ) , r r r . . l / r r ' wrrs usct l l i r t l r r ' pr tssivr ' ( r ts i r ri l t r , , ts r lot t t ) . l i r 'wrts r t lso t tset l l i r l t l rc c()rr t i r r t r ( ) t rs tet tst 's ( r tsin l tc is cot t r i r rg) . l ' l rcsr. ' tcnscs wcrc r l ( ) t t tsct l ve ry ol letr r t t t l t ist i r r rc, l lut l r r tcr t l rcy wclc rrscr l ntuclr nr()r 'c .

Wlrcn thc r l i f fcrcnt t tor t t t ct t r l i t t l3s c l is : t1 ' rpcrt lct l , pcoplc l r , t t lt ( ) l )ut words i r r r t pr t r t ic t t l , t r orr lcr t ( ) cxl)rcss t l lcr l t t i t l l l . ' l 'hcnl()st c()ni l l r< ln orclct ' thcy t rsccl wi ls st l l ) icct - vcr[) - t l l l icct .' l ' f rcy also t tsccl prc1. t

:'l ' l ' l t r I l is tor t , o l ! l t t ' I i t tg l is l t I . tutgtrr t ! t '

l i lcrrch wotr ls rr lnr()s l i t r r t t rccl i r t tc ly. l i ) r cxi l l l lp lc, I l tc l l r tg l is l r-h, , t " .1 - / i r / crrc l ings wct 'c r tdclccl to I ; ret tc l t worcls t . t t t r tkc

!(tt t ht, ltt,t tt t i f i t l , ;tnel 1rc,r c c l l t I.At t l rc s lu l lc t i l l lc scvcrr l l t l t< l t ts l t t t r l w

2726 I ' l tc I l is lor t ,o l l l t r l t .nyl is l t I rut l t t t t l t '

sorrg f rorr r r rorrnt l 122.5. l t is r r l lorr t t l rc crrckoo :r [ r i r r l t l r r r tv is i ts l l r i t l r i r r i r r t l rc cr l r lv sunlnrcr.

Svmer is icumen inLhude sing cuccu!Growep sed and blowep medAnd springp pe wde nu.Sing cuccu!

Summc'r has crtmc in.Loudly sing, cuckoo!The secd grows and thc field comcs inkt lkttucrAnd the wood comes uD now.Sing, cuckoo!

The greatest writer in Middle English was Gcoffrey Chaucer(1343-1400). Chaucer, who lived in London, was both a poetand an important government official. He wrote in the EastMidlands dialect (spoken by people living in the Oxford-London-Cambridge triangle) and used many words fromFrench. He also used rhyme, which was used in French andItalian poetry. His best-known work, The Canterbwry Tales,written in the 1390s, begins wiih these famous words:

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote,The droghte of March hath perced to the rooteAnd bathed every veyne in swich licuor,Of which vertu engendred is the flour . . .Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages . . .

When April with its sueet showersHas pierced the drought of March to the rootAnd bathed euery uein in such liqwidFrom wbich strength tbe flouer is engendered . . .Then people long to go on pilgrimdges . . .

Mi, l , l lc l : t ty l is l t

I l r t 'poct t t is l rborr t i r gr 'oul) o l 'or t l i r r r t ry pcoplc wlro jorrrrrcyt u t l r t ' l r r rgc chrrrc l r r r t Olrntcrbtrry t ( )gct l ler , tc l l i r rg errc l r othcr. , tot ' ics () l l t l rc wrry. ' l 'hcy rrrc rr vrrr iccl grorr l ' r o l :c l r r r r r rctcrs,, r r r t l ( lhrrrrccr c lcscr ibcs t l rcrrr colorrr fu l ly . ' l 'hcre is t l rc Wi l t( rvorrrrrn) of l lath, thc Oook, thc ( l lcrk (rr stuclcnt r r t ( )xforcl) ,t l r t 'Man of l .aw, the Shipnrarr , thc Morrk, r rncl nrrrny othcrs.l r r t l rc i r st()r ics l r r rc l convcrsir t iorrs, ( lhauccr givcs us plcrr tyol t lc t : r i ls i tbout t l rc i r l ivcs. l ' '< l rcx:rrnplc, hc rrrrrkcs fun oI thcI ' r ' t 'nclr s; lokcrr in I inglancl :

And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,After the scole of Stratford atte Bowel'or Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.

And Frencb sbc spoke extremely heautifullyWith an dccent from Stratford-at-BowIJecause tbe Frencb of Paris was unknown to her.

(, ltrtucer was very good at describing people and also atwriting conversation which sounded very real. He had a greatcftcct on writers in the fifteenth century and many of themr'opied him.

Another very popular poem in the fourteenth, f ifteenth,;rrrcl sixteenth centuries was Piers Plowman 6y Will iaml,:rngland (1330-1400). In this, Langland wrote about thetl iff icult ies of the poor in England, the bad customs of the( )lrurch, and also the perfect Christian l ife. It was a 'dream'lx)cm, in which the writer describes what he has seen in a.lrcirm. This kind of poem was popular in France and Italy;tt the time, but Langland wrote it in the way Old Englishl)ocms were written. He did not use rhyme; instead in eachlirre he used several words that begin with the same sound.' l 'his short piece from near the beginning of the poem showshow he did this:

l l i ' l ' l t t ' I l is l r t r t ' r t f l l t t ' l i t ty l is l , l . rutr t t r t r ( '

I wlts wery, l irrwlrrrrlrcrl, iuxl wclrt rlc to rcstcVndcr u lrro

M r tt lr r tt I i ,nyl i sb I x'gi tts t lt0

6 Modern Engtish begins

Thc sixtecnt l r ccntury wl ls i l t inrc of c l r r r r rgcs in F)trropc.Ettrol ' rc:uts bcg:rn to cxplorc thc Arrrcr icus, Asirr , arrc l Afr ic l r ,

ltrd lcrrnitrg irr nll irrcirs flowcrccl.ln Engl l rrc l , thc Engl ish l i rnguirgcgrew irt order tr> exprcss ir lirrgcnunrt'rer of rrew iclcas.

At the beginning of the sixteenthcentury Latin was the langr.rage oflearning in all of Europe, and it wasseen as richer than English and theother spoken European languages.However, with the growth ofeducation, the introduction ofprinting, and the new interest inlearning, this began to change.More and more people wanted toread books by Roman and Greekwriters, and in England theywanted to read them in English.So these books were translated,and other books about learning

were written in English. Using English meant that a writercould reach more people, as one sixteenth-century printerexplained to a writer who preferred Latin:

Though, sir, your book be wise and firll of learning,yet. . . it will not be so saleable.

Ffirwcvcr, tIc ircce pfittrcc 9f [ ' lrrglis[ ,ts it lrtttgttrtgc 1f lcitrrt i lgWttB n() t c

].1 I l t t ' I l ts tot t , t t l t l , t ' l . t t t l t t l , . t t r1 l t t , ry, '

as nourls ( laugh a,nd inui tc), or nourls as vcrbs, or madeadjectivcs frorn nouns (shady frrn shade). Or thcy put twowords tollether (chairman), or they added new parts towords; un- to comfortable, for example.

The age of Qr-reen Elizabeth the First (Queen of England1558-1603) was one of a great flowcring of literature. Therewere the poets Spenser and Sidney, aud the writers of playsMarlowe, Jonson, and, of course, Wil l iam Shakespeare.

Slrakespeare (1564-1616) is considered the greatest writerof plays. He expressed his understandir-rg of human naturein extraordinarily rich language in his plays and poems. Hehad the largest vocabulary of any English writer and madeabout two thousand new words, and a large number ofexpressions which are now part of Modern English. Forexample, he wrote: it 's early days (it 's too soon to know whatwill bappen); tongwe-tied (unable to speak becawse you areshy); the long and tbe short of it (all that needs to be saidabout sometbing); loue is bLind. His sLrccess and fame

Nlt t r l t ' r r t I i t t g l is l t I t t 'g i t t s t l

, l t t t ' i t tg l r is l i l t ' r i t t t t 'nt t ' ; tnt t l r r r t l r is p l r rys l r r r r l r r v( ' r 'y l l f r ' i l lt ' l l t 'c t ot t l l r rg l ish.

Wlrcrr l r l izrr l rct l r t l rc ' l i i ls t d ic ' t l i r r 160.1 s l rc lc l ' t r ro c l r i l t l r t . r r ,sr , l ret 'corrs i r r , King.f l r r r rcs t l tc Sixt l r o l 'scot l r r r r r l , becrr r r r t .ls ing

. f r r r r rcs t l rc I ; i rst o l ' l lnglrrrrr l . I r r l ( r04 t l rc rrew l i i r rg. , r 'c leret l r r t r r rnslrr t iorr o l : t l rc l l ib lc into l , ) rg l is l r . ' l 'hc lc weretnruty r l i f fcrent l r r rg l ish t r rurs l r r t iorrs of thc l l ib lc r t r r t l l r r 'wi lntccl to l r r rvc orrc rrrr i r r t r t r r rs l i r t ion. l t wrrs nrrrr lc l ry l i l ' ty-l i r t t r t r luts lators wh

The King James Bibte

book that they read again and agair-r. As a result, it had animportant effect on the English language. Many expressionsfrom it became part of the language; for example, tbe appleof somebody's eye (a person who is loued uery mwch bysomebody); by tbe skin of yowr teetb (yow only just manageto do sometbing); the salt of the earth (a uery bonest person);the straigbt and narrow (an honest way of liuing).Its poetryhad a great effect on many English writers in the centuriesthat followed.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries therewere some grammatical changes to English, although not asmany as those that had happened to Middle English. Peoplebegan to use do with a main verb. For example, you couldsay I know not or I do not know. You could say I know or Ido knou. And you could say know you? or do yow know? Inthe seventeenfh century, people began to use I know,I do notknow, and do you know? more often. Another verb change

M r t , l t ' r t t I i t t g l i s l t I t t 'g i t t s

wits th( ' t ' r t t l i r rg ol thc ' t l r i r t l l lcrsr l r r s i r rgrr l r r l in t l rc l ) rcs( 'nttct tsc. l ly l7(X) the - / / . r wrts r to lot tgcr rrscr l l r rrc l , r l l vcrbs tor, lr t l t t , t i r tgfr l l t ing, r rnd rrs f i r r , r .sf t . I lcrc is prtr . t. f r r 1 ' r ,crrr in. f r r r r l r ic : r r r ( l rc. lc l ry l , . t r isc l ]crrrct t . l t rs c l r l lcc l'Nolr l . ick lc ' lwrrng! ' ( 'Nor l . iverr a t , i t t lc Acccnr! ' ) . l r r i t . thcpoct cornl ' r l r r ins thrr t l rc l sorr l ras conrc brrc l< f ronr Anrcr icrrwi t l rotr t l r r Anrcr ic lu l r lcccnt:

Flf you wirnt plctrsc hirn meck hinr tinkYuh bring birck sonrcting ncwYuh always cal l him 'Pa'dis cvcnin'Wcn him come scy 'P

()'l I l t t ' I 1 i t1, , , r , r t l t l t t l ; t ty l is l t ! . r t t t r r t r t t " t ,

i r l ) ( )ut t l t t 's t ' t tc 'w vi l r i ( ' t ics rrnt l strr t ly i r r ! l t l lcnl , so i r r l 'u l r l ' t .wt .wi l l l

is of tcn wri t terr i rs wcl l as spoken. Slang usual ly [ ' relongs toa groLlp of people who use it to show thart they belong tothirt group - ancl that others do not. Sometimes they neecllernguage that others will not understand. For example, younipeople, people in prison, and people in the army all have theirown kinds of slar-rg. Slang is colourful, funny, and often cruel.It gives us rlew words for things we already have words for(for example, rock up for arriue). Jargon, on the other hand,often gives us new words for new things or ideas.

Most slang changes quite quickly, because the people whouse it need to make new words to keep confusing outsiders.But some slang lasts longer: pig for policeman has beenused since 1800. Other words become part of the informallanguage. For example, row, meaning noisy argument,was slang in Britain in the eighteenth century. Some slangwords become part of Standard English. For example, joke,meaning somethingtbat someone says to make people lawgh,was a slang word at the end of the seventeenth century Otherslang words change their meaning over time. For example, inAnrerican English preuious meant arriuing too soon in the

I r t t l t t t l , l l l r l s l r l t ty fl

l9(X)s; i r r 1920 i l l r re,rrrr t t iRl t t (o l 'c lothcs) rrnt l in r l r t , 1970s i rl l lcr lnt , t l t i l r t r t l t ' .

' l ' l tc s l r r r rp, t tscr l [ ry Al ' l icrrrr-Arrrc l icrrrr r r r r rs ic i r r r rs l r r rs l r l r r li r l l lcr l t cf fcct orr l l r i t ish slrrrrg sincc t l rc Sccorrt l Worlr l Wrr.' l ' l r is cf fcct hirs growrr lcccnt ly rrs Arrre r ic ' l r rr r l rp rnrrsic withits frrst spol

( r t l

plates of meat means feet, bread and honey means money . ltcan become more diff icult to understand when the rhymingword is not used. For exampl e, I need some bread meansI need some money. Today most new rhyming slang usesfamous names. For example, Britney Spears means beers.Rhyming slang is also used in Australia and the US.

New slang words are always appearing and disappearing.Some words are used only by the small groups that madethem, others become part of national or internationalslang, and others cross into ordinary spoken language.lrr this way, slang is an important source of new words inStandard Engl ish.

12 The future of Engt ish

' lt 's go

7t l ' l ' lta I Iistory of' tlta I;,nglish Lttnt!,urtSt'

i t r thc worlc l by 2050, sorrrc bcl icvc - i r rrc l thir t l i r rgl ish wi l lrcrlrlrin rt worlcl llrngu:rgc for rrrirny ycrrrs. In this vicw, tlrct lS wi l l rculnin t l rc r ic l rcst country i rr thc worlc l , Anrcr ic lnpopul i t r ntusic i t t tc l f i l r rrs wi l l cor.r t i l ruc to bc f i rshiona[r lc, nrrclFlrrgl ish wi l l st i l l l rc t l rc Inngu:rge oF scicrrcc, contt t tutr icrr t ionstcch nology, i utcrnrtiolr irl lrnsi ucss, ccl ncirti

72 I ' l t t ' l l is l t , r . t ' r t f t l t r l i t ry l is l t l , ruteurter '

( ) r r t l r t 'ot l r t ' r ' l r r r r r t l , i t s t ' t ' r rs t l r r r l t l rc nunr l r t ' r 'o l r t 'g iorr ; r lv : t t ' i t ' l i r 's o l ' l l r tg l ish is p,r 'owirrp, : r r t . l wi l l c()nl inu( ' l ( ) l l r ' ( )w.' l ' l tc 'sc 'v i l l ' ic t i ( 's ln: ly lx 'c()nr( 'n l ( ) r ' ( ' , rnr ' l r l rotr ' t l i f fcrr ' r r t f ronrt l re Worl t l Strurr l r t r r l l< i r r r l o l ' l r r rg l ish, r t l thorrglr t l rcy rrrrry rrotbccontc se l ) : r t ' r r tc l r tn l iur tgcs [ rccrtr tsc t l rcy wi l l l t l tvc l t lot o lc()ntr lct wi t l r str tnt l r r r r l k i r r r ls o l ' l ' l rg l is l r t l r rorrp,h tc lcvis iorr ,r l rc l io, r r r rc l t l rc l r r tcrrret .

As t l rc t t r r t t rbcr of sccorrc l - : rncl l t r l rc igrr- l r r r rgrrrrgc s1'rcrr l

7574 ( ) l t tsstry Olosstry

tntcrnct thcirr tcrrr l t t i r l t t l t | l tc twr l rkt l fcr l t t rpt t tcrsthi1t |ctsy()uscicncesec itrf

7776

A(]TIVITII I ,S

Before Reading

How much do you know about dre language of English? Fillin the blanks with these i tems.

rrn, b, e, femininc, from, -ful, full stop, gct, i, -ing, masculinc,question mdrk, s, the, turn, with

vowels: a r t ic les:cotlsonants:

_, verbs:prepositionsi

-r endings: _,punctuation i

_t genders: _,

How much do you know about the history of the language?Choose the best words to complete these sentences.

1 English developed from the languages spoken by invadersfrom northern Europe I China.

2 The English words for some of the days of the week comefrom the names of kings and queens I gods and goddesses.

3 A place with a name ending in -ford is usually near a riuer Ia mountain.

4 For more than three hundred years after 1066, all the kingsof England spoke German I Frencb.

5 Six hundred years ago, the letter A in knee was pronowncedI not pronounced.

Can you name some words that have come into your languagefrom English? Who uses them? How do you feel about thearrival of English words in your language? Why do you feelthis?

ACTIVITI I . ]S

While Reading

Read Chapter 1, then complete these sentences with the correctwords.

communication, international, quarter, settled, simple, sltread,traffic, widely

Enelish is sooken verv . About a of all thepeople in the world use English in some way.Airspeak' is a

-

form of English used ininternational air

-

control.English started to

-

around the world about threehundred years ago, when many British people

-

inother countries.

4 In the twentieth century, air travel made morebusiness possible. Telephones and computers also madefaster

-

possible.

Read Chapter 2,then put these events in the correct order.

The Romans left Britain.'Wessex became the strongest kingdom in England.The Kurgan people began to travel across Europe and Asia.Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from northern Europe settled inBritain.Some British people learnt to speak and write Latin.The Celts settled in Britain.The people of England and south-east Scotland organizedthemselves into seven kingdoms.The Romans invaded Britain.The Celts began to leave their homeland in central Europe.

I2a

-)4

67

89

7t1 A(: t tvt t ttt.si l(It i Ir l lrulinp,

Rcacl Ohrrptcr .3, t lrcn rcwritc t lrcsc untnrc scntcnces with thcc()rrcct inf

tJ0 A( ir t v t' t' t t',si W hile Redding

Read Chapters 10 and 11, then match these halves of sentences.

1 Thee an

fi2 / \ ( : t tvt t t t , \ i Af ' l ( r lk ' , td iug

Mrrtch thc worcls orr thc lcft with tlrc tytrres of larrguirgc onr ight , What do thc words rrrcan?

t l tc

I f rccwrry2 urr ; l t r t t lowrr:rblc.1 srty itgirirr4 bumy.5 yru[- f l?6 l:rss7 wcalrrstl cliv9 ckrmb

l0 yousc

rt Anglo-Saxorr c l i r r lcctb Olcl l . )ngl ishc t tor t l rcrrr h ingl ish c l i r r lectcl Sc

u4

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brigit Vincy l ivcs in thc cast of England iu tlrc univcrsity city ofCambridgc. Shc has l ivcd rnairr ly in Br i ta in, but has also spcnra fcw ycars in thc Middlc East, in Syria and Egypt, which shcthoroughly cnjoycd.

Shc has worked in English Language Tcaching for morc thantwenty-five years, f irst as a teacher in Egypt, and thcrr as an editorand writcr, She has written grammar practice materials, rcaders, acourse book for children, and teacher's resourcc boclks.

She loves travell ing to different countries, exploring new cities,eating new food and trying to learn a l itt le of the language.Sometimes the sounds are just too hard to pronounce, however(Czech has some difficult ones!).

Brigit likes cycling round Cambridge, visiting old houses andother historical places, and walking in the counrry. She likes mealsout with friends, trips to the cinema, and art exhibitions. Shelikes many kinds of art, old and modern, and enjoys drawing andpainting, especially landscapes.

8.5

OXFORD BOOK\OflORMS LIBRARY( i /rrs.slcs , Orinrc (t Mysttr l . I ;dtt l i l ts. l idt, lds!, Ct ' I l r trntr

l lumun lnlcrest , l ' l tyscripts, ' l 'hr i l ler t t Adwnlttre' l ' rue Stories , l (orld Stori ts

- l 'hc oxtotru u(x)r(w()rrMs t, tutr.r tuv proviclcs cnjoyublc rcirdirrg in l l . rrgl ish, withir wiclc rirrrgc of clirssic rncl nrocle rn fiction, non-fiction, rrrrrl plrrys, lt ittcluclcsorigirrirl lrrd rrcilr1'rtccl tcxts irr scvcrr cnrcfully grirclccl lrrrrgurrgc strrgcs, wlriclrtrrkc lc:rrrrcrs fr

tf6

l 'H l , : ' oxl , 'otr l ) t ]ooKwoRMs t . t t i t {At{y( ; l tAl) tN ( ; A N l ) sA M tr l . l , l l . lxTRACTss'r 'Art l ' t , : l t o 250 Hl iAt)wolr . l )s

l ')rcscnt sirtrplc - prcscnt c()ntinu()us - inrPcrlrrivc -&tnlcdnnol , musl - going to (futurc) - sinrl 'r lc gcruncls ...

Hcr phorrc is r inging- but whcrc is i t?Sal ly gcts out of bed and looks in hcr [ rag. No phone.

She looks undcr the bcd. No phorrc. Then she looks bchindthe door. There is her phonc. Sal ly picks up her phone andanswers tt. Sally's Phone

STAGEIr{ooHtsAD\VORDS... past simplc - coordination with and, but, or -

subordination with before, after, when, because, so . ..

I knew him in Persia. He was a famous builder and Iworked with him there. For a time I was his friend, butnot for long. 'When he came to Paris, I came after him -I wanted to watch him. He was a very clever, very dangerousman, Tbe Pbantom of the Opera

sTAcE2o/ooHEADWORDS. .. present perfect - will (future) - (don't) haue to, must not, could -

comparison of adiectives - simple lf clauses - past continuous -rag quesrions * askltell * infinitive ...

\7hile I was writing these words in my diary, I decidedwhat to do. I must try to escape. I shall try to get down thewall outside. The window is high above the ground, butI have to try. I shall take some of the gold with me - if Iescape, perhaps it will be helpful later. Dracula

t17

s' l 'A(; l , : J . rooo l l l iA l )wol t l )s.., sltoull, rrr(ry - l)t 'cscr'rt pcrfecl contitrrrorrs urt ' l l(, prtst pcrlctt

- c i r r rs i r t ivc - rc l i r t ivc c l ; r r rscs - int l i lc ' t t st i t t ( 'ntc i l ls , . .() f coursc, i t wirs rrrost i r rrport i rrr t thir t n() ()nc slr0rr lc l sccO

8tt

l t ( ) ( )KwoltMs l r^( l l l r l l . l is s ' | ,

Great Crimes, l ( ) l tN l is( io l" l '

It is nrorc thrn f