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Why would you say that? A timeline of the English language.

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Why would you say that?

A timeline of the English language.

Language has limitless power

It expresses both good and evil• Jeanette: Thelma, if you were

summing up the philosophy of life what would you say is the most best thing that you have learned?

• Thelma: I think love. When you have real love in your heart for the people and especially the children you have worked with or for anyone I think that covers it all. If you have really loved and feel that you are loved.

• “After venting his spleen about McDonald, the old man raged about the Greenshaws and Weeks for turning state’s evidence, writing that a “traitor is the vilest of vile; and the tongue of man cannot speak a more insidious word”…”If I have said anything in these pages which I should not have said, or offend any, I have no apologies to make”…and with that comment the old man seeming disappeared for history”

Writing can be very personal

“I did stick to my solitary research and writing methods for the most part, but I had to release very rough drafts of the story when it was not

ready to be seen by others…I had to find a balance between my preference for solitary

writing and the more public nature of writing a thesis”

Let’s look at it’s history

Hear Ye, Hear Ye.An odd spelling of a normal word causes it to stand out. One example is “Ye Olde Shoppe”, seen at Old fashioned fairs and stores of that theme. Sounds like a cool selling point. What really happened is that we lost about 12 different letters for the English language. Now Y is the closest approximation to the letter for “Th”. That letter was called Thorne because the way is was written looked like a Thorn. In reality there was a word “ye” but it meant “you” and not “the”

The poetic perspective.This picture is a historical reminder of a time when English was evolving. The Battle of Maldon was immortalized in an Anglo Saxon poem that described a battle with Vikings. This battle is shows a pivotal point in the history on the English Language where Anglo Saxon meets the Viking language of Futhark. This battle and the subsequent evolution of language happened in 991 AD. During the battle the tide lowered revealing a crossway that allowed the Vikings to cross the river.

“When they saw that, and keenly espiedThat bitter bridge-guardians there they met”

Another Culture ClashAnother wartime evolution was during the Norman Conquest; English has not yet travelled far out of the country it was names for but new advances are coming towards it. Those advances are coming fast with swords (and pens). If you like BOEF (beef), maybe the words from this particular language appeal to you. During this war English ordered some new words and phrases à la carte. Hopfully, this gives the moment is history Justice; considering this is where english absorbed the word, along with Jury, Evidence, and Judge.

A different type of war; religious resistance.When Christianity makes it grand entrance in about 1611 it brings back Latin. Which hasn’t really been used sense the Anglo-Saxon language took over. Now it took teams of scribes to rewrite everything in English; from these translations we get phrases like “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and “labour of love”. Latin has not been used much sense the Anglo-Saxon vernacular took over; but at this point it comes home too roost.

The Science of WordingWith Latin making its big comeback scientists used it for a while to write down their discoveries. Right after they has heard Issac Newton’s story of the Pomum falling from the arbor to the Terra for the millionth time. However, science was discovering new things and had to name them which is why the roots of these words have survived into the present. Which is why we have arborday and terraforming; as well as homonyms and heteronyms. Words like acid and pendulum had to be invented by scientists. Scientists also tended to name their discoveries using Greek words; possibly because the Greek culture named many things scientists where just getting around to; like constellation's. Or maybe Greek Mythology is just an exciting read for whoever created the term aphrodisiac; as in Aphrodite, the Goddess of sensuality, relationships and beauty

The Next Big Thing! An almost non-violent evolutionThe next big leap for the English Language comes with the birth of Shakespeare. It theorized that about three thousand words were invented by him. If you’ve ever heard someone called lily livered that’s Shakespeare interacting with our daily lives and he has been sense his first published work in 1593. The photo above is of his play Macbeth in which he penned what some consider one of the most evil female villains of all time. So next time you pet your puppydog or see an alligator on television remember that the words of one person have infested our culture so heavily that people do not even know his words are anything but normal. While some historians debate that Shakespeare could have overheared those words it is said that “dictionary writers like looking them up in Shakespeare because there is more cross dressing and taking peoples eyes out” Macbeth

Education and DialectWhy We Speak English

Eventually that English language made its way to the school houses of the American colonies. Along with Shakespeare and Science and their groovy words. This Texas schoolhouse is pretty similar to most of its time. Even though in Texas people are stereotyped with a specific way of speak; the entire American population has a special way of sayin’ thang’s. See, between winning Independence and World War One America kept itself pretty isolated; that included our language. While the English in Europe continued to evolve American English pretty much stayed the same. The Brits went on to put their children in nappies while American children used diapers. Despite having an array of different dialects the English language has managed to infest most of the known world. Which is not too surprising given that ninety percent of the world was at some point invaded by Britain.

Where Do I Say What?In Texas we still mainly speak the English that the European settlers brought over. The way we say those words is divided though. Dialect is determined depending on where and when an area was settled and if it’s sense been urbanized. The more a Texan drives south the closer they will be to a Spanish influenced dialect. The farther North one travels in Texas the more the dialect is determined by Germanic settlers and their descendants. However, the closer to an urban area (a big city) the less likely people are to have accents at all due to the constant influence of other English speakers. Despite all this many Texans stubbornly hold on to their accent with pride and gusto; as though it is a part of ones identity as a Texan.

Yes, Texans even managed to hold on to their unique accent despite the advent of radio which

introduced them to a more common way of speaking. Probably because they imminently created Texas

themed radio Texas themed radio stations. Further projecting the larger than life image of what a

Texans is. “Here was a man who did not live on Earth with the rest of us…how and I supposed to ask him

a question?” this quote embodies what a Texan persona looks like to an outsider. This unreal image is

assisted by a unique accent that warns anyone that hears it that the speaker is larger than life.

The English language grew, stretched and absorbed for thousands of years before finally making a place in Texas. Imagine this Lovecraftian image described only with words. The English language stopped being a simple necessity a long time ago and began to be an art form. This picture is an album cover for a band whose lyricist uses his Masters Degree in English to write their songs. Not to mention the English teachers that formed our very culture, changed our very reality. How much of modern fiction comes from Tolkien? How much of our lives were changes when Texas English teacher turned politician decided to integrate the schools, (LBJ)? These men knew the power of English and used it to shape their world into a more beautiful place. HOW DO WE USE IT?

Works Cited• "A La Carte." Collins English French Electronic Dictionary. Haper Collins, 2005. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.• Berridge, Wilfred. “Battle of Maldon.” Battle of Maldon. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.• Blough, John. “Ye Olde Money Store.” Flickr. Yahoo!, 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.• Copping, Jasper. "British Have Invaded Nine out of Ten Countries - so Look out Luxembourg." The

Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 30 Sept. 2004. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.• Gardner, Joshua. "Y'all, You All, or You Guys? Dialect Maps Showcase America's Many Linguistic Divides." • Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 06 June 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.• Huens, Jean L. "Jean Leon Huens." Greatest American Painters. American Gallery, 11 Sept. 2010. Web. 4

Oct. 2014.• "Local History." Les Eyzies Prehistoric Capital of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2014.• Martian, Gary. "Phrases Coined by Shakespeare - Macbeth." Phrase Finder. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2014.• Richards-Scully, Chris. “Battle of Maldon.” Battle of Maldon. Wilfrid Berridge, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.• "Shakespeare's Works: A Timeline." Shakespeare's Works: A Timeline. Shakespeare Resource Center, • n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.• Thom, Robert. "Charlemagne and the Monastic Scribes." Charlemagne and the Monastic Scribes - RIT: Art

on Campus. RIT Libraries, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2014.• Thorn – Missing Letter of the Alphabet.” BBC News. BBC, 27 Sept. 2004. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.• Walters, Keith. "DIALECTS." Handbook of Texas. Texas Historical Association, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.•