HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English is a member of the IndoEuropean family of languages

*Indo-European language is a
language used in Europe. It covers
modern and extinct
7 MAJOR BRANCHES OF
INDO0EUROPEAN LANGUAGES
1. Latin and modern languages
2. Germanic languages
3. Indo-Iranian languages
including Hindi and Sanskrit
4. Celtic languages
5. Baltic languages of Latvian and
Lithuanian
6. Slavic languages
English belongs to Germanic group of
language
-The group began a common language
in the Elbe river region about 3000
years ago. Around 2nd century BC spit
into 3 groups, West, East and North.
-English Belongs to West. West is
divided to low and high. English
belong to low.
EAST GERMANIC
-spoken by the people who migrated in
the Southeastern Europe
-dead language
NORTH GERMANIC
-evolved into the modern
Scandinavian language of Swedish,
Banish, Norwegian and Icelandic.
WEST GERMANIC
-ancestor of modern German, Dutch,
Flemish, Frisian and English
OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH HISTORY
OLD ENGLISH
-Celtics
-Romans
-Anglo Saxons
-Christianity
-Vikings
MIDDLE ENGLISH
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
LATE MODERN ENGLISH

7. Greek
THE INFLUENCE OF THE INDOEUROPEAN LANGUAGES
-They have no written records that
support the existence of the said
family
-the only proof that it must have
existed was the connection of words
from different languages which share
the same root
Example.
FATHER (English)
VATER
(German) PATER (Latin)
PITR (Latin)
BEFORE 55BC
-Westward migration of Gaelic
speaking tribe (Celts/Celtics)
-came from central Europe
-warlike
-arrive usually start fighting
-drove out the local Britons but
elsewhere settled peacefully
alongside with them
-brought with them language which
became Welsh and Gaelic, still
spoken more than 2000 years
-said to be natives of British Isles
CELTS
-artistic
-very Filipino
-love stories and music
-made beautiful jewelry (made the
most intricate jewelry until now)
-no written language, passing on
legends of gods and heroes in
stories around the fire
-left a legacy of art and legend
-Language of Welsh, Breton,
Cornish, Irish and Scottish Gaelic
-evolved
-literature related to era, talked
about nature and war
- People who spoke Celtic
languages driven away to Scotland

and Cornwall where the Celtic

language of Breton still spoken by
their descendants to this day
One group made way to Brittany
Coast of France
55BC
-landing of Roman forces in
England led by Julius Caesar
-Left the British Iles immediately
because that time is the decline of
the Roman Empire and Rome needs
them more
-Latin was made the official
language, but it did not replace
Celtic as language of the people
OLD ENGLISH 500-1100 AD
-invasion of the Germanic tribes
-arrivals of the West Germanic
tribes Saxon, Jutes (later on
dispersed to Saxon and Angles)
and Angles (strongest)
-they speak mush understandable
language
-their arrival has pushed the Celtic
speaking native out of the land
making their language extinct
ANGLES
-got their name from land of origin
ENGLE which is the word from
which English is derived
-their language was called Englics
ANGLO SAXONS
- Permanently settled by
Germanic tribes,
- Angles conquered of the land
CONTRIBUTION OF THE TRIBES TO
LANGUAGE
- Building blocks of the language,
-is, are, the, you
- Everyday words (agricultural)
earth, sheep, shepherd, dog
wood, swine

Ambiguous terms

INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY
- Christianity brought its huge
Latin vocabulary in the year AD
597
- When the tribes were
Christianized St. Augustine the
lesser, (bishop of Canterbury) a
new set of words were
introduced into their vocabulary
most of which originated from
Latin (prisle preost biscop)
- Conversion to Christianity is a
gradual but peaceful process,
no one was martyred
- Churches and monasteries were
established , this is the corner
stone of the Anglo-Saxon
culture
- Educated
- This cultural revolution gave
English the capacity to express
abstract thoughts
- reason why the Vikings
attracted mass movement of
Scandinavian people (Vikings)
began as plunder raids trader
businessmen
- ended as conquest settlements
- Danish settlements *Norseman
- Had a profound influence on the
English language
VIKINGS
- Norway
- Sweden
- Denmark
*Where Vikings were found
KING ALFRED
- Cannot accept that they are
living in their own land and
cannot speak their own
language
- Studied the Vikings
- Raised an army without Vikings

Overwhelmed the Danes by

making same design of Viking
ships but 10x bigger
Got support from the
surrounding countries
Was consciously used English as
means of national IDENTITY
King Alfred talked to their
leaders and understand each
other because they came from
one land
Restored his kingdom, rebuilt
monasteries and schools
Educated people using English
Language
Facilitated that translation of
some important works in
English
Saved British isles
Lived harmoniously and
peacefully
Language frontier broke down
PIDGINIZATION took place
(welcome of other vocabulary
and make it simple)

SUMMARY:
CELTS
LATIN AND CELTS
OLD ENGLISH (ANGLES)
OLD NORSE (VIKINGS)
SIMPLIFIED OLD ENGLISH
(KING A )

SAXON + VIKINGS = BEOWULF

- Tradition of Saxon
- Same language as Angles
MIDDLE ENGLISH 110-1500
NORMANS
- William the conqueror, the
duke of Normandy (Part of
Modern France
- Invaded and conquered England
- French became the language of
royal court , ruling and business
class
- Lower classes spoke English
- Upper class spoke French
- LINGUISTIC CLASS DIVISION
FRENCH (ruling class); LATIN
( educated people); ENGLISH
( lower class)
- Infusion of Anglo Norman
( French Dialect) Words
- England became the chief
concern of the nobility when
king John lost the province of
Normandy to the King of France
- ANGLO means English

SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN

14 Century
- English became dominant in
Britain again
- This language is called MIDDLE
ENGLISH ( the language of the
great poet CHAUCER 13401400, but would be difficult for
native English speakers today to
understand ; wrote an ode in
English so that the lower people
can red

DANES & ENGLISH

- Light
- Shade
- Dimension
- Shade variety
- Literature not only about winter
or autumn
- Have depth in language

BLACK DEATH
- Struck English killing 1/3 of the
population
- English almost wipeout
- English people who were left
bargained to Feudal Lords. *

they saved money to buy their

freedom
MIDDLE ENGLISH
- Canterbury Tales * read only the
pages on the left side
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
- Marked by Renaissance period
- Originated from Italy
- Shakespeare coined (invented)
about 2000 words which were
used in his works
2 MAJOR FACCTORS THAT HELPED
SHAPE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- Great vowel shift
- Printing press
*anyone can read literature
*1st dictionary was published
* Johannes Guttenberg invented
the machine
*William Caxton brought it to
England
LATE MODERN ENGLISH (1800PRESENT)
- The only distinction between
language developed in the early
and modern English is the
vocabulary
- More words were added
FACTORS THAT LED TO A WIDER
VOCABULARY
-Industrial Revolution (study of
science)
- The British Empire (infusion of
different language)
*well-traveled explored other culture

- Growth of Global trade (Asia, Russia,

etc.)
- The World War II
*write everything whether good or bad
*no conceal
CELTS native inhabitants
ROMAN EMPIRE- Latin
GERMANIC TRIBES (OLD ENG) Anglo
Saxon Period
VIKING INVASION - Pidginization
NORMAN INVASION (MID ENG)
Linguistic language Division
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH Great
Vowel Shift
- Printing press
LATE MODERN ENGLISH wider
vocabulary
- Realism
RUNES alphabet Vikings
CELTS
- Came to mainland England
ROMANS
- Don caster
GERMANIC
- Welcomed by Celts because
they were savior from roman
- Language based on English
CHRISTIANITY
- Latin used for writing
VIKINGS
- Defeated
- Vikings and Anglo Saxons lived
peacefully