What is English?

What is English?

What is English?
Before 500AD Celtic languages were spoken in Britain These survived the Roman occupation th In the 5 and 6th centuries England was invaded by Germanic tribes The Angles, Saxons and Jutes Angle - English

What is English?
Old English (450-1100AD)
Four major dialects of Old English -Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon and Kentish. Original, Celtic-speaking inhabitants pushed out into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland few Celtic words in English Influence from Vikings. - invasions beginning around 850 - many North Germanic words into the language - Dream, skirt (cognate of shirt). Majority of words in modern English come from foreign, not Old English roots. Only about one sixth of the known Old English words have descendants surviving today. But these are the most important words in English the core vocabulary and 90% of the 100 most common words. Words like be, water, and strong, for example, derive from Old English roots.

What is English?
Middle English (1100-1500)
William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England 1066 AD. The new overlords spoke a dialect of Old French. With the invasion many new words came into English often divided on class lines

A cordial reception A hearty welcome Restaurant Beef Pork Mutton Poultry Sheep Hen Butcher Abattoir French

Farmer Cow Pig

Slaughterhouse

Germanic

This class divide survives in English to this day so the English language has a class system embedded inside it.

What is English?
Fder ure u e eart on heofonum si in nama gehalgod tobecume in rice gewure in willa on eoran swa swa on heofonum urne gedghwamlican hlaf syle us to dg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfa urum gyltendum and ne geld u us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele solice. Oure fadir at art in heuenes halwid be i name; i reume or kyngdom come to be. Be i wille don in here as it is doun in heuene. yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred. And foryeue to us oure dettis at is oure synnys as we foryeuen to oure dettouris at is to men at han synned in us. And lede us not into temptacion but delyuere us from euyl. Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen. Giue us this day our daily bread. And forgiue us our debts as we forgiue our debters. And lead us not into temptation, but deliuer us from euill. Amen.

What is English?
Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1204 AD, King John lost Normandy to France. The the first king whose native language was English was Henry IV (1367-1413) The mixture of English and French is known as Middle English. The most famous example of Middle English is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Unlike Old English, Middle English can be read, (with difficulty), by modern English-speaking people.

Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced
to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open eye- So priketh hem Nature in hir corages.....

What is English?
Early Modern English (1500-1800)
Scholarship brought many classical Latin and Greek words into the Language. Shakespeare wrote in modern English. Many familiar words and phrases were coined or first recorded by Shakespeare - "one fell swoop," "vanish into thin air, and "flesh and blood" "critical," "leapfrog," "majestic, "dwindle," and "pedant." The Great Vowel Shift - began around 1400. Vowels began to be made further to the front The letter "e at the end of words became silent. Lyf (pronounced "leef") became life. Name used to be pronounced "nam-a," five was "feef," and down was "doon." Major changes occurred within a century. The shift is still not over, vowel sounds are still shortening (but much more slowly). William Caxton brought the printing press to England in 1476. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the first English dictionary was published in 1604.

What is English?
Late Modern English (1800 - present)
Language changes and loan words have made English spelling inconsistent -When compared to French, where spelling and grammar have been artificially preserved, the spoken and written languages are now different. New words hello, ok, dog.. The industrial and scientific revolutions created a need for new words. Latin & Greek roots - oxygen, protein, nuclear, and vaccine English roots - horsepower, airplane, and typewriter. Words from other languages via British Empire -

Hindi - pundit, shampoo, pajamas Czech robot, pistol, collage

Chinese tea, kowtow, typhoon Spanish banana, macho, tornado

What is English?
International English
English English Scots English American English Australian English New Zealand English Singapore English English creoles International English - English as a Lingua Franca
asples bilong mi = my hometown Dispela em wanpela imegensi = it's an emergency