1. How did English appear in England?

English is a West Germanic language that originated from Anglo Frisian

dialects brought to Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-
Saxon migrants from what is now northwest Germany, southern
Denmark, and the Netherlands. The Anglo-Saxons settled in the British
Isles in the mid-5th century and came to dominate the bulk of southern
Great Britain. Their language, now called Old English, originated as a
group of Anglo-Frisian dialects which were spoken, at least by the
settlers, in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early
Middle Ages, displacing the Celtic languages (and, possibly, British
Latin) that had previously been dominant.
2. What is Middle English and Why did many historians say
English is not creole?
Middle English is the form of English spoken roughly from the time of
the Norman Conquest in 1066 until the end of the 15th century.
- Middle English was influenced by both Anglo-Norman, and later
Anglo-French.
- The English language changed enormously during the Middle English
period, both in vocabulary and pronunciation, and grammar.
2. Middle English Creole hypothesis
- The Middle English creole hypothesis is the concept that the English
language is a creole, i.e a language that developed from a pidgin.
- A pidgin is the first-generation version of a language that forms
between native speakers of different languages- a makeshift
communication bridge.
- Many said that English is probably not a creole because it retains a
high number (283) of irregular verbs.
 - English becomes the language of the lower classes ( peasants and
slaves). Norman-French becomes the language of the court and
propertied classes.
3. Why do historians of English tend to divide the stages of the
language's development into Old, Middle, and Early Modern
English? What distinguishes these different forms of the language
from each other?
England Historians of English divided the stages of the language’s
development into Old, Middle, and Early Modern English for some
reasons. First, it was based on the Foundation of the UK. Old English
was established when the invading Germanic tribes move down from
Scandinavia and spread over Center Europe. 1066 was the year that
ended the old English and started the Middle English. William the
Conqueror invaded and conquered England. At that time, there was a
kind of linguistic language between English and French. Early Modern
English started with the sudden and distinguishable change in
pronunciation (The Great Vowel Shift ) and the Renaissance of Classical
learning. Second, the development of the language is connected closely
with English literature. The history of Old English was oral tradition
literature. The famous poem was the song of Beowulf. Middle English
was associated with the printing house of William Caxton, beginning the
long process of standardization of spelling. The Early Modern English
with Shakespeare, a genius of the English language.
We can distinguish these different forms of the language from each other
by some factors such as spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary
4. How did Old English differ from Modern English? Can you
explain this concerning both grammar and vocabulary?
Old English Modern English
Time Old English was Modern English was
 from 450 AD to from 1500 AD till
1100 AD or, in other the present day, or
words, from Mid 5th from the late 15th
century to Mid 11th century to the
century. present.
Influence Old English had a Modern English
developed as a
Latin influence.
language of its own
as a developed
version of the
language
Sentence structure The word order and Modern English
sentence structure follows the subject-
were rather free verb-object sentence
structure
Pronouns Old English exhibits Modern English
a variety of pronouns
exhibits, usually, one
for the same pronoun
in the same case for pronoun for each
the first and second-
case of the pronoun.
person pronouns. For
example, bě, peč for For example, his for
You in the accusative
genitive case.
case
Pronunciation Old English had Some letters are not
some silent letters.
pronounced In
For example, in
sečean, you will not Modern English. For
pronounce c. That
example, K in knight
means the word is
pronounced as 'seek. is silent.

Grammar Old English had no These reflexive

reflexive pronouns pronouns came to
like myself, exist in English
ourselves, yourself, during the Middle
etc English period.
Nouns, adjectives, Modern English lost
and even articles had its original gender
genders. system.
The infinitive was English lost this
indicated by adding a suffix during the
suffix -an to the verb. Middle English
E.g. bacan 'to bake period itself.
Nouns, adjectives, The Case system was
and articles were lost at the time of
inflected for Case. Middle English.
There were no Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns came to be used in
Double Negative was the Middle English
common, not to period.
make a positive one,
but only to reinforce
the use. negative
sense.
Word order was free.
 Questions could be
formed without 'do'.
Eg. Know you him?
Vocabulary Some words had Today the words
different meanings. mid, and wife have
E.g. mid 'with', wif' different meanings.
woman' Modern English has
Some words other words for
disappeared. E.g. wer them.
'man', swefn 'dream' Modern English has
The Second Person only one pronoun to
pronoun had both indicate both
singular and plural singular
forms. Du 'you Modern English lost
(sing), ge 'you' these dual pronouns
(plural)
The First Person and
the Second Person
pronouns had dual
forms indicating two
people. E.g. with 'we
two', git 'you two'.

5. What factors caused Old English to develop into Middle English

and in what ways did the language change?
 Two main factors: The Norman invasion and political unification.
The Norman invasion introduced a great many French loanwords,
 some 40% of English vocabulary by Chaucer’s time. The case
system of nouns and adjectives and verb declensions was
simplified too; whether as a result of Norman influence is not
certain; it happened in the North Germanic languages without
foreign influence, and so the simplification could have been a
natural internal process.
 Political unification led to an amalgamation of the many separate
languages and dialects into one under the pressure of the need for
everyone to communicate. Such a process can be observed in the
current lessening of the differences between US and British
English, a process abhorred by many on both sides of the Atlantic.

6. What reasons caused Middle English to develop into Modern

English and in what ways did the language change?
Modern English is often dated from the Great Vowel Shift, which took
place mainly during the 15th century. The language was further
transformed by the spread of a standardized London - based dialect in
government and administration and by the standardizing effect of
printing, which also tended to regularize capitalization. As a result, the
language acquired self-conscious terms such as " accent " and " dialect ".
As most early presses came from continental Europe, a few native
English letters such as / p / and // died out; for some time pe was written
as ye. By the time of William Shakespeare ( mid 16th - early 17th
century ), the language had become recognizable as Modern English. In
1604, the first English dictionary was published
7. Why did English become the international language?
The English language evolved in England, from a set of West Germanic
dialects spoken by the Angles and Saxons.

• The emergence of English as a language of Wales.

• There have been two introductions of English to Ireland, a medieval
introduction that led to the development of the now-extinct Yola dialect
and a modern introduction in which Hibernian English largely replaced
Irish.

• The establishment of the first permanent English-speaking colony in

North America

• The British colonization of Australia starting in 1788 brought the

English language to Oceania.

• The English-speaking regions of Canada and the Caribbean are caught

between historical connections with the UK and the Commonwealth.

8. What effect has religion had on the development of English over

time?
- The contribution of the Christian culture was paramount and
significant in the history of English along with the new writing
adopted by the Anglo-Saxons
- Most of the words relating to religion were borrowed at the time of
Christian evolution
- Religion has also played an intriguing part in the 17th century, once
King James decided to translate the Bible (1611)

9. How and why did a standard form of English develop? When did
this occur and what changes did the language undergo during the
process of standardization?
English was a local dialect spoken around London. Nobles
preferred to use French-mixed English in the king’s court. Chaucer
 and his contemporaries started using the local language in
literature, so English grew out of that French influence. Pilgrim’s
Progress and The Canterbury Tales are good examples of early
English. The Elizabethan age gave rise to medieval English, such
as “thou”.The Victorian and modern ages gave us prose and poetry
in standard English. Johnson complied with the first
comprehensive English dictionary.
10. What were the initial causes of the global spread of English and
how did these affect the linguistic development of the language?
The establishment of the first permanent English speaking colony in
North America in 1607 was a major step toward the globalization of the
language

The British colonization of Australia starting in 1788 brought the

English language to Oceania. By the 19th century, the standardization of
British English was more settled than it had been in the previous
century, and this relatively well-established English was brought to
Africa, Asia, and New Zealand

The English-speaking regions of Canada and the Caribbean are caught

between historical connections with the UK and the Commonwealth and
geographical and economic connections with the U.S. In some things
they tend to follow British standards, whereas, in others, especially
commercial, they follow the U.S. standard

11. What were the major external causes of the development of

American English?
12. In what ways did the English language development during the
twentieth century? Try to consider linguistic development at more
than one linguistic level.
Political correctness
Feminism has called into question the sexism of words such as the
mailman, fireman, chairman Inclusiveness: homosexuality, lesbianism,
etc. - such minority groups have also caused the English language to be
re-examined: herstory as an alternative to history
Re-branding and reclaiming certain words by marginalized groups in
society: nigger, queer, gay, queen-now a marker of identity when used
within these groups
Technological innovation
• Information Age-new vocabulary.
Computer terminology: internet, byte, cyberspace, software, hacking, hi-
tech, microchip
New "slang" into mainstream language: noob, troll, flamer, spam,
catfishing
Reverse loanwords Many English words are taken over by other
languages: sport, weekend, etc
13. List the dialects of the English language by continent
- Europe
- North America
- The Caribbean, Central, and South Africa
- Africa
- Oceania
14. What are the main differences between American and British
English?
The main differences between American and British English
include:
-A lack of differentiation between adjectives and adverbs, employing the
equivalent adjectives as adverbs he ran quick/he ran quickly
-Different use of some auxiliary verbs; formal (rather than notional)
agreement with collective nouns
-Different preferences for the past forms of a few verbs
-Different prepositions and adverbs in certain contexts (for example,
AmE in school BrE at school: and whether or not a definite article is
used, in very few cases (AmE to the hospital, BrE to hospital
-Often, these differences are a matter of relative preferences rather than
absolute rules; and most are not stable since the two varieties are
constantly influencing each other, and American English is not a
standardized set of dialects.
- The British are also more likely to use formal speech, such as 'shall',
whereas Americans favour the more informal 'will' or 'should'.
- 'Needn't', which is commonly used in British English, is rarely, if at all
used in American English. In its place is 'don't need to'.
- In British English, 'at' is the preposition for time and place. However,
in American English, 'on' is used instead of the former and 'in' for the
latter.
-Differences in orthography are also minor. The main differences are
that American English usually uses spellings
American English British English
Flavor Flavour
Fiber Fibre
Denfense Defence
Analyze Analyse
License License
Catalog Catalogue
Traveling Travelling
 Program Programe
Maneuver Manoeuvre
Check Cheque
-ize -ise
-There are a few differences in punctuation rules. British English is more
tolerant of run-on sentences, called "comma splices" in American
English, and American English requires that periods and commas be
placed inside closing quotation marks even in cases in which British
rules would place them outside. American English also favors the double
quotation mark ("like this") over single ('as here')
15. Summarize the Socio-historical linguistic context of Australian
English and say some features of Australian English?
The Socio-historical linguistic context of Australian English The
earliest Australian English was spoken by the first generation of native-
born colonists in the Colony of New South Wales from the end of the
18th century.
These native-born children were exposed to a wide range of dialects
from across the British Isles. The process of dialect leveling and
conization which ensued produced a relatively homogenous new variety
of English that was easily understood by all. Peter Miller Cunningham's
1827 book Two Years in New South Wales described the distinctive
accent and vocabulary that had developed among the native-born
colonists.
The first of the Australian gold rushes in the 1850s began a large wave
of immigration, during which about two percent of the population of the
United Kingdom emigrated to the colonies of New South Wales and
Victoria. The Gold Rushes brought immigrants and linguistic influences
from many parts of the world. An example was the introduction of
vocabulary from American English, including some terms later
considered to be typically Australian, such as bushwhacker and squatter.
This American influence was continued with the popularity of American
films from the early 20th century and the influx of American military
personnel during World War II; seen in the enduring persistence of such
universally-accepted terms as okay and guys.
The publication of Edward Ellis Morris's Austral English: A Dictionary
Of Australasian Words, Phrases, And Usages in 1898, which extensively
cataloged Australian English vocabulary, started a wave of academic
interest and codification during the 20th century which resulted in
Australian English becoming established as an endonormative variety
with its internal norms and standards. This culminated in publications
such as the 1981 first edition of the Macquarie Dictionary, a major
English language dictionary based on Australian usage, and the 1988
first edition of The Australian National Dictionary, a historical
dictionary documenting the history of Australian English vocabulary and
idiom.
Some features of Australian English: Australian English is the
country's common language and de facto national language. While
Australia has no official language, English is the first language of the
majority of the population, being the only language spoken in the home
for about 72.7% of Australians. It is also the main language used in
compulsory education, as well as federal, state, and territorial
legislatures and courts.
Australian English began to diverge from British and Irish English after
the First Fleet established the Colony of New South Wales in 1788.
Australian English arose from a dialectal 'melting pot' created by the
intermingling of early settlers who were from a variety of dialectal
regions of Great Britain and Ireland, though its most significant
influences were the dialects of Southeast England. By the 1820s, the
native-born colonists' speech was recognizably distinct from speakers in
Britain and Ireland.
Australian English differs from other varieties in its phonology,
pronunciation, lexicon, idiom, grammar, and spelling. Australian
English is relatively consistent across the continent, however, it
encompasses numerous regional and sociocultural varieties. 'General
Australian' describes the de-facto standard dialect, which is perceived to
be free of pronounced regional or sociocultural markers and that is often
used in the media.
16. What are the differences between Australian English and British
English in pronunciation, vocabulary, and spelling? Give some
examples?
Australian English
PRONUNCIATION
Word British American Australian
hairy /heəri/ /heri/ /ha:eri/
near /niə(r) nir / nia/
ask a:sk /æsk/ /æsk/
answer /a:nsə(r) / ænsər ænsa/
grass Gra:s Græs Gra:s
dance Da:ns dæns Da:ns
process prəʊses Pra:ses Pra:ses
fear fiə fir Fi- fia
sheer ʃiə ʃir ʃi- ʃia
buy bai bai bae
fate feit feit fæit
tour /tʊə(r)/ /tʊr /tʊa
later  /ˈleɪ.tə(r) leidər leida
Vocabulary
Where British and American English vocabulary differs, sometimes
Australian English shares a usage with one of those varieties, as with
petrol (AmE: gasoline) and mobile phone (AmE: cellular phone) which
are shared with British English, or truck (BrE: lorry) and eggplant (BrE:
aubergine) which are shared with American English.
There also exist words which in Australian English are ascribed different
meanings from those ascribed in other varieties of English, for instance:
Biscuit in Australian (and British) English refers to AmE cookie and
cracker, while in American English it refers to a leavened bread product
(potato) Chips refer both to British English crisps (which is not
commonly used in Australian English) and to American English French
fries (which is used alongside hot chips)
Football in Australian English most commonly refers to Australian rules
football, rugby league, or rugby union. British English football is most
commonly referred to as soccer, while American English football is
referred to as gridiron
Pants in Australian (and American) English most commonly refers to
British English trousers, but in British English refers to Australian
English underpants
Spelling
There are several dictionaries of Australian English that adopt a
descriptive approach. The Macquarie Dictionary is most commonly used
by universities, governments, and courts as the standard for Australian
English spelling. The Australian Oxford Dictionary is another
commonly-used dictionary of Australian English.
Australian spelling is significantly closer to British than American
spelling, as it did not adopt the systematic reforms promulgated in Noah
Webster's 1828 Dictionary. Notwithstanding, the Macquarie Dictionary
often lists most American spellings as acceptable secondary variants.
17. Summarize the Socio-historical linguistic context of Canadian
English and say some features of Canadian English?
the Socio-historical linguistic context of Canadian English :
 The term "Canadian English" is first attested in a speech by the
Reverend A. Constable Geikie in an address to the Canadian
Institute in 1857.
 Canadian English is the product of five waves of immigration and
settlement over more than two centuries.
 Canadian English has been developing features of its own since the
early 19th century.
 A noticeable shift in public discourse can only be seen in the
middle of the first decade of the 2000s when Canadian English was
seen as a "given", generally accepted default variety, while before
such statements were usually "balanced" by doubts
some features of Canadian English :
 Canadian English encompasses the varieties of English native to
Canada.
 English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1%
of the total population; the remainder spoke French (20.8%) or
other languages (21.1%).
 Phonologically, Canadian and American English are classified
together as North American English, emphasizing the fact that
most cannot distinguish the typical accents of the two countries by
sound alone. While Canadian English tends to be closer to
American English in most regards, it does possess elements from
British English and some uniquely Canadian characteristics. The
precise influence of American English, British English, and other
sources on Canadian English varieties has been the ongoing focus
of systematic studies since the 1950s.
 The term "Canadian English" is first attested in a speech by the
Reverend A. Constable Geikie in an address to the Canadian
Institute in 1857.
 Canadian English is the product of five waves of immigration and
settlement over more than two centuries.
  Canadian English has been developing features of its own since the
early 19th century.
 A noticeable shift in public discourse can only be seen in the
middle of the first decade of the 2000s when Canadian English was
seen as a "given", generally accepted default variety, while before
such statements were usually "balanced" by doubts
18. Say some typical features of Canadian English in spelling,
phonology, vocabulary and compare them with British English?
- Spelling
+ Words such as realize and organization are usually given their Oxford spellings with a
z.
+ Words such as anesthesia and gynecology are usually or more commonly spelled in
American English rather than anesthesia and gynecology as in British English.
+. French-derived words that in American English end with -or, such as color or honor,
retain British spellings (colour and honour).
+. French-derived words that in American English end with -er, such as fiber or center,
retain British spellings (fibre and centre). However, this rule is much more relaxed than
the -our rule, with kilometer (kilometre) being quite acceptable while meager (meagre)
and somber (sombre) may not even be noticed.
+. While the United States uses the Anglo-French spelling defense and offense (noun),
most Canadians use the British spellings defence and offence. (But defensive and
offensive are universal across all forms of English.)
- Spelling

Although Canada and the United Kingdom are both parts of the Commonwealth of
Nations, and Canada was once ruled by the British Empire, there do remain some
significant differences in the way both countries spell words. Verbs such as, “recognize”
and “analyze” end with a "z" in Canada, and in Britain, they replace the "z" with an "s"
letter, which spells “recognise” and “analyse.” Canadians also spell some words the way
the French do, such as “centre.” This is because French is the second language of Canada,
and like the United States, the French culture also has some influence on the Canadian
dialect.
 - Vocabulary Meanings

The way Canadians use vocabulary closely mirrors the American dialect with some
variance. The British essentially have different English words that mean the same thing
as Canadian words. There is an exhaustive comparison vocabulary list in the resource
section of this article, but some words include the British word "fizzy drink," Canadian
word "pop;" and British word "motorway," Canadian word "Highway”
- Phonology
+ Standard Canadian English
+ Regional variation
• British Columbia
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Maritime
• Newfoundland
• Aboriginal north

19. What is the importance of the English language?

English is the official language of 67 countries
In some countries where English is not the most spoken language,
it is still an official language. That means, it's accepted by a country's
government, and often taught in schools. Amongst these countries are
the "core Anglosphere". These include the USA (with at least 230
million native English speakers), the UK (with 60 million speakers),
Canada (at least 20 million), Australia (at least 17 million), and New
Zealand (4.8 million). Due to the colonial history of the British empire,
some countries also have English as an official language. These include
Barbados, India, Nigeria, and Cyprus.
Approximately 171,000 words in the English vocabulary
At the time of writing, the Oxford English Dictionary contains
171,476 words. However, it's hard to tell if these numbers are reliable,
simply because English has repurposed words from so many other
languages. It's also surprisingly difficult for linguists to measure what
"counts" as a whole word. for example, should we include plurals,
diminutives, and conjugations? It's estimated that three words are added
to the dictionary every two hours, and roughly 1,000 words are added to
the Oxford English Dictionary every year. In 2020 alone, "LOL",
"awesomesauce", and "sticky" were all added to the dictionary, which
shows how flexible and fun the language has become.
Shakespeare added over 1,000 words to the English language
Changes in a language are usually down to the effort of hundreds
of thousands of speakers over hundreds of years. It's extremely unusual
for one person to be responsible for a big linguistic shift, but in English,
there is one exception - William Shakespeare. The English language
wouldn't be the same without the writer of famous plays like Romeo and
Juliet and Hamlet. Through him, we were introduced to words like
"lonely", "critic", and "addiction". Interested to see which words
Shakespeare invented.
English is the dominant language in academia
As of 2020, 17 of the top 20 universities in the global rankings are
English- speaking. This alone shows how widely-adopted English is as
the language of academia. Learning English opens the door to some of
the world's top colleges and universities, particularly in the United States
and the United Kingdom. Many of these institutions ask for a B2 level of
English. The best way to prove English level is by achieving
certification from either the IELTS or TOEFL English exams. One of
these two certifications is a golden ticket to opportunities, not just at
university, but in my career too.
English is the most common business language
Research by Cambridge English found that English is important
for over 95% of employers, even in many countries where English is not
an official language.
 One study found that being fluent in English can increase the
hourly wage by 28% on average.
The most popular entertainment in the world is in English
Hollywood and Netflix have opened up our minds to brilliantly-
told stories and incredible must-see TV.
YouTube is also a great resource to learn a language since 66% of
YouTube's content is in English. There are also lots of vloggers and
channels dedicated to online language learning, like Bob the Canadian,
LinguaMarina, and Mr. Duncan.
English is the most useful language for travel
In many popular tourist destinations, hospitality workers use
English as it helps their businesses. They can better communicate with
potential customers. It also helps customers find what they need and get
their money's worth.
English is the language of the online world
Over half of the most visited web pages in the world are in
English, making it the dominant language online.
English is not just an advantage for online entertainment.
Individuals can develop and advertise their skills using English on the
internet, such as by building their website or taking an online course.
International companies are also using online tools such as email and
Linkedin to source new English-speaking employees, and Zoom to
conduct online interviews.

20. Based on what you know about the development of English from
its earliest inception, can you speculate on how the English language
might develop in the future? What kinds of changes might we expect
to see and what factors affect the extent to which you can make such
predictions?
Future
Variety of change
A wide range of changes is occurring in the status and form of
English around the world. Some changes are relatively swift and
ephemeral (such as fashions in vocabulary), others are more profound
and long-term (such as language shifts in families).
Some predictions are safe, others dangerous
An understanding of the nature of change helps identify what kind
of prediction is relatively safe and what is dangerous. The growth and
decline of native speakers of a language is a relatively long-term change
that can be monitored and to some extent forecasted. Changes in the
number of people learning English as a foreign language, however, may
be surprisingly volatile.