HI-LING
LINGUISTICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
UNIT 2: VIOLATION OF MAXIMS
Lesson 1: History of English
Definition: Has the English language always remained unchanged? How has it evolved into the language we use today? Historical linguistics looks at how language changes over time, focussing on different aspects such as morphology (= how are words put together?), syntax (= how are sentences formed) and phonology (= what are the sounds of a language).
Key Concepts
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language change
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synthetic and analytic languages
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diachronic and synchronic variation
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Indo-European family tree
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Old English
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Middle English
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Germanic tribes
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Vikings
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Norman Conquest
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Modern English
UNIT 1: Where it all started...
Wes hāl. Lange iċ ne ġeseah þē! Hu eart þú?
This may sound like a foreign language, but it is not! It is English, in fact, Old English. It means ‘Hello. Long time, no see! How are you?’ You could reply “Iċ mæġ wel”, which means ‘I’m fine’. Even if it sounds unfamiliar to you, many Old English words have survived in Modern English, such as “butter, beer, drink, fish and foot”.
These short phrases make it clear that English has evolved significantly since its beginnings. It is a basic rule that languages change over time. We consider this as neither good nor bad, it is just a natural thing. Every part of a language can change, but it depends on the situation: what changes exactly, and how does it change? Looking at language change, we can look at it from two perspectives: on the one hand, there is variation at the same time (= synchronic variation); on the other, we can look at change over time (= diachronic variation).
So, let us go back to the beginning and have a look at the most important stages. The history of English can be seen as a history of invasions that strongly influenced it.
Firstly, in AD 410, the Romans withdrew from Britain, but their presence is still noticeable in English; many words have Latin roots, for example “village”, “town” and “street”. They made way for numerous Germanic tribes like the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, all of whom started to settle in. In doing so, they imported their languages, which would constitute the basis of Old English as they brought useful vocabulary for everyday life, e.g., “house”, “loaf” and “woman”. Moreover, did you know that Germanic gods lent their names to the four days “Tuesday”, “Wednesday”, “Thursday” and “Friday”?
Secondly, around AD 787, the Vikings carried out raids (= attacks) from Scandinavia and left up to 900 Scandinavian words, especially place names, which are still in use. Amongst them, the common verbs “give” and “take” may stand out to you.
At this stage, Old English was primarily a Germanic language that was influenced by some Old Norse (= Viking) vocabulary. Within this group, it belonged to the family of Indo-European languages. Look at the family tree and discuss the following questions with a partner:
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Which are the major six language families?
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Which language family does English belong to, and what are its closest ancestors?
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Do you speak other languages, and do they belong to the same family?
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What do you think the asterisk * next to “Germanic”, “West”, “East” and “North” means?
You have just learnt that English belongs to the “Anglo-Frisian” branch. There is only one other member: Frisian. Even though it is one of the closest relatives of the English language, we know little about it. Do you want to get to know it? Watch the video up to 1’20. Can you understand parts of what is said? What languages does it remind you of?
Exercise 1
Similarities between languages reveal common family background. This video may have reminded you a bit of Dutch, German or even Swedish and Icelandic. With a partner, complete the table, using an online dictionary if necessary
Look at the table and discuss with a partner whether there is something that stands out to you. Which languages are similar, and which ones are different? Do you have an idea what the reason might be?
UNIT 2: From Middle English to Modern English
One of the strongest influences was yet to come: in AD 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England from the South and defeated King Harold at the renowned Battle of Hastings. Not only did the Normans take over the reign, but they also brought French to England, marking the beginning of the Middle English period, which would last from about 1066 to 1509.
In fact, the ruling class spoke French, actually Anglo-Norman, whereas the common people like peasants used English. Hence, most literature in England from AD 1100-1350 was in French while Latin continued to be the language of university, church and law. There was a clear linguistic class divide: the poor spoke English, whereas the nobility stuck to French or Latin.
In the 13th century, French started losing its prestige more and more: the Norman nobility seemed to identify themselves increasingly as English more than French. What’s more, the French spoken in England was considered a provincial dialect by the continental French who had stayed in their home country because some of the sentence structures resembled English.
When in 1328 the king of France, Charles IV, died without leaving an heir, the Hundred Year’s War over the throne broke out between England and France. The war did not help the already struggling language – after 200 years as a low-dog, English became the language of government and replaced both Latin and French as the language of teaching at the University of Oxford.
In addition, in 1367, Henry IV was the first native English-speaking king to come to power and the invention of the printing press by Caxton helped spread the language.
Exercise 2
Watch the video by Open University. It summarises the Norman Conquest in a humorous way.
You heard that the animal names “swine”, “cow” and “sheep” were used by English farmers, whereas the French brought in the words “pork”, “beef” and “mouton”. Discuss with a partner whether they mean the same, and in which context they are used.
There are plenty of more examples of such pairs in English – try to combine the French loanwords with the Germanic words. It’s quite impressive how many standard words with French origin we use in English, isn’t it?
Puzzle online
Puzzle as a PDF
Final thought for this lesson
Why are the invasions and political changes important for the evolution of English? They had a big impact on how the language developed, and we can look at three main time periods.
Old English (AD 449-1066): Old English was mainly a Germanic language with the influence of some Old Norse (= Viking) vocabulary. In fact, they enlarged their vocabulary by word-compounding and affixation.
Middle English (AD 1066-1500): After the Norman conquest, more than 10,000 French loan words made their way into the English vocabulary. As a result, the vocabulary of Middle English became more and more a blend of Germanic and Romance words.
Modern English (AD 1500-present day): Due to the loss of prestige of the French and their language, English was able to establish itself as the language of politics, education and literature.
These changes show how English grew and mixed with other languages, making it the language we know today.