OBAC201: Functional English

BACHELOR OF ARTS
SEMESTER 2

OBAC201
FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH
Unit: 1 – The Evolution of the English Language 1
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Unit 1
The Evolution of the English Language
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SL Fig No / Table SAQ /
Topic Page No
No / Graph Activity
1 Overview - -
4
1.1 Learning Objectives - -
2 Introduction - - 5

3 Evolution of Language – Origin of Language – From 1 - 6-7

the beginning to modern times
4 Theories on the Origin of Languages - -
4.1 Bow- Vow Theory - -
4.2 Ding – Dong Theory - -
4.3 Pooh – Pooh theory - -
8-10
4.4 Gesture Theory - -
4.5 Yo-He-Ho Theory - -
4.6 The Musical Theory - -
4.7 The Contact Theory - -
5 Family of Languages and Indo-European Family - -
5.1 Tower of Babel Theory - -
5.2 Proto-World Theory - -
5.3 Evolutionary Theory - -
11-13
5.4 The Pedigree Theory or The Family Tree - -
Theory (Tree model)
5.5 The Wave Theory - -
5.6 Noam Chomsky - theory of language - -
6 The Languages of the Indo-Germanic Family 2 - 14-17
7 Common characteristics of the Germanic group - -
7.1 The position of English in the Indo-Germanic 18-19
- 1
family of languages
8 Origins and development of the English language -
8.1 Old English (450-1100 AD) 3, 4 -
8.2 Middle English (1100-1500) - - 20-24
8.3 Middle English Vocabulary - -
8.4 Middle English Literature - -

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8.5 Modern English - -

8.6 Early Modern English (1500-1800) - -
8.7 Late Modern English (1800-Present) - -
9 Conclusion - 2 25-26
10 Summary - - 27
11 Glossary - - 28
12 Terminal Questions - - 29
13 Answers - -
13.1 Self-Assessment Questions - - 30-32
13.2 Terminal Questions - -
14 References - - 33
-

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1. OVERVIEW
The Unit covers the fascinating and intriguing history of the evolution of languages from the
beginning to modern times. The Unit examines the origin of the English Language and the various
theories on the origin of languages. The Unit also discusses the ancestry of English, which can
be traced to the Indo-Germanic family. At the end of the Unit, we shall understand the power of
language as a living testament that both influences and is influenced by human culture and society.

1.1. Learning Objectives

In this Unit, you will –

Understand the Origin of Language – from the beginning to modern times.

Examine the theories on the Origin of Languages.
Identify the family of Languages and the Indo-European Family.
Discuss the characteristics of the Germanic group of Languages.
Evaluate the position of English in the Indo-Germanic family of languages.
Assess the origin and development of the English Language through the Old English, Middle
English and Modern English periods.

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2. INTRODUCTION
Among the world languages, English is one of the foremost forms of global communication. The
influence of English is evident from the vast population of English speakers, which numbers about
2 billion people around the globe, both native and non-native speakers. Therefore, it is important
to learn about the history of the evolution of languages, which will help us to place the English
language in perspective.

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3. EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE – ORIGIN OF

LANGUAGE – FROM THE BEGINNING TO MODERN
TIMES
Language, in its broadest sense, is defined as a system of signaling produced by the vocal organs.
Expressing one's feelings and thoughts in written or oral forms of language is something unique
to human beings, perhaps that which distinguishes them from other living beings. Language is the
medium through which one communicates ideas, facts, desires and emotions conveyed through
words, writing and gestures in personal and professional life. Language enables human beings to
be creative and innovative, be it scientific inventions or artistic representations.

Language consists of/is characterized by particular sets of sounds, which are referred to as “the
words of the language”. These words are expressed verbally (spoken and written) and non-
verbally (signs and gestures). Although animals and birds have characteristic sounds to convey
their emotion, it cannot be considered as evolved as that of human communication.

The renowned philologist, William Sapir, engaged in the study of the origin of languages defines
languages as “a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and
desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols”.

Modern research has identified the faculty of speech among animals in a nascent form. According
to Darwin, the Anthropoid Apes, the immediate predecessor of Primitive Man, make utterances
that can be considered presumably intelligent among themselves. However, in the case of human
beings, the power of speech has given rise to languages, which have been remarkable in the
journey of man from cave age to the modern era.

In the early stages of language development, one can observe the co-relation between the written
and spoken forms. However, we can see that in the process of evolution, due to socio-historical
reasons, pronunciation, grammar, semantics (meaning)and vocabulary of languages undergo
changes. For example, the pronunciation and meaning of a word change, whereas the spelling
remains the same. All this goes to show that a language is never static. It is evolutionary and
dynamic.

Language is intimately linked with the cultural, political, social and economic spheres of human
life in a nation. The two significant forms of language are spoken and written. A language may
disappear and become a dead language if it is not in constant use. Classical Latin, Aramaic and

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Sumerian are some examples of extinct languages. Languages like English, German, French and
Spanish are popular languages and are widely studied outside the countries of their origins. Today,
languages like Russian, Chinese and Japanese have gained popularity among language
enthusiasts across the globe.

Approximately 1.3 billion native speakers, or around 16% of the global population, speak a variety
of Chinese as their first language. In 2023, there were around 1.5 billion people worldwide who
spoke English either natively or as a second language. English is spoken not only by the people
of the United Kingdom but also by the people of the United States of America, Canada, Australia
and many other countries, which were formerly British-occupied territories of the world. English is
the language extensively spoken in the Commonwealth countries including India. English, is the
Internet’s lingua franca or the Internet’s universal language connecting people from all over the
world.

See the chart below (Fig 1) compiled by Ethnologue, which is widely considered the most complete
language data source currently in existence.

Fig 1: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/

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4. THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGES

Theories regarding the origin of languages can be traced to specific pieces of evidence and
assumptions related to records and documents of the prehistoric life of human beings. They
cannot be accepted as the only authoritative evidence to prove the validity of the origin of
languages. However, they give indications as to how human beings developed languages and
communicated during the pre-linguistic era.

Philologists or experts in languages have identified and acknowledged seven theories connected
with the origin of languages. They are:

4.1. Bow- Vow Theory

According to the Bow-vow theory, “primitive” human beings of the pre-linguistic period imitated the
typical sounds and gestures of the objects, animals and creatures about which they wanted to
convey to others. For example, the sound of dogs barking as ‘bow-vow’ and goats bleating as
‘meh-meh’. This theory is concerned with onomatopoeic words, and words such as whistle, snake,
puff, buzz, cuckoo and quack can trace their origin to this theory. There are many other words that
show a ‘symbolic symbolism’ – indicating the action that they symbolize. For example, flash,
splash, slush, grunt, bump and sneeze are words proving this theory. This theory is not definite
but holds good to a large extent.

4.2. Ding – Dong Theory

The Din-dong theory was formulated by the German philologist Max Muller. Later, it was modified
and applied by many philologists and experts in language. This theory states that languages
originated from the sense of rhythm that human beings innately possess, which is aligned with the
rhythm of the universe. This theory is based on the fact that human beings imitate not only sounds
but also the movements that they observe in the world around them. Bucher, the linguistic expert,
propounded the theory that the oldest human speech resembled a simple, rhythmical chant
accompanied by coordinated steps in walking or the harmonized beats of hands while working.
This theory argues that there is harmony between sound and meaning. However, this theory has
been rejected by philologists because it is inadequate.

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4.3. Pooh – Pooh Theory

According to the theorists who have put forward the Pooh-Pooh theory, the origin of languages
can be traced to the expression of strong emotions through exclamations of joy, wonder, anger,
surprise, etc. They suggest that language is a refined manifestation that conveys emotions
through sounds such as ah, ha, hoo, hee and so on. The name “pooh-pooh” is used in Modern
English to mean " to view with contempt". The theory has its limitations because it fails to explain
the correspondence between the articulation of expressions and the symbols of language. It is still
valid and not totally rejected.

4.4. Gesture Theory

This theory was advocated by Sir Richard Paget, a linguistic scholar. According to this theory, in
pre-historic times, human beings communicated through gestures of the hand. This is the
forerunner of the modern sign language used by and for the hearing challenged. Gestures are
often accompanied by corresponding vocal movements. The theorists who support this idea hold
the view that human beings would have transitioned from sign language to advanced or evolved
forms of spoken language. We can observe that among most cultures in the world, gestures are
used to emphasise spoken words. Therefore, this theory is acceptable as it clearly defines the
relationship between sound and sense.

4.5. Yo-He-Ho Theory

In the nineteenth century, Philologist Noire came forward with an interesting theory that language
originated from the sounds involuntarily produced by a group of people engaged in collective
labour such as loading logs, lifting weights, erecting poles, etc.

4.6. The Musical Theory

This theory, put forward by the Danish linguist Otto Jesperson, relates the origin of language to
songs. According to him, early language evolved utterances of love during the courting time of
human beings and also from the animal world. This theory lacks universal validity.

4.7. The Contact Theory

This theory emerged from the strong urge and dire need of human beings to contact fellow beings.
It was developed by G Revesz, a Professor of Psychology at Amsterdam. He described the

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various stages of the evolution of language through contact - from sound, cry, call, and finally,
word.

All of these theories are valid to some extent, but they cannot be considered conclusive. The
evolution of language has been a continuous and evolutionary process and is going through
changes according to the different contexts in different parts of the world. However, we can affirm
that the ideas and speculations put forward by these theories may have complimented and
supplemented the process of the evolution of languages.

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5. FAMILY OF LANGUAGES AND INDO-EUROPEAN

FAMILY
The lexicon and accidence/ grammar of the English language are closely related to those of
Scandinavian, German, and Dutch. Similar word relationships exist in Latin, Sanskrit and English.
These similarities suggest that these languages share a common ancestor, but over time, these
branches have become separate due to the original language-speaking society splitting up into
smaller groups that are essentially isolated from one another or do not communicate with each
other.

Modern research in linguistic studies has demonstrated that German, Dutch, Scandinavian,
English, and German all share a common ancestor, which is known as the Germanic group of
languages. However, by comparing old documents, it is possible to determine a common ancestor
for languages like Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. These languages are similar to one
another in many ways. Philologists have determined that a type of Latin is the shared ancestor.
Typically, these languages fall within the Romance Languages category.

English is a member of the Indo-European language family. Aryan or Indo-Germanic ancestry was
also suggested for this family in the early centuries after Christ. The majority of European
languages, Indian languages and Persian all share an Indo-Germanic common ancestor. There
is little chance that any race spoke Indo-European as a first language. For all intents and purposes,
the language is considered Indo-European because it is spoken in large parts of Europe and India.

English is a member of the Indo-European language family. Aryan or Indo-Germanic ancestry was
also suggested for this family in the early centuries following Christ. The majority of European
languages, Indian languages, and Persian all share an Indo-Germanic common ancestor. There
is little chance that any race spoke Indo-European as a first language. For all intents and purposes,
the language is considered Indo-European because it is spoken in large parts of Europe and India.

From a single language that must have been spoken by a relatively small group of individuals in
a given place, millions of people have spoken the huge complex of languages for thousands of
years. Between 3500 and 3000 BC, a nomadic tribe speaking Indo-European languages is thought
to have travelled from Southern Europe, along the border with Asia, to nine various parts of Europe
in quest of new pasture land for their sheep and cattle. As people dispersed farther and farther
from their parent language and blended with other non-Indo-European tongues, new languages

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with unique characteristics emerged that set them apart from their original ancestors. While
maintaining some shared traits, the nine groups of people who were scattered from their original
homes independently created their unique languages. Due to the original speech community's
division, new circumstances were created that prevented intimate communication between them,
and as a result, their language did not remain homogeneous.

5.1. Tower of Babel Theory

All languages descended from a single ancestral language, according to a widely accepted view.
This theory is frequently called the ‘Tower of Babel Theory’ after the biblical account in which God
dispersed people into various locations where they acquired their languages and confused human
communication. According to this idea, the origins of many modern languages can be found in a
single source, with only minor regional changes brought about by dialect, climate, or geography.

5.2. Proto-World Theory

According to a different widely accepted view, language originated independently in several parts
of the globe. The ‘Proto-World Theory’ holds that there were several ‘proto-languages’ that later
developed into different languages. Evidence from archaeological sites that points to the existence
of multiple separate linguistic communities in prehistoric times lends credence to this theory.
Although each proto-language was spoken by a separate group, throughout time, contact across
tribes resulted in commonalities between them.

5.3. Evolutionary Theory

According to the evolutionary idea, language changed progressively throughout time in response
to shifts in the environment or pressures from evolution, including population expansion. This idea
contends that language did not emerge in its current form overnight but rather developed gradually
over time. This indicates that the development of human language from earlier forms of
communication, like hand gestures or essential words and phrases, would have required
thousands of years.

5.4. The Pedigree Theory or The Family Tree Theory (Tree model)
Additionally, their evolution did not follow the same path. After thousands of years of use, even
though the early distinctions were essentially dialectical, they developed into distinct languages.
August Schleicher, a renowned philologist, proposed what is commonly referred to as ‘Pedigree
Theory’ in 1866. This theory states that a sequence of secondary bifurcations led to the variations

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found in the languages of the Indo-European family. However, philologists did not develop this
notion to further explore the idea of a ‘family of languages’. The main flaw in Schleicher's theory
is that his classification system conflicts with the strong connection between Germanic and Celtic.

5.5. The Wave Theory

Johannes Schmidt proposed the Wave Theory in 1872 in an attempt to explain the similarities that
the Pedigree Theory was unable to adequately explain. This theory is based on the idea that
dialectal differences between the original languages eventually led to the development of several
languages. Schmidt contends that the overlapping of dialectal zones must have resulted in the
disparities shared by some languages. That being said, this theory does not prove that all of the
Indo-European languages are descended from an ancestor.

Due to their linguistic characteristics, the languages of the Indo-European family can be roughly
classified into two branches.

1. Centum Languages (Western Branch).

2. Satham Languages (Eastern Branch)

The terms for hundred in the Latin and Sanskrit languages—which are understood to signify the
Western and Eastern branches, respectively—are the basis for this distinction.

5.6. Noam Chomsky - theory of language origin

In the 1950s, linguist Noam Chomsky devised a theory regarding the origins of language. Noam
Chomsky's theory of language holds that language is not something that people learn from their
surroundings but rather something that people are born with. According to Chomsky, this
knowledge is ingrained in our unconscious minds and is derived from a universal grammar. This
implies that everyone has the innate capacity to understand vocabulary, grammar, and syntax in
any language. The capacity to pick up and recognise new dialects and languages is independent
of a speaker's mother tongue. Theoretical propositions made by Noam Chomsky have had a
significant impact on our understanding of the rich diversity seen in all linguistic systems, as well
as the complexity of human speech patterns.

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6. THE LANGUAGES OF THE INDO-GERMANIC

FAMILY
Regardless of their geographic distribution, the languages of the Indo-Germanic family exhibit
some degree of closeness and similarity. See Fig 2, below.

Fig 2: https://ppt-online.org/573956

The Indo- European languages can be divided into nine principal categories, including Indian,
Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Italian, Balto-Slavic, Teutonic and Celtic. Their main characteristics
are:

Indian: Sanskrit is the most significant language of the Indian language family. The Vedas, or
Hindu Sacred Books, are among the earliest existing literary works in Indo-European
languages.They are said to be written in Vedic Sanskrit and date back to 1500 B.C.But
subsequently, Panini, Kalidasa and Bhasa wrote in Classical Sanskrit of great literary importance
and later Sanskrit ceased to be a spoken language.The Suthras, Upanishads, Atharva-Veda and
Rig-Veda are among the invaluable sacred texts that have survived. Another dialect that emerged
under the Mauryan Dynasty was Prakrit which was also the language used to promote
Buddhism.Prakrit is the root language of modern Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali and
Punjabi.Classical Sanskrit is home to two magnificent epics, the Ramayana and the

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Mahabharatha considered to be literary assets in Classical Sanskrit.Hindustani is the combination

of Hindi and Persian or Arabic.

Iranian: The people living in the northwest of India speak this group of languages, and the
languages spoken on the vast plateau are descended from this Iranian group. It is believed that
the Indo-European group had settled in this region. The two current Persian languages are Kurdish
and Afghan. The earliest form of the Iranian branch has two divisions – Avesta and Old Persian.
Avesta, the sacred text of the Sourastians, is written in Avestan. Old Persian has been preserved
in the rock inscriptions that praise the virtues of ancient emperors Darius and Xerxes. Old Persian
gave rise to Middle Iranian or Pehlevic from which Modern Persian has descended. The modern
Persian language contains a sizable vocabulary of Arabic words in its vocabulary.

Armenian: This language is spoken in a small area to the south of the Black Sea's easternmost
point and the Caucasus Mountains. It is a distinct language with no grammatical gender and no
resemblance to any other branch of the Indo-Germanic family. The Holy Bible was translated into
the Armenian language in the fifth century A.D., giving it a special character. History claims that
Armenia was ruled by the Persians for many centuries, and as a result, Persian has had a
significant influence on its vocabulary. It contains a significant amount of loan words from Greece
and Turkey, two of its neighbours.

Albanian: This small linguistic group speaks it in a small territory on the eastern side of the Adriatic
Sea, northwest of Greece. The earliest accessible literacy records are from the fifteenth century
A.D. There are a lot of Latin, Greek and Turkish loan words in the lexicon. Albanian was
categorised as a Hellenic group until the end of the nineteenth century, but it is now recognised
as a separate member of the Indo-European family.

Hellenic: The Aegean Sea Islands belong to this branch of the Indo-European family and are the
ancestor of the Greek dialects spoken in Greece, Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea islands. The
two great Homeric Epics, Iliad and Odyssey are the first known literary monuments in the Greek
language. The Attic dialect of this language is the most significant one, and this is explained by
the city of Athens' dominance in politics and commerce throughout the fifth century.

The tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles as well as the comedies of Aristophanes
are among the most treasured and venerated in the global history of theatre and drama. All other
dialects in the language were eclipsed by the Attic dialect, which became the universally accepted
dialect. Greek became the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean region and a method

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of international communication after Alexander's conquests in Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and
Mesopotamia. The New Testament is written in Greek and Byzantine literature, which originated
in Constantinople and Eastern Europe was written in it as well.

Italic: Latin, the language of Rome, is the most prominent branch of this Indo-Germanic language
family. Historical evidence indicates that the Indo-Germanic language family was spoken by the
Italian people, in addition to a few non-Indo-Germanic languages including Oscan, Umbrian, and
Estrascan. Over time, Latin became the official language of Rome, displacing other languages
due to the Roman Empire's political dominance throughout Europe. Romance or Romanic
languages are the names given to the several Latin-derived languages that persisted throughout
the Roman Empire. The spoken linguistic variety of Latin, known as vulgar Latin, is the ancestor
of the Romanic languages, which include French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian and
Provencal. This is not the same as the literary Latin used by the great Classical scholars.

Languages also happened to be dispersed far and wide from the original homes with the
colonization of people speaking Romance languages around the world. Nowadays, French is
spoken throughout most of the world, Portuguese is spoken in Brazil and Spanish is spoken in
most of the South and Central American provinces, as well as Mexico. Among the Romance
languages, Italian has a long history and a distinguished standing as the language of the
Renaissance, when Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio wrote their masterpieces.

Balto-Slavic: This branch is made up of the Baltic and Slavic people. A large portion of Eastern
Europe is home to speakers of these languages. With three million speakers, Lithuanian is the
most significant language in the group. Because it maintains some of the ancient traits of the family
that other branches have already lost, Lithuanian stands apart from the other members of the
Indo-European family.

Teutonic or Germanic: It is the Indo-European family group that includes German and English.
The languages that comprise this group are set apart from the other Indo-European languages
due to a few distinctive characteristics. The three primary languages that make up the Teutonic
branch are called East Teutonic, North Teutonic, and West Teutonic. Gothic is the most well-
known East Teutonic style. The languages of Scandinavia and Denmark are predominantly North
Teutonic, with the earliest evidence of these languages remaining in the form of inscriptions. There
are two groupings of Scandinavian languages: the eastern group, which includes Swedish and
Danish and the western group, which includes Norwegian and Icelandic. English is a member of

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the West Teutonic group, which is further divided into High German and Low German. Low
German is the source of Old English, often known as Anglo-Saxon.

Celtic: Once a large group within the Indo-European family, this branch is now limited to isolated
areas in Great Britain and France. At the start of the Christian period, the Celts ruled over Gaul,
Spain and Great Britain, Greece, Italy, North and West Germany, and Asia Minor. The influence
of the Teutonic and Italic languages steadily increased, causing the Celtic language to lose its
significance permanently.

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7. COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

GERMANIC GROUP
The common characteristics of the Germanic group are:

i. A Germanic word's primary emphasis is fixed on its first syllable, with the exception of verbs
that have distinct prefixes.The dominant accent in other Indo-European languages would
be on the suffix or ending; hence, its position varies.The term accent refers to the pitch or
emphasis with which a sound is uttered.
ii. Grimm's Law, which describes the initial consonant shift, explains why some consonants
have shifted regularly in Germanic.Other Indo-European language branches have not
experienced this change.According to the first consonant shift, also referred to as Grimm's
Law, several consonants have undergone regular shifting in Germanic. Other branches of
the Indo-European language family have not experienced this shifting.
iii. The verbal system used by the Germanic group is simpler, with only the present and past
tenses remaining.
iv. The development of a new class of verbs, commonly referred to as weak verbs, in which
the past tense is created by combining a suffix with an alveolar or dental consonant, such
as "d" and "T," further sets this group apart.

7.1. The Position of English in the Indo-Germanic Family of

Languages
The ancestry of English can be traced to the Indo-Germanic family which has its roots in West
Germanic.Three Germanic tribes invaded Britain in the fifth century AD, and that is when the
history of the English language truly began.These tribes—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—came from
what is now northern Germany and Denmark across the North Sea and forcibly occupied most of
the Romanised Britain.The people who lived in Britain during the period spoke a Celtic language.
However, the invaders drove the majority of the Celtic speakers north and west, primarily into what
is now Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. These tribes spoke a Low German type of language, which
later paved the way to the Old English or Anglo-Saxon language. Then came Middle English, from
which Modern English evolved.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS – 1

I. Choose the right answer:

1. The ___________________ theory suggests that earliest speech was
produced by an attempt to imitate the sounds of creatures or objects around.
(a) Bow-wow theory
(b) b.Ding-dong theory
(c) c.Pooh-pooh theory
(d) d.Gesture theory
2. Which one among these languages does not belong to the Indo-Germanic
family of languages?
(a) Armenian
(b) Indian
(c) Mandarin
(d) Italic
II. Fill in the blanks with the right answer:
3. The philologist ____________________ defines languages as a “ purely
human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and
desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols”.
4. __________________ is the Indo-European family group that includes
German and English.

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8. ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE
The history of the English Language can be traced to the settling down of Germanic tribes such
as the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes in the British Isles. They spoke the West Germanic
dialects which laid the foundation for the English language of today. The Angles came from
"Englaland" and spoke "Englisc" from which the words "England" and "English" are derived.
Historians and linguists have identified three stages in the evolution of the English Language –
Old English, Middle English and Modern English.

8.1. Old English (450-1100 AD)

Similar languages spoken by the invading Germanic tribes became what is today known as Old
English in Britain. Old English is the source of nearly half of the most frequently used Modern
English vocabulary. Old English persisted until about 1100.

As the Germanic settlers in Britain belonged to three different tribes, the Old English inherited a
number of dialects. Based on the regions of their occupation, four distinct dialects of the period
can be identified:
i. Northumbrian in the North comprising the district between the Fifth or Forth and the Humber
river
ii. Mercian, spoken between the Humber and the Thames
iii. West Saxon, spoken in the region south of the Thames, except in Kent and Surrey
iv. Kentish, spoken in Kent and Surrey

The dialects of the Saxons, West Saxon, patronized by King Alfred became popular and gained
the status of the standard language. Most of the important literary works of the period such as
‘Beowulf’ and ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ were written in the West Saxon dialect. During this
period, the English nation had hardly any contact with the rest of the world. Therefore, borrowing
from other languages was limited. However, Old English has a sprinkling of foreign words like
Latin, Celtic and Scandinavian.

While Old English is not in active use today, there are a few words that have been assimilated into
the modern English vocabulary, such as eke (meaning adding or growing), to and fro (moving in
one direction and back), hue (in the context of colour) and kith and kin (friends and family).

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See the image below (Fig 3) for a list of old English words with their modern equivalents. Also, a
passage from the Old English classic work ‘Beouwulf’ with its modern version has been cited
below. ( Fig. 4)

Fig 3:https://www.slideserve.com/eman/so-how-did-the-english-language-come-to-be

Fig 4: https://www.slideserve.com/domenico-beglan/beowulf

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8.2. Middle English (1100-1500)

England was invaded and subjugated by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (a region of
present-day France) in 1066. A type of French that was brought by the invaders, known as the
Normans, was adopted by the ruling and business classes as well as the Royal Court. There used
to be a sort of linguistic class divide, with the upper classes speaking French and the lower classes
speaking English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (1340-1400).

Middle English had a variety of dialects, more numerous and divergent than that of Old English.
i. Northern: This includes the dialects of counties north of the Humber and the lowlands of
Scotland.
ii. The Midland Group: This includes the dialects of the vast central area, north of the Thames
and south of the Humber.
iii. The Southern Group: This group includes the countries south of the Thames. It is further
subdivided into South-Eastern and South-Western.

8.3. Middle English Vocabulary

The French influence brought in not only grammatical changes but also considerable vocabulary
changes . This is not surprising as French was, for many years the official language of the court
and was used in parliament, law courts and schools.

Many terms relating to food and cooking have come from French. Interestingly, the names of the
animals were English, but when they were killed and served on the table, they took on French
names. Thus, ox, cow, calf, sheep, goat, deer, and pig were all English, but beef, veal, mutton,
venison and pork were all French. Many words relating to culinary arts were French borrowings.
For example, words like sauce, soup, toast, sausage, jelly and pastry. The Normans introduced
English words relating to the feudal system. Examples are prince, peer, duke, baron, castle, etc.
In fact, the now common villain is from French villain which originally meant a labourer. The
modern English legal system borrows several words from French. Examples are court, judge,
panel, attorney, arrest, etc. Many words relating to religion, such as cathedral, salvation, cardinal,
parish, etc., have come from French. Abstract qualities like grace and charity and words like
discipline, save, blame, etc., were at first ecclesiastical words but now belong to the common
vocabulary.

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Here is a list of words borrowed or came from French to English. They are:
i. Astrological terms - Influence, zenith, disaster, jovial, mercurial, saturnine
ii. Words associated with medieval scholarship -Mercy, pity, humility
iii. Scientific terms -Medicine, physician, surgeon, leper, plague
iv. Words related to dress and fashion - Lace, frock, petticoat, pleat, apparel, veil
v. Names of colours -Vermilion, blue, brown and scarlet
vi. Names of precious stones -Topaz, garnet, emerald, ruby, pearl, crystal
vii. Words related to Fine arts -Letters, poetry, art, ballad, comedy, melody
viii. Words related to architecture -Tower, pillar, vault, castle, aisle

There are several hybrid words in English coined by adding French suffixes to native stems or by
adding Old English suffixes to French stems:
i. English stem French suffix- Break -age Breakage, Short -age shortage, God -ess goddess,
Love -able lovable
ii. Colour -less colourless, Court -ship courtship, Noble -est noblest
iii. Using of surnames became a practice in English during this period. Surnames were
originally names to distinguish one man from another. In the course of time, they became
family names. Surnames were derived from various sources such as personal features e.g.
Longfellow, Good fellow, Longman, etc., occupations, e.g., Smith, Baker, Cook, etc.

8.4. Middle English Literature

The period from 1250 to 1350 is a period of religious and secular literature in English like John
Wycliffe’s (1320 – 1385) Translation of the Bible and John Gower’s (1332- 1407) ‘Confessio
Amantis’ which is an attack on the corrupted Church and clergy of the time.

The period from 1350 to 1400 has been called a period of great individual writers. The greatest
among them is that of Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 -1400), the literary icon of the period. He wrote the
long narrative poem, ‘Troilus and Creseyde’, the story of the unhappy love of Troilus and
Creseyde. Chaucer’s most famous work is ‘Canterbury Tales’, which is a collection of tales told
by a group of pilgrims riding towards Canterbury and back. Another great poet of this period was
William Langland, the author of a long social allegory ‘Piers Plowman’.

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8.5. Modern English -Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Vowels were pronounced shorter and shorter as Middle English came to an end. This change in
pronunciation is known as the Great Vowel Shift. The British began interacting with numerous
people throughout the world in the sixteenth century. A great deal of new vocabulary and
expressions entered the language as a result of this and the Renaissance of Classical learning. A
common language for print was also established with the development of printing. More individuals
learned to read, and books became more affordable. English became more standardised with
printing as well. The dialect of London, where the majority of publishing houses were located,
became the norm, and spelling and grammar were codified. The first English dictionary was
released in 1604.

8.6. Late Modern English (1800-Present)

Vocabulary is the primary area where Early Modern and Late Modern English diverge. There are
two main reasons why there are so many extra words in Late Modern English: first, technology
and the Industrial Revolution required the creation of new words; second, the British Empire, which
at its height occupied a quarter of the planet's surface, caused the English language to absorb
words from other languages.

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9. CONCLUSION

From its modest beginnings as a Germanic dialect, the English language has assumed its current
prominence as the world's most spoken language including native and non-native speakers.
English has had a remarkable transformation and legacy. Its voyage has been influenced by
invasions, migrations, cultural exchanges, technological advancements and human contributions
to its literature. Even while it continues to evolve and adapt to the needs of its speakers, English
remains an active and dynamic language that reflects the ever-changing environment in which it
is spoken.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS – 2

III. Choose the right answer:

5. After the Norman Conquest, which language became the language
of courts and government?
Latin
Old English
Norse
French
6 Which dialect became the standard of Old English?
(a) West Saxon
(b) Kentish
(c) Celtic
(d) Yorkshire
IV. Fill in the blanks with the right answer:
7. __________________ was the famous Middle English writer who
wrote ‘Canterbury Tales’.
8. ‘Beowulf’ and ‘The Anglo Saxon Chronicle’ of the Old English period
were written in the ________________ dialect.

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10. SUMMARY
• Among the world languages, English is one of the foremost forms of global communication.
• The influence of English is evident from the vast population of English speakers, which
numbers about 2 billion people around the globe, both native and non-native speakers.
• Language consists of/is characterized by particular sets of sounds, which are referred to as
“the words of the language”.
• Language is intimately linked with the cultural, political, social and economic spheres of
human life in a nation.
• Theories regarding the origin of languages can be traced to certain evidence and
assumptions related to records and documents of the prehistoric life of human beings.
• Philologists or experts in languages have identified and acknowledged seven theories
connected with the origin of languages - Bow- Vow Theory, Ding – Dong Theory, Pooh –
Pooh Theory, Gesture Theory, Yo - He- Ho Theory, The Musical Theory and The Contact
Theory.
• Modern research in linguistic studies has demonstrated that German, Dutch, Scandinavian,
English, and German all share a common ancestor, which is known as the Germanic group
of languages.
• English is a member of the Indo-European language family.
• Regardless of their geographic distribution, the languages of the Indo-Germanic family
exhibit some degree of closeness and similarity.
• They can be divided into nine principal categories, including Indian, Iranian, Armenian,
Hellenic, Italian, Balto-Slavic, Teutonic and Celtic.
• The ancestry of English can be traced to the Indo-Germanic family, which has its roots in
West Germanic.
• Three Germanic tribes - Angles, Saxons, and Jutes- invaded Britain in the fifth century AD,
and that is when the history of the English language truly began.
• These tribes spoke a Low German type of language, which later paved the way to the Old
English or Anglo-Saxon language.
• Then came Middle English, from which Modern English evolved.

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11. GLOSSARY

Ancestry - one's family or ethnic descent: the origin or background of something

of an ancient European people who are related to the Irish, Scots and
Celtic -
Welsh or of their language or culture

a form of a language that people speak in a particular part of a

Dialect -
country, containing some different words and grammar

(a list of) all the words used in a particular language or subject, or a

Lexicon -
dictionary

the scientific study of the structure and development of language in

Linguistics -
general or of particular languages

Philology - the study of language, especially its history and development

of, or thought to be typical of, the groups of people in northwestern

Teutonic -
Europe of German origin

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12. TERMINAL QUESTIONS

Short-Answer Type Questions
1. Mention the major languages of the Indo-Germanic family.
2. Explain the Pedigree Theory and the Wave theory in relation to the origin of languages.
3. Describe the common characteristics of the Germanic group of languages.
4. Write a short note on the Family of Languages and Indo-European Family.
5. Discuss the position of the English language in the Indo-Germanic family of languages.

Long-Answer Type Questions

1. It is important to learn about the history of the evolution of languages to help us to place the
English language in perspective. Comment.
2. Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions
and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. Discuss.
3. Examine the family of languages with particular reference to the Indo-Germanic family.
4. Analyse the various theories on the origin of languages.
5. Evaluate the origin and development of the English language during the Old, Middle and
Modern English periods.

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13. ANSWERS

13.1. Self-Assessment Questions

1. a. Bow- wow theory
2. c. Mandarin
3. Edward Sapir
4. Teutonic or Germanic
5. d. French
6. a. West Saxon
7. Geoffrey Chaucer
8. West Saxon

13.2. Terminal Questions

Short-Answer Type Questions
Answer 1: Regardless of their geographic distribution, the languages of the Indo-Germanic family
exhibit some degree of closeness and similarity. They can be divided into nine principal categories,
including Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Italian, Balto-Slavic, Teutonic and Celtic.

Answer 2: The lexicon and accidence/ grammar of the English language are closely related to
those of Scandinavian, German, and Dutch. Similar word relationships exist in Latin, Sanskrit and
English. August Schleicher, a renowned philologist, proposed what is commonly referred to as
‘Pedigree Theory’ in 1866. This theory states that a sequence of secondary bifurcations led to the
variations found in the languages of the Indo-European family. Johannes Schmidt proposed the
Wave Theory in 1872 in an attempt to explain the similarities that the Pedigree Theory was unable
to adequately explain. This theory is based on the idea that dialectal differences between the
original languages eventually led to the development of several languages.

Answer 3: The common characteristics of the Germanic group are: i. A Germanic word's primary
emphasis is fixed on its first syllable, with the exception of verbs that have distinct prefixes. The
dominant accent in other Indo-European languages would be on the suffix or ending, hence its
position varies. The term accent refers to pitch or emphasis with which a sound is uttered.

Answer 4: The lexicon and accidence/ grammar of the English language are closely related to
those of Scandinavian, German, and Dutch. Similar word relationships exist in Latin, Sanskrit and

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English. These similarities suggest that these languages share a common ancestor, but over time,
these branches have become separate due to the original language-speaking society splitting up
into smaller groups that are essentially isolated from one another or do not communicate with
each other.

Answer 5: The ancestry of English can be traced to the Indo-Germanic family, which has its roots
in West Germanic. Three Germanic tribes invaded Britain in the fifth century AD, and that is when
the history of the English language truly began.

Long-Answer Type Questions

Answer 1: The ancestry of English can be traced to the Indo-Germanic family which has its roots
in West Germanic. Three Germanic tribes invaded Britain in the fifth century AD, and that is when
the history of the English language truly began. These tribes—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—came
from what is now northern Germany and Denmark across the North Sea and forcibly occupied
most of the Romanised Britain. The people who lived in Britain during the period spoke a Celtic
language. However, the invaders drove the majority of the Celtic speakers north and west,
primarily into what is now Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. These tribes spoke a Low German type
of language which later paved the way to the Old English or Anglo-Saxon language. Then came
Middle English from which Modern English evolved.

Answer 2: Language, in its broadest sense, is defined as a system of signaling produced by the
vocal organs. Expressing one's feelings and thoughts in written or oral forms of language is
something unique to human beings, perhaps that which distinguishes them from other living
beings. Language is the medium through which one communicates ideas, facts, desires and
emotions conveyed through words, writing and gestures in personal and professional life.
Language enables human beings to be creative and innovative be it is scientific inventions or
artistic representations.

Answer 3: The lexicon and accidence/ grammar of the English language are closely related to
those of Scandinavian, German, and Dutch. Similar word relationships exist in Latin, Sanskrit and
English. These similarities suggest that these languages share a common ancestor, but over time,
these branches have become separate due to the original language-speaking society splitting up
into smaller groups that are essentially isolated from one another or do not communicate with
each other.

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Answer 4: Theories regarding the origin of languages can be traced to certain evidence and
assumptions related to records and documents of the prehistoric life of human beings. They
cannot be accepted as the only authoritative evidence to prove the validity of the origin of
languages. However, they give indications as to how human beings developed languages and
communicated during the pre-linguistic era. Philologists or experts in languages have identified
and acknowledged seven theories connected with the origin of languages.

Answer 5: The history of the English Language can be traced to the settling down of Germanic
tribes such as the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes in the British Isles. They spoke the West
Germanic dialects which laid the foundation for the English language of today. The Angles came
from "Englaland" and spoke "Englisc" from which the words "England" and "English" are derived.
Historians and linguists have identified three stages in the evolution of the English Language –
Old English, Middle English and Modern English.

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14. REFERENCES

• Baugh A.C. (2013). A History of the English Language. Routledge

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/weng.12318
• Barber C.L. (1982). The Story of Language. Penguin.
• Claire Bowern. (16 July 2015)“Where did English come from?”. Ted Talk, TED-ED.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEaSxhcns7Y
• Crystal, David. (1997). English as a Global Language. London. Cambridge University
Press.
• Wood F.T. (2008). An Outline History of the English Language. Macmillan.
• Potter, Simeon and Crystal, David. (14 Nov. 2023) "English language". Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language

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