Scribd
Upload
50 views

History of English: The Socio-Cultural Context

The document provides an overview of the history of the English language from its origins to modern times. It discusses [1] the Proto-Indo-European roots of English and how linguistic study began, [2] the development of Old English after the Germanic invasions of Britain in the 5th century, and [3] the influence of Old Norse and Norman French on English following the Viking raids and Norman Conquest, respectively. Key events that shaped English over time include the introduction of Christianity, the writings of Alfred the Great, and the rise of English as the dominant language from the 15th century onward.

Uploaded by

Anastasia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
50 views

History of English: The Socio-Cultural Context

The document provides an overview of the history of the English language from its origins to modern times. It discusses [1] the Proto-Indo-European roots of English and how linguistic study began, [2] the development of Old English after the Germanic invasions of Britain in the 5th century, and [3] the influence of Old Norse and Norman French on English following the Viking raids and Norman Conquest, respectively. Key events that shaped English over time include the introduction of Christianity, the writings of Alfred the Great, and the rise of English as the dominant language from the 15th century onward.

Uploaded by

Anastasia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 38

Lecture 4

History of English:
the Socio-Cultural
Context
THE LECTURE IS AIMED AT ANSWERING THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

Why do we study History of English?

How did the historical study of languages begin?

What is the origin of English?

What events influenced the ways English has been


changing?
WHY DO WE STUDY HISTORY OF ENGLISH?

Mastering a language is about understanding it:


f - i - sh
English spelling; gh - o - ti
abundant English vocabulary with many synonymous pairs;

English grammar;

avoiding misinterpreting texts of earlier times.


HOW DID THE HISTORICAL STUDY OF LANGUAGES BEGIN?

the 18 c. - the English scholar and diplomat William


th

Jones (India) noticed similarities between words


denoting «king / ruler»:
Sanskrit raj

Latin rex

German reich

Celtic rix
HOW DID THE HISTORICAL STUDY OF LANGUAGES BEGIN?

the 19th century


The study of comparative grammar
The metaphor of the “language tree"
Sound laws
English Dutch German French
father vader Vater pére
foot voet Fuss pied
tooth tand Zahn dent
ten tien Zehn dix
WHERE DID THE INDO-EUROPEANS LIVE?
Cognate words in the Indo-European language

• the numerals from 1 to 10;


• the word meaning the sum of ten tens (cent-, sat-, hund-);
• words for bodily parts (heart, lung, head, foot);
• words for natural phenomena (air, night, star, snow, sun, moon,
wind);
• plant and animal names (beech, corn, wolf, bear);
• cultural terms;
• all taboo words.
GRAMMAR OF PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN

8 noun cases signaled by the noun’s ending


and place in a sentence.
6 tenses with special verb endings.
grammatical gender for the nouns.
a special system of distinguishing words by
changing the root vowel in certain patterns:
the qualitative and quantitative Ablaut.
Proto-Germanic people
were the product of mixture
of Indo-Europeans who
moved to northern Europe
and people of non-Indo-
European origin who had
lived there before.
THE GERMANIC PEOPLE

lived in groups of extended families (pl. Dat. case


suffix -ingen/-ungen ➛ Birmingham etc..);

were governed by military leaders (cyning) and


tribal councils;
grew various plants for food and clothing;
could weave clothes, dye them, and make soap.
WHAT WAS THE PROTO-GERMANIC LANGUAGE LIKE?

Proto-Germanic (or simply


Germanic) was spoken
shortly before the
beginning of the Christian
era.

Its early stages have to be


reconstructed as there
were no written texts in it.
The principal features of the Proto-Germanic language

•fixation of the main stress on the initial syllable of the word;


•certain vowel and consonant changes;
•reduction in the number of cases as compared to IE;
•declensions of the adjective with categorial meaning;
•development of a dental preterit;
•appearance of the strong/weak verb distinction;
•a peculiar alphabet.
COULD THE GERMANS WRITE?

The runic alphabet was adopted by


Germans only in the first centuries
A.D.
Germans used 24 runes, to which they
added 6 new letters.
The order of the runic symbols is quite
different from that of the Latin
alphabet.
the Germanic runic alphabet is called
Futhorc from the first six letters of it.
THE VARIETIES OF GERMANIC
Germanic languages: the North Germanic group

•Old Norwegian, Old Danish, Old Swedish,


Old Icelandic;
•Modern North Germanic languages are
Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and
Faeroese.
Germanic languages: the East Germanic group

• Gothic, Vandalic, Burgundian;


• no modern Germanic languages are
derived from East Germanic
languages;
Germanic languages: the West Germanic group

•the dialects of Angles, Saxons, Jutes,


Frisians and others;
•The modern West Germanic languages are
High German, Low German, Dutch, Frisian,
English, Yiddish and Afrikaans.
WEST GERMANIC LANGUAGES: OLD ENGLISH & FRISIAN
Periodisation of the history of the English language

• Old English (OE) - from the Germanic Conquest


of the British Isles;
• Middle English (ME) - from the Norman Conquest;

•Late ME - the Age of Chaucer (late 14th c.) and the


beginnings of the English Renaissance;

•New English (NE) - from the introduction of printing


(1475) till now.

•Early NE - the age of Shakespeare (until 1660).


The linguistic situation in Europe before the
Germanic Conquest of Britain

• the Celtic languages were spoken (modern Welsh, Irish and Scots
Gaelic) on the Pretanic Islands - Britannia,
• early trade contacts between the Germanic peoples and the Romans:
Latin caupo 'innkeeper' ➛ German kaufen 'to buy'; English cheap;
Copenhagen 'merchants' harbour'.
• the Germanic peoples learned about new forms of food and drink - wine,
beer and cheese are of Latin origin - the 1st layer of Latin borrowings.
The Germanic Conquest of Britain - the early 5th c.
Old English written records

R (rad) byþ on recyde rinca gehwylcum


sefte ond swiþhwæt, ðamðe sitteþ on
ufan meare mægenheardum ofer
milpaþas.
Introduction of Christianity and Old English

•since 597 - the 2nd layer of


Latin borrowings;
• Historia Ecclesiastica
Gentis Anglorum (in Latin)
by Bede the Venerable.
Old English written records

Cædmon's Hymn is
a short Old English
poem.

designed to be sung
aloud.

written down in
manuscripts of
Bede's Historia.

composed between
658 and 680.
the Vikings’ Raids

since 787
Alfred the Great

• financed education;
• established schools;
• brought in foreign scholars and craftsmen;
• translated and comissioned translation of
many books into Anglo-Saxon;
• ordered the compilation of the first history
book - the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Old English written records

Pastoral Care Orosius Anglo-Saxon


Chronicle
Influence of North Germanic languages on English

•geographical names ending in -thorpe, -by and -gill;

•several hundred borrowings;


•meanings of some English words changed to conform
to their meanings in Danish;
•English pronunciation changed adapting to the way the
Danes pronounced cognate words;
•loss of endings in English was encouraged by contacts
of Anglo-Saxons with the residents of Danelaw.
the Norman Conquest

for about 300 years French was used in the royal court,
the army, in the spheres of feudal relations, hunting,
etiquette, fashion, cuisine, and the law

Native English words Norman French words


ox beef
swine pork
calf veal
sheep mutton
the Rise of English

•1204 - the Duchy of Normandy was lost for Norman nobility


in England;

•1337 (the Hundred Years War with France);

•Henry V was the first English king in 400 years whose native
language was English.

•From 1362 English was used in courts of law.


the Effects of the Norman Conquest on English

•multiliguism in England under Norman rule:


13 les bordes voc shelfes quatuor les pryntyng presses
'13 boards called shelves, 4 printing presses'
•numerous borrowings of French words;
•some grammatical patterns of English were refashioned on the
French model (relative pronouns, 2nd person pronoun, passive
construction);
•simplification of some English consonant clusters.
the Rise of English as the national language

• London dialect based on East

Midlands dialect as spoken standard;

• the introduction of printing in 1475;


• the Bible in English.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 - 1400)
- the founder of the English
literary language

The Canterbury Tales


(though unfinished) - an
example of Late Middle
English literature.
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

• vocabulary of 17,700 words;


• created 1,705 new words;
• added new meanings to existing
ones;
• gave birth to set many expressions:
fair play too much of a good thing

it is high time the game is up

to lie low own flesh and blood

Tut-tut! a laughing stock


the Age of Standardisation

• borrowings from Latin and French, and inventing new English words;
• criticism of 'inkhorn' terms: moond 'lunatic', hunderder 'centurion', and crossed
'crucified';
• criticism of shortened forms and simplified endings (drown'd; drowns) contractions
(mayn't, wo'n't), abbreviations and shortenings (mob, rep), short nicknames (Nick and
Jack), or omitting relative pronouns (who, which and that);

• Jonathan Swift - A proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the English
tongue;
• A dictionary of the English language (1755) by Samuel Johnson: PIE: Any crust
baked with something in it. OATS: A grain, which in England is generally given to
horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
English variation overseas and within Britain

• English was transplanted by native speakers;


• it was introduced as an official language alongside existing
national languages;
• it interacted in complex ways with native languages.

American English with regional and cultural varieties, Australian English, Canadian

English, New Zealand English, Caribbean English, etc.

Liverpudlian dialect (Scouse), Geordie, Mancunian, Yorkshire, Brummie, RP, Cockney

and many others

You might also like