Based on the situations presented, determine whether the language change in English was caused by

geographic/social isolation, language privileging (overt or covert prestige), cultural change, or language

contact.

Single ancestral language

6,000 – 4,000 BCEurope and IndiaNomadic

Over time, nomadic groups of these speakers slowly separated from each other moving in different directions. Over many generations they began to develop their own unique languages.

What was the cause of this language change?

GermanicCelticRomanceSlavicBalticAlbanianGreekArmenianIndo-

IranianItalicSlavic

Over time, the Germanic speakers subdivided and moved to different locations. Some Germanic speakers eventually found their way into a land that we now call England.

What was the cause of this language change?

Germanic tribes called the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were hired by the Celts to move into this land (England) and protect them in 449AD.

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes saw how weak the Celts were and decided to stay permanently.

There were two Indo-European languages being used in this land before the Germanic tribes arrived: Celtic and Latin.

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes spoke West Germanic.

The Celts could not defend themselves against the Germanic tribes.

Over the next hundred years, more and more Germanic tribes arrived eventually taking over the whole land.

Soon, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes ruled all of what we now call England and their language developed into Old English.

Old English became the language of the land and not Celtic and Latin.

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes developed their language into Old English which was the first form of English ever recorded.

They were more powerful than the Celts and therefore their languages died out.

What was the cause of this language change?

Just like there are different varieties and dialects of American English, there were different varieties of Old English.

Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Wessex, Kent, and Sussex

597 AD the Romans spread Christianity in England

Romans spoke Latin at that time

Romans taught Anglo-Saxons Latin words so that they could keep up in church services

Also taught them words about products and practices in their lives

Old English’s vocabulary grew a lot to include Latin words they learned from missionaries

Words in English adopted during time spent with Latin-speaking Romans in 597 AD:

Church words Other words

Martyr Cap

Ark Sock

Nun Fever

Shrine Lily

Temple Anchor

What was the cause of this language change?

In modern American English today we typically add an -s or an –es onto the end of words to show that they are plural (e.g., dogs and busses). Latin uses an –i to signify this. This Latin form is still in some modern words today.

Word Latin plural ending American English pattern

Syllabus Syllabi Syllabuses

Fungus Fungi Funguses

Nucleus Nuclei Nucleuses

Many speakers now are beginning to use modern American English endings like –es instead of the Latin –i.

What was the cause of this language change?

The Normans took control of all of England in 1066

The Normans spoke Norman French.

End of Old English period

Normans were upper class, English were lower class

English did the work and Normans ruled the land

Many Englishmen who worked with the upper class Normans were forced to learn French to survive and find work

What was the cause of this language change?

English was not outlawed and was still spoken in the homes of the Englishmen

Out of the Norman invasion, MIDDLE ENGLISH developed as French and English were spoken in such close proximity to each other

English today has many words and influences of French because of this experienceWhat was the cause of this language

change?

200 years later the first king to speak English fluently is crowned

By 1489, French is eliminated as the language of Parliament.

This begins the Early Modern English period

Literature translated into speech of everyday peoplePeople began to learn how to readPrinting press invented making inexpensive printed

works for everyone to readEnglishmen began to become proud of their country

and their languageThe middle class rose to be more active in local and

national affairs

What was the cause of this language change?

English emerged as the national language

of England

In the 1500s many Europeans, including Englishmen, Spaniards, and Portuguese, began exploring the New World (modern day United States)

In 1607 they established the colony in Jamestown and there began the first colony in the United States of America

This began the formationof AMERICAN ENGLISH

The English colonists then lived an ocean away from their homeland, England.

They began associating only with each other and forming their own variety of language.

What was the cause of this language change?

In the New World, English colonists were constantly exploring new plants, animals, foods, people, and ways of life like farming.

The world of England that the colonists once new was replaced with new sights and smells that they would need to learn to describe because the language they had in English was not adequate enough to explain it.

What was the cause of this language change?

One of the ways they described these new things were by borrowing words from the Native Americans.

Words like chipmunk, Eskimo, moose, opossum, pecan, and raccoon described animals, food, and people that the colonists had never come in contact with before. They had to learn new words to describe the new world around them.

What were the THREE causes of this language change?

Each team will be asked to answer 2 of the previous 10 questions at random.

Please select one member of the group to provide the answer.

Right answer = 10 pointsWrong answer = -5 pointsIf a group answers the question wrong, the

first team to raise their hand may steal the question for 5 points by answering it correctly.

Geographic and social isolationProto-indo-european nomadic groups of people

moved away from each other and formed their own languages, communities, and cultures

Geographic and social isolationIndo-european groups of people moved away

from each other and formed their own languages (Germanic, Celtic, Slavic), communities, and cultures

Language privilegingBecause the Germanic tribes were stronger

and more power, the use of Celtic and Latin died out and Old English was formed to become the language of the land.

Language contactOld English acquired many words and forms

from Latin because of close contactLatin became the formal language of education

and reading in England

Internal ChangeThe use of –i to signify plural nouns is a Latin

form dying out in modern American English.Speakers have unconsciously begun to

abandon this form because using –es to signify plural nouns is more logical, regular, and fits the pattern of modern American English.

Language privilegingFrench was forced on the English during the

Norman Conquest because the Normans overtook England

French was the privileged language in government institutions because the Normans had the power

Language ContactThe English were not forced to give up their

language so French and English were spoken in the country simultaneously

Cultural changeChanges such as English nationalism and the

printing press encouraged middle and lower classes to read and have a voice in society using the everyday language as the Standard

Geographic & Social IsolationThe explorers settled in the New World and set

up colonies to begin a life here. This distanced themselves thousands of miles away from other English speakers.

Cultural ChangeThey also had an entire new landscape to

explore, new customs to create, and a new way of life to describe.

Language ContactThe settlers came into contact with Native

Americans who had their own way of describing life in North America and the colonists integrated this language into their own.

Name any TWO things that could have influenced American English since the 1600s into what it has become today.

You must identify THE CAUSE OF THAT LANGUAGE CHANGE.

Think of languages with which it has come in contact.

Think of cultural changes that have changed the way we speak.

Think of the privileging of one social group, one language or one dialect over another.

Think of the geography of the United States and what divides social groups.

Think of language patterns that have irregularities that speakers are beginning to abandon.

Geographic/Social Isolation• Movement into mountains or coastal areas (islands)• Movement out West (Gold Rush)

Language Privileging• Privileging American English over British English (after American Revolution) •Privileging American English over immigrant speech (Spanish, Irish, etc.)•Privileging current Standard English over other varieties (African American English, Appalachian English, etc.)

Cultural Changes• Immigration (Chinese, Irish, Italian, African, etc.)• Technology (radio, TV, internet, cell phones, etc.)• Fashion (t-shirt, jeans, mini-skirts, shoes, etc.)• Politics (prohibition, political parties, laws, constitution, etc.)• Education (integration, public v. private schools, etc.)

Language Contact• African languages (slavery)• Spanish (Spanish – American war, immigration)• Native American languages (exploration of New World)• German (immigration)• Italian (immigration)

Internal Change• Plurals (oxen v. oxes, deer v. deers)• Third person singular –s absence (she walks v. she walk, he stops v. he stop)

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