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Summary Slide
First InvasionsThe Beginning of EnglishViking InvasionsMiddle EnglishThe Great Vowel ShiftModern English
The Roman Invasions
55 b.C.—Julius Caesar invades Britain.
43 a.d.—Emperor Claudius conquers Britain.
Occupy Britain for nearly 400 years.
Founded citiesBuilt walls, baths, roads, theatersIntermarried with Celts.Place names—Lancaster, Manchester, Winchester, London, BathLatin becomes the prestige
language of education and social life
Roman Empire is threatened by invading Germanic tribes.410 a.d.—Emperor Honorius summons all Roman troops back to Rome.Celtic tribes in Britain are left
defenseless against future invasions.
So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?
Celtic languages—the native language of the people.
Latin—the language of Rome was the prestige language. Education Government Written language
Anglo-Saxon Invasions
With the Romans gone, a power vacuum existedGermanic tribes from the mainland soon began to fill that vacuum.450 a.d. By this time Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians have a firm foothold in BritainCelts are conquered and/or driven out
The Beginning of English
What we know as English today begins with these Germanic invasions.
The word English comes from Angles
Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of German
Old English (450-1150 a.d.)
Four dialects emergeNorthumbrianMercianKentishWest Saxon
West Saxon
Most important OE dialect
Most OE literature is in West Saxon
Dialect of King Alfred (d. 899)
Dialect of government and church
Return of Latin
597 a.d. Roman Church sends St. Augustine to EnglandEngland is Christianized
Latin
Latin is the language of the church
Latin once again becomes prominent in education
Latin is the written language of the time
So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?
Various dialects of Old EnglishAll these dialects are forms of GermanThese dialects also adopt some words from Celtic languages and from Latin
Viking Invasions
Most powerful people of their time793 a.d. Vikings invade EnglandEventually, Vikings control much of England This area is called the Danelaw
Anglo-Saxons continued to control much of the southAlfred the Great
Danelaw
Various dialects of Old English
These dialects continue to be influenced by Latin and Celtic
They are also now influenced by Scandinavian languages
So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?
Where do words come from?
Anglo-Saxon words: to, and, for, in, man, wife, child, fight, love, sleep, eat, house, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Latin words: altar, monk, preach, priest, hymn, noon, candle, offer
Viking words: lift, take, give, husband, sky, dirt, skull, leg, rotten, crawl, clasp
Here come the French! Here come the French!
1066 a.d. William the Conqueror invades from Normandy, France
Brings 600 ships and 10 to 12 thousand men
Defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
What Changes?
William the Conqueror was FrenchHe did not speak EnglishFrench now becomes the language of the government and aristocracyFor the next 300 years all English royalty speak only FrenchCommon folk speak EnglishChurch speaks Latin and French
So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?
Common folk speak English, which is slowly simplifying its form (losing tense and verb endings, etc)English is also adopting many, many French wordsUpper class folk speak FrenchChurch speaks French and LatinLatin and French are also written languages
Middle English (1150-1500)
Grammar is simplifiedCase and number endings are reducedFixed word order is developed Word order dictates meaning
Chaucer first major writer to use English
So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?
Middle English, in various dialects, is now dominantFrench begins to disappear from the sceneLatin remains prominent among the educated
Vocabulary
French Words: action, adventure, marriage, power, vision, beef, venison, honest, prefer, master, court, crownAlmost half of modern English vocabulary comes from Latin and French
The Great Vowel Shift (1450-1550 a.d.)
Middle English looks a lot like Modern EnglishBut it sounds a lot differentBetween the mid fifteenth century and the mid sixteenth century all this changesThis is called the Great Vowel Shift
Great Vowel Shift (continued)
Why does this happen? Nobody knows for sure
What happened? Six vowel sounds changed pronunciation
For example:Middle English “five” was pronounced “feeve”Middle English “house” was pronounced “hoose”Middle English “reed” was pronounced “raid”
Great Vowel Shift (continued)
Middle English also pronounced the vowel e at the end of words For example: “sweete” was
pronounced as two syllables “swait”-”uh”
The Great Vowel Shift changes all this.
Modern English
By the end of the 16th century, we have Modern EnglishWilliam Shakespeare and company are about to show the world what wonders can be worked with this languageSpelling has yet to be standardizedBut that’s another story entirely!