The English Language

Orietta Gutiérrez Herrera

English is Germanic in origin but roughly half of its words derive from contact with French and Latin

There are around 6000-7000 languages in the world

Nº of languages is decreasing rapidly (some even disappearing)

While a few others – English, Spanish, Chinese, arabic and Hindi, become widespread as a result of globalization.

English has widely different meanings

English can refer to certain people from a particular part of Great Britan

Particular language

The origins and history of EnglishLittle known about the languages spoken in British Isles until the coming of the Celts

Spoken all over Europe by many tribes

Britain

British

Celtic languages survived to the present inScotland

Wales

Ireland

On the other hand, Romans ruled much of Europe and in Britain until their troops were withdrawn in 410.

Latin was spoken in Britan and exerted a strong influence in Celtic and Germanic Languages.

Wall, Kitchen, Wine, among others borrowed from LatinLatin influence cintinued through

medieval and renaissance times

How?

Through Catholic Church

Intellectual developments

Humanism Renaissance

When does English officially starts?When Germanic tribes reach the British Isles in 499

Franks Goths Angles Saxons Vandals

The word English derives from this tribe

What started as a Germanic dialect in small part of England is now a language spoken by over a billion people in the world

It is estimated that half of the vocabulary comes from French and Latin

Ex. Natives: “The, A, did, it and of”

-French and Loanwords are used in English to add formality to the language

-Revenue (french)

Modern English compared to earlier English and other languages

Major differences on three levels are examined:

Sounds Words Sentences

Varieties within a single language (sociolinguistics):

regions

Social class

register

Level of formality

Standard taught in schools, spoken-written by journalists.

Formal use more loanwords

External and internal changes:Why varieties develop within a language?

PoliticallyGeographicallySocially

Brought about by:ContactInnovations by speakersIssues of political and social identity

Motivated

Impossible to foresee who will ingrate where or what fashion will catch on (social terms)

Internal changes occur:When speakers stop using endings and rely on words such as: of, for, the, have.

Changing a vowel or consonant Old English: Skip -- > Ship.