HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians, Normans

THE CELTS

CELTS

The Celts had been in Great Britain from the 5th century BC

Greek Writers described the Celts as a tall race, with weak bodies, white skin and blond hair. A people that liked war. They painted their faces and body and decorated their hair. The Romans called them “Pictus”.

Stonehenge

We can still see some Stone Monuments from the Celts across the countryside of Great Britain.

Some celebrations have Celtic origins. Halloween is typically linked to the Celtic festival of SAMHAIN, which comes from the Old Irish for SUMMER´S END. The Spanish counterpart is the celebration of TODOS LOS SANTOS.

Celtic words in English:

basket, bin, clock, slogan, whiskey, clan, pet, trousers, penguin,

THE ROMANS

The Romans came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago and changed the country. Even today, evidence of the Romans being there, can be seen in the ruins of Roman buildings, forts, roads, and baths.

Hadrian´s Wall: The Romans built a wall that separated Scotland from England. The wall kept the Britons from the attacks of the Scottish (Pictus), as the Romans were never able to conquer the northen territories.

HADRIAN´S WALL

Portchester CastleThe Romans had to built forts on the East Coast to protect themselves from Germanic tribes that were beginning to invade Britain.

The Celts never spoke the language of the Romans, which was Latin, but adopted a few words, such as:

Caester Castro (fortificación) ManchesterTorr Tower

Port PortWïc village

The germanic invation:Jutes

Saxons Angles

The Roman empire ended when the Germanic Tribes (Anglos, Jutes and Saxons) invaded Britannia (Great Britain), during the V century.

There seems to have been no large "invasion“, but the tribes, notably the Jutes, Angles and Saxons, quickly established control over modern-day England.

Anglo-Saxon

helmet

Alfred the Great, who was an Anglo-Saxon king, defended the British from the Vicking attacks.

The language of these Germanic invaders (Angles,

Jutes and Saxons) was adopted by the population

who previously spoke Celtic.

VIKING INVASIONS

In A.D. 789, the Vikings began raiding and plundering Britain with fire and sword

The Vikings burnt, destroyed, and killed during their raids. They destroyed most monasteries.

King Cnut, that was also the king of Norway, Denmark parts of Sweden and England died and was succeeded by the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor.

Viking ship

Words of Scandinavian origin:

Verbs: was, are, take, get…Nouns: bag, ball, birth, window, viking, troll , sky, kid, knife…Adjectives: happy, flat…

THE NORMANS

Normandy was a Duchy in France

The duke of Normandy, William, invaded England and became King William the

Conqueror

He established a kingdom where the people at the court spoke French and the population

spoke English

The Norman on the left is thinking: "Vous êtes des barbares" ("You barbarians").

By the 13th century (Norman occupation), England had a trilingual composition: 1. French was the literary language and the language of the court.2. Latin was the language of the church and legal documents.3. English was the language among common people

French – Latin -- English

At the end of the 13th century took place the reestablishment of ENGLISH, but with numerous French words. The Canterbury Tales was the first

novel written in English.

French words in English:

Noble, dame, servant, messenger, prison, cathedral, virgin, punishment, archer,

army battle, enemy, button, bacon, beef, biscuit, art, rhyme, romance, poet, drama, and many many more…………………………….

So, we can say English is made of:1. Celtic words2. Latin words3. Germanic words4. Scandinavian words5. French words

The end