History of English language

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Chapter-01

      Introduction 

The English language has grown from a variety of roots over the ages. Even today it continues to grow and change. Following is a brief history of the English language and an overview of some of it's vibrant and energetic ongoing changes.

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH

             The history of the English language is usually divided into three (3) major period: old English (or Anglo-Saxon); middle English; and modern English.

 

OLD ENGLISH 

                       Until about A.D.450, England was not called England, nor was English spoken there. Before that time, the country was called Britain and the people were known as Britons. The Britons spoke Celtic dialects, which included many Latin words because Roman troops occupied Britain from A.D.43 until the mid-400's.

                         Around 450, invading Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians conquered Britain. These conquerors all spoke similar dialects of Germanic. The Angles and Saxons occupied a large part of Britain, which took its new name, England, from the name of the Angles. From the 500's to 1066, the Anglo-Saxon language,now usually called old English, became firmly established.

Celtic made only a small contribution to the Old English vocabulary. Except for a few words such as crag and bin, most Celtic words that remain in English today are place names such as Avon,Kent, London,and Thames. 

MIDDLE ENGLISH :

        In 1066, the Normans invaded Britain, replacing the English people as the chief landholders and church officials. The invaders language----the Norman dialect of French----became the language of the ruling class. The common people, however, continued to speak English.

        Norman-French and English existed side by side until political and social changes began to favour the use of English by all classes. By the end of the Middle English period (1100-1500), English had again established itself as the major language in Britain. But,as a result of the Norman conquest, thousands of French words had entered the English vocabulary--- words such as air, army,art,blue,chair,color, dinner, government, jolly, judge, justice,mayor,paper,poet, prison,and towel. Words from other languages also became part of English during this period, including words of ditch origin such as deck,easel,etch, freight, furlough,and stoop.

MODERN ENGLISH :

         The modern English period, starting about 1500, witnessed the standardization of the language. Several factors contributed to establishing standard English spelling and certain forms of usage. Among these factors are the introduction of the printing press into England in 1477, the revival of interest in literature, and the growth of popular education. The revival of interest in literature, especially in classical Greek and Latin literature led to attempts to label grammar and some spelling as "right" or "wrong". 

From the 1500's through the 1700's more than 10,000 new words entered the language. Many of these were taken from Latin and Greek by scholars who wanted to replace words earlier adopted from French. More than 25 per cent of modern English come almost directly from classical languages. These words include conduct, dexterity, extinguish, scientific,and spurious.

            Because of these and other borrowings ( including borrowings from French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, German, American,Indian and Arabic), English today has a large and more varied vocabulary than almost any other language.

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