History Eng. Lang

7/28/2019 History Eng. Lang.

1/21

G B R P

SUBJECT : THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Brief Description of Subject :

The subject presents the origin of English, the existence of English at present and

in the future, development of English from Old English, Middle English, andModern English and its existence as the world language.

The Outlines of the Subject :

1. English Present and Future2. Indo-European Family of Language3. Old English4. Foreign Influence of Old English5.Norman Conquest6. Re-Establishment of English7. Middle English8. Renaisance (Early Modern English)9. Modern English : The Appeal to Authority11.Modern English : The Nineteenth Century and After

12.Modern English : The English Language in America

Teaching-Learning Techniques:

a. Lectureb. Discussionc. Presentation

Assessments :

a. Attendance 80 % (13x) = 15 %b. Assignments/Classroom Activity = 35%c. Mid Test = 25%d. Final Test = 25%

Total = 100%

References :

1. A History of the English Language (Albert C. Baugh)2. Encyclopedia of the English Language : Part I : The History of English

(David Crystal)3. The Origins and Development of the English Language (Thomas Pyles)


2/21

A.ENGLISH PRESENT AND FUTURE1. History Of English As Cultural Subject

Scholars/linguists/educated people should know :- the structure of English,

- its position in the world,- its relation to other languages,

- the wealth of its vocabulary,- the great political, social, and cultural influences

to make the language as what it is.

2. The Influences at Work of LanguageIn its development, English is greatly influenced by :

-Latin civilization after the Christianizing of Britain in 597. -The Scandinavianinvasion,-the Norman conquest (make English as the language of lower classes for two

centuries since 1066),

-Hundred Years War,-the rise of important middle class,

-renaissance,

-development of English as a maritime power,- the expansion of British Empire,

-the growth of commerce, industry, science, and literature all contributed to make

English as what it is today.In short, English language reflects in its entire development the political, social,

and cultural history of English people.

3. Growth and DecaySome language changed and developed but some other died out. English. English

has constant growth or development since it has changed. In that development oldwords died out; new words are added, and existing words change their meaning.

4. The Importance of a LanguageThe question is why is a language important? The answer is not the classic

answer: Because language is a means of communication. Rather, a language is

important since the people who speak it important in terms of the importance oftheir politics, economy, commerce, social, and culture. For example, is

Buginese language as important as Kajang language?


3/21

5. The Importance of EnglishThe same question as the previous one is why is English important? The mostclassic answer is because English is an international language. If it is an

international language why is it important especially for non-native speakers of

English? Again, the important of English is related to the importance of its speakerin that the speakers of English is important in term of their politics, economy,

commerce, social, and culture. This is in accordance with what David Crystalsaid : The importance of English for the non-native speaker of the language is

underlined by six reasons :

a. Historical Reason :The legacy of British and American imperialism in which the main institutionswere conducted in English involving : governing body (parliament),

government agencies, civil services, law courts, national religious bodies,

educational institutions. Those who want to get involve in those aspects shouldbe familiar with the language used, i.e. English.

b. Internal Political Reason :In Englands colonies, English is used as a means of communication amongdifferent ethnic groups. For example, in Africa political conflict among ethnic

groups frequently happens since they do not have a national language to

communicate among all ethnic groups. Therefore, to solve the problem amongthem English is used.

c. External Economic Reason :Englands and USAs dominant economic position acting as a magnet forinternational business and trade and organizations should work with English

language. Advertising industries and multi-national business establish offices in

English-speaking countries for the purposes of getting in touch with the

speakers and the language used in these nations.

d. Intellectual Reason :Most scientific, intellectual and academic information in the world areexpressed in English, and 80% of all information in electronic retrieval system

is in English. Besides, philosophical, cultural, religious, and literary history of

western Europe are directly or through English translation.

e. Practical Reason :


4/21

English is the language of air traffic control, international maritime, policing,

and emergency services. It is the language of international business, academicconference, and international tourism.

f. Entertainment Reason :English is the language of popular music, popular culture, satellite broadcasting,

computers, and video games.

6. The Future of the English LanguageThe growth in language is determined by the number ofpopulation and the size ofterritory. English, Russian, and Spanish possess the largest areas. As the result of

the colonial expansion of England in the 7Th and 8th centuries, the English-

speaking nations today control about a quarter of the earths surface, while Russiancontrols a sixth, and Spanish a ninth. Therefore, the three great languages of thefuture should be English (supported by the expansion of English colonies: USA,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, India, Malaysia,

Philippine), Russian (supported by the increase of population of Slavic), andSpanish (supported by American Spanish and Philippine).

7. Will English Become the World Language?There are several questions deals with this point :

a. How much pleasanter travel would be if we did not have to contend with theinconveniences of a foreign language?

b. How much more rapidly we could conduct our business abroad if there werea single language of trade?

c. How greatly would be the problem of the scientist and the scholar besimplified if there were one universal language?

d. How many of the understandings and prejudices that divide nations wouldbe avoided if there were only one foreign language?

e. How much the peace of the world would be promoted if there were freeinterchange of national thought and feeling?

8. Assets (Advantages) and Liabilities (Disadvantages)As an international language the questions are :

a. How readily can it be learned by the foreigners?b. Does it possess characteristics of vocabulary and grammatical that make it

easy or difficult to acquire (acquisition) and learn (learning)?


5/21

9. AssetsEnglish language has three features as great advantages for the acquisition or

learning of English for foreigners. They are :

a. Cosmopolitan Vocabulary :1). It is a Teutonic Language, so it belongs to the group of German, Dutch,Flemish, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian which share similar grammatical

structure and many common words. Therefore, it is easy for the speakers ofthose languages to study English.

2).More than half of its vocabulary is derived from Latin.

3). It is greatly influenced by French language under the Norman conquest(North-West France)

4). It is also influenced by other European languages like Italian, Spanish,

Portuguese, Greek, Russian, etc.

b. Inflectional SimplicityUnlike German and Latin which have a very complex inflectional endings like

Nominative (murus/wall), Genitive (muri/of the wall), Dative (muro/to thewall), Accusative (murum/on the wall) for plural forms, English only has

simple plural endings like : s (walls), es (brushes), en (oxen).

c.Natural GenderIn studying other European languages, students work very hard to memorize the

gender of every noun. In Romance languages like Latin and German all nounswhich would be NEUTER in English are either masculine or feminine. In

German, sonne (sun) is feminine, mond (moon) are masculine, but both ofthem are neuter in English.

Thus, in English it is easy to remember that all nouns naming living creatures

are masculine or feminine according to the SEX of the individual, and all other

nouns are neuter.

10. Liabilities

Aside from its advantages, English also has some difficulties for foreigners tolearn it. They are :

a. Logical vs idiomaticalThe foreign learners tend to express themselves in English only logically. One

reason is that they are influenced by the way of expressing themselves in theirmother tongue.


6/21

Thus, when a German says : Was fur ein Mann. It logically means in English

: What for a man. However, idiomaticallyit means : What kind of man.Similarly, when a Indonesian says : Punggung saya, sakit. It logically means :

My shoulder is sick. Idiomatically, however, it means : I have (got) a pain

in my shoulder.

b. Spelling vs PronunciationSpelling and pronunciation in most Romance languages are just the same like

was fur ein mann in German. In English, however, both vowels andconsonants have various phonemic and phonetic realizations which are very

challenging to memorize. For example, consonant th can be either voiced ( )

like then ( en) or voiceless ( ) like thigh ( ai).

B.INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY

Indo-European family of language are divided into nine groups :1. Celtic 6. Albanian2. Indian 7. Italic3. Iranian 8. Balto-Slavic4. Armenian 9. TEUTONIC5. Hellenic

TEUTONIC LANGUAGE

Primitive Teutonic/Primitive Germanic

East Teutonic North Teutonic West Teutonic

-Gothic -Scandinavian/ 2 Branches :-Burgundian Old Norse 1. High German-Vandalic -Denmark 2. Low German :

2 groups: - Old Saxon1.Eastern Group - Old Low Franconian-Swedish - Old Frisian Anglo-

-Danish - Old English Frisian

2.Western Group Frisian and Saxon-Norwegian Elements: The basis

-Icelandic Modern Dutch in

Holland and Flemish inBelgium

1. High German :- Old High German (before 1100)


7/21

- Middle High German (1100-1500)- Modern High German (since 1500)

Used in Luthers Translation of the Bible

Celtic :

- Gaul and Spain- Great Britain (Scotland/Gaelic and Erse, Ireland/Irish, England/Cymric

and Britanic Celt- Western German- Northern Italy- Western Europe

3.OLD ENGLISH

29. The Languages in England Before English

a. Stone Age (2000 B.C)

1). Paleolithic Age (Old Stone)

The language of Paleolithic men disappeared

with the disappearance of the race.

2). Neolithic Age (New Stone)

- It was Mediterranean race

- It was found in Scotland, Ireland, Wales.

Their language had not survived among these

people.

- Basque Language (used by people in

Pyrenees mountain in Spain)

First People in England :


8/21

1.CeltsThey used Celtic language : Gaelic and

Cymric (Britanic branch). It is the first Indo-

European language spoken in England. To

settle the island.

2.RomanThey came to England in 55 B.C. led by

Yulius Caesar.

They are Roman army.They came not to settle but to govern.

They built army camp called Castra (Chester

in English) used to name cities, towns,

houses, temples, dress, ornaments, and theatre.

They brought Christianity (314 Bishops)

They spoke Latin as religious language.

3.Teutonic TribesThey were AngleSaxonJutes (Anglo-

Saxon).

They were the founders of English nation.

They came from Low Countries : Denmark,Low Germany

They came to settle the island


9/21

They divided the island into small Kingdoms :

Sussex (South Saxon), Essex (East Saxon),

Wessex West Saxon), Northumbrian, Mercian,

East Anglia, Kent.

Anglo-Saxon Civilization

After the coming of Anglo-Saxon, Celts were

driven to the West (Wales) and North

(Scotland)Roman towns were burned

Social organization was based on eorls (Earl),

a kind of heredity, aristocracy, ceorls or

simple freemen.

They formed small kingdoms : Northumbria,

Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Essex, Sussex,Wessex.

The Names of England and English

AngliaAngliAnglorum (Rex Anglorum)

Angles (OE Engle)EngliscEnglish.

Angelcynn (Angle-kin or race of the Angles) -

Englaland (The land of Angles)England (the

land of English)


10/21

The Origin and Position of English

English language is derived from the fusion of

dialect spoken by Teutonic tribes (Angles

SaxonJutes). They belonged to :

a.Low West Teutonic branch so it sharescertain characteristics common to all

Teutonic languages.

b.German (Low German) belonging to WestTeutonic different from North Teutonic(Scandinavian languages) and East Teutonic

(Gothic).

Dialect of Old English (OE)

1.Northumbrian2.Mercian3.West Saxon4.Kentish

Northumbrian and Mercian were spoken in the

north of Themes settled by Angles. But

Northumbrian was spoken in the north of

Humber River, and Mercian was spokenbetween Humber River and the Themes.

West Saxon was spoken in West Saxon

Kingdom in the South West.


11/21

Kentish was spoken in Southeast

Period in the History of English.

1.Old English (O.E) 450 - 1150 Full ofinflections (synthetic language). Ex. Murus -

nominative (wall), muri - genetive (of the

wall), muro -dative (to the wall), murum -

accusative

2.Middle English (M.E) 11501500Inflections were greatly reduced (analytic

language)

3.Modern English since 1500 Inflections weredisappeared.(analytic language)

Characteristics of Old English :1.Pronunciation :2.Vocabulary : Purely Teutonic3.Grammar : It is synthetic language

Grammatical Gender :It is not based on the

consideration of sex.

Adjective: weak declension and strong

declension. It is weak when it is used with noun


12/21

accompanied by article : god mann (good man).

Strong is used when the noun accompanied by

article. Se goda mann (the good man).

The Resourcefulness of the Old English

Vocabulary

Because of its flexibility, Old English vocabulary is

developed by adding prefixes and suffixes.

The word : mod (mood) can be developed as follows:

Suffixes :

Modigbold, arrogant

modiglicmagnanimous

modigliceproudlymodigianto be indignant

modfullhaughty

modleasspiritless

modleastwant of courage etc.

Prefixes :Unmoddespondency

Madmodfolly

Ofermodpride


13/21

Heahmodproud

Micemodmagnanimous

Self-Explaining Compounds

Self-explaining compound are compounds resulted

from the combination of two native words (Old

English words + Old English words).

For Examples :

- Leohtfatleoht (light) + fat (vessel)lightvessel

- Medu-heallmedu (mead) + heal (hall)mead-hall

- Earhringearh (ear) + ring (ring)earringPrefixes and Suffixes in Old English

Suffixes :-ig = modig

-full = modfull

-leas = modleas

-lice = modiglice

-nes = modnes

-ung = dagung (dawn)-sum = wynsum

-dom = earldom

-had = cildhad (childhood)


14/21

-scipe = freonscipe (friendship)

Prefixes :

Settan (to set) can be formed into :

a-asettan (place)

be- besettan (appoint)

for- forsettan (obstruct)

fore- foresettan (place before)

ge- gesettan (people, garrison)

mis-of- ofsettan ( afflict)

ofer-

on- onsettan (oppress

to- tosettan (dispose)

un- unsetttan (put down)

under-Note : Prefixes and suffixes of O.E. formed lots of

derivation

Old English Literature

More than half of Anglo-Saxon poetry is related to

religious subjects, i.e. Christianity. The greatestwork of Old English literature is the Beowulf, a

poem 3000 lines as a folk epic using English.


15/21

4.Foreign Influences of Old English

In the first seven hundred years England was

brought into contact with three foreign languages :

the language of Celts (Celtic), Roman (Latin), and

Scandinavians (Scandinavian).

Assignment II : Write a brief description on the

three foreign influences of Old

English (not more than 5 pages)The Influence of:

A.Celtic LanguageB.Latin LanguageC.Scandinavian Languageon Old English

To be submitted : on March 13, 2013

5.The Norman Conquest and the Subjection of

English, 1066-1200

The Norman / French Conquest

The Norman conquest changed the whole course ofthe English language.


16/21

The Origin of Normandy

-Norman is derived from the lands of Northmen.

-They came to settle the north and east of England.

-The Northmen occupied the north part of France.

-Rollo, the leader of Danes (Denmark, Norway)

became the first duke of the Normans.

-The Norman soon absorbed the most important

elements of French civilization.

-In the 11th century the civilization of Normandywas French.

-Normans were the most advanced and progressive

people in Europe.

-Normans were people who inhabited the North-

west of France.

The Year 1066

-William of Normandy or William the Conqueror

invaded England.

-He fought against the English noblemen at Hasting.

-William won the battle and at Christmas Day 1066

he attained the crown and became the King ofEngland.

The Norman Settlement


17/21

-The Norman were the upper class people

(noblemen).

-They introduced nobility to England.

-They took over the land from English people.

The Use of French by the Upper Class

-Norman as the new ruling class in England used

French since they did not know English.

-French was used for 200 years in England

especially among the upper class.-English was used by the lower class (English

people).

Circumstances Promoting the Continued Use of

French

-Kings of England (William, Henry I, Henry II) weredukes of Normandy who used French.

-English Kings spent most of their time in France

(Normandy).

-Henry I spent 17 out of 35 years of his time in

France.

-Henry II spent two-thirds (2/3) of his time inFrance.


18/21

-English nobility was not so much a nobility of

England since they were an Anglo-French

aristocracy.

The Attitude Towards English

Since English was the language of lower class it was

considered as an uncultivated tongue, the language

ofsocially inferior class.

William the Conqueror made an effort to learn

English.Up to 1200 the attitude of the kings and the upper

classes towards English was indifference.

They did not cultivate English (which is not the

same as saying that they said that they had no

acquaintance with it) because their activities in

England did not necessitate it and their affairs madeFrench more useful for them.

French Literature at the English Court

French Literary works were under the patronage of

the court.

English court was under the reign of King Williamand his daughter Adela and his son Henry I was the

center of literature activities.


19/21

Consequently lots of poems produced during this

time written in French.

History of the English written by Gaimar was in

French verse.

Fusion of the Two Races

The fusion of Normans/ French and English was

rapid. The distinction between French and English

does not long survive.

The fusion was done through the marriage ofNormans men to English women.

Example :

Robert dOily married Eadgyth (a daughter of

English landowner).

Among spiritual federation : the heads of monks of

Worcester and six other English monasteries weresome French/Normans and some English.

Norman nobles were buried in England rather than

in Normandy.

Everywhere there are signs of convergence.

The fusion of the two races went forward under the

reign of Henry I.By the end of 12th century English and French have

been dwelling together, marrying, and giving in

marriage.


20/21

The two nations became so mixed so it is difficult to

distinguish who is English and who is French like

today.

The Diffusion of French and English

In the 12th century, the position of Norman/French

and English could be seen in the two questions :

1.When and how generally did the upper classlearn English?

2.How far down in the social scale was aknowledge of French at all general?

Knowledge of English Among the Upper Class

Since English was the language of the greater part ofthe population, many of the upper class would

acquire some familiarity with it.

a.Royal family such as King Henry II understoodEnglish even though he did not speak it.

b.Churchmen had the ability to speak English suchas:- Gilbert Foliot (bishop of London)

- Hugh of Nonant (bishop of Coventy)

- Giraldus (bishop of St. Davids)


21/21

- Abbot Samson (head of St. Edmunds

c. Men of lower rank such as knight and children

of mixed marriage

Knowledge of French Among the Middle Class

a. Knightsb. Inhabitants of towns (middle class) in

industrial areas

c. Free tenants

Documents

History Eng. Lang