The History of Englisc

The History of Englisc

(That would be English in 2011)

Indo European Languages

Influences on English

Old English ~ CE 450-1066

Celtic Influences – cradle, griddle, glen and whisky

Latin influences (Roman) (part 1)

- occupied Britannia for 350 years

- Latin also in languages of Angles, Saxons, Jutes

Angles, Saxons, Jutes

- invaded Britannia starting around CE 450

- from what is now The Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark

Anglo-Saxon -> Englisc (Old English)

CE 597 Christianity arrives- Latin (part 2)- Priests also wrote in Anglo-

Saxon CE 700 language called Englisc CE 827 King Egbert

renamed Britannia – Engla-land Englisc words that have survived

bedd, eorth, moder, nama, healp, mann, and waeter

Beowulf

Da com of more under mist-hleopum

Grendel gongan godes yrre baer

Mynte se man-scao manna cynnes

Sumne besywan in sel pam hean.

Beowulf

Da com of more under mist-hleopumOut from the marsh, from the foot of misty

hillsGrendel gongan godes yrre baerGrendel came bearing the hatred of the godsMynte se man-scao manna cynnesHoping to kill any human beingSumne besywan in sel pam hean.She could trap in the high hall.

The Norman Invasion

Middle English – CE 1066-1485

CE 1066 – Norman ConquestWilliam the ConquererBattle of Hastings

CE 1066 – 1366 French - Official Languagegovernment, art, society

Englisc – peasant language

Middle English – CE 1066-1485

French words flood the English Language

e.g. parliament, armour, prisoner, chivalry,tournament, penance

Englisc still used by peasantsEnglisc French (polite)pig pork (porc)cow beef (boeuf)

Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales1380

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour

Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales1380

Whan that Aprill with his shoures sooteWhen in April the sweet showers fallThe droghte of March hath perced to the

rooteAnd pierce the drought of March to the root,

and allAnd bathed every veyne in swich licourThe veins are bathed in liquor of such powerOf which vertu engendred is the flourAs brings about the engendering of the

flower

Oxford UniversityOldest English Language University in the

World – dates from the 11th Century CE

Technology Changes EnglishThe Printing Press

1456 – Johannes Gutenberg (Germany)- moveable type

1474 – William Caxton (England)

English becomes more fixed and less phonetic

Printed books become dramatically cheaper- more readers

The Great Vowel Shift ~ 1400-1600

The pronunciation of vowels shifted

Before the Shift

i pronounced “ee” “bit” pronounced “beet”

e pronounced “ey” “meet” pronounced “meyeyt”

ea pronounced “ay” “meat” pronounced “mayt”

u pronounced as “u” in put

The Renaissance New interest in Latin and Greek Sciences

Translation into English

No English words existed to adequately express some ideas – Latin and Greek words added to English at a frantic pace

About 65% of words in modern English dictionaries are of Latin or Greek origin.

Latin & Greek InfluencesLatin or Greek

English Words

struere, to build up structure, constructionreconstruct, constructive

credere, to believe discredit, creditor, incredible, credulous

monere, to warn admonish, premonition, monitor

monos, one monogamy, monotheism,monologue, monopoly

poly, many polyglot, polygon, polytheism

Modern English 1600 -

Shakespeare

Major dramatist, poet

Used 20,138 different words in his writing

1,700 had never been used before

He invented about 8.5% of his vocabulary

Shakespeare’s Words

aerial, bedroom, frugal, generous, lapse,

critic, amazement, gloomy, bump,

amazement, assassination, dislocate,

laughable, hurry, sneak, exposure,

baseless, courtship, impartial,

majestic, useless, pious

Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary - 1775

Defined 43,000 words

Supported them with more than 114,000

e.g.

Dedication. A servile address to a patron

Gambler. (a cant word, I suppose, for game, or gamester) a knave whose practice it is to invite the unwary to game and cheat them.

Exploration ~ Colonialism1400 - 1900

The Sun Never Sets ~

In the late 1800s, the British Empire, controlled one quarter of the world and

was present on every continent.

English -> foreign languages

Foreign languages -> English

~ on the British Empire

Adopted WordsIndia bandanna, bungalow, calico,

cashmere, cot, curry, polopajama

Asia gingham, indigo, mango, typhoon

Africa banana, boorish, gorilla, gumbo, zebra, okra

Canada moccasin, raccoon, squash, toboggan, kayak, parka, wigwam

Canadian, eh!

British Canadianlift elevatorpram strollerchemist drugstoredust bin garbage canqueue up line upmacintosh raincoatsweets candiescrisps potato chipschips fries

Today’s Technology

Alexander Graham BellElectromagnetic Telephone - 1876

Today’s Technology

Reginald A. Fessenden

Today’s Technology

Reginald A. FessendenInvented AM Radio in 1906

Today’s Technology

Today’s Technology

The First Television

Today’s Technology

Apple II – 1977 – First practical microcomputer available to public

Today’s Technology

Printers – make self publishing possible

Today’s Technology

Computer Language

Toolbar attachment modemMenu internet downloade-mail login virusBrowser web MouseWeb site hotlinks pop-upsBookmark scroll bar search

engine

- words that mean something else in another context

Today’s Technology

The Cellphone

First Cellphone CallApril 3, 1973

First Commercial CellphoneMotorola – 1983

Weight - 831g, (28 Amer. Oz.)

Cost - $3,500 US

Today’s Technology

Smart Phones

Text

Internet

Photographs

Videos

Scheduling

Voice

Potential bankruptcy

Today’s Technology

A New Language?

omg! tmi!1

1 – a student’s reaction to this presentation