Summary Slide

First InvasionsThe Beginning of EnglishViking InvasionsMiddle EnglishThe Great Vowel ShiftModern English

The Roman Invasions

55 b.C.—Julius Caesar invades Britain.

43 a.d.—Emperor Claudius conquers Britain.

Occupy Britain for nearly 400 years.

Founded citiesBuilt walls, baths, roads, theatersIntermarried with Celts.Place names—Lancaster, Manchester, Winchester, London, BathLatin becomes the prestige

language of education and social life

Roman Empire is threatened by invading Germanic tribes.410 a.d.—Emperor Honorius summons all Roman troops back to Rome.Celtic tribes in Britain are left

defenseless against future invasions.

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?

Celtic languages—the native language of the people.

Latin—the language of Rome was the prestige language. Education Government Written language

Anglo-Saxon Invasions

With the Romans gone, a power vacuum existedGermanic tribes from the mainland soon began to fill that vacuum.450 a.d. By this time Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians have a firm foothold in BritainCelts are conquered and/or driven out

The Beginning of English

What we know as English today begins with these Germanic invasions.

The word English comes from Angles

Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, is an early form of German

Old English (450-1150 a.d.)

Four dialects emergeNorthumbrianMercianKentishWest Saxon

West Saxon

Most important OE dialect

Most OE literature is in West Saxon

Dialect of King Alfred (d. 899)

Dialect of government and church

Return of Latin

597 a.d. Roman Church sends St. Augustine to EnglandEngland is Christianized

Latin

Latin is the language of the church

Latin once again becomes prominent in education

Latin is the written language of the time

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?

Various dialects of Old EnglishAll these dialects are forms of GermanThese dialects also adopt some words from Celtic languages and from Latin

Viking Invasions

Most powerful people of their time793 a.d. Vikings invade EnglandEventually, Vikings control much of England This area is called the Danelaw

Anglo-Saxons continued to control much of the southAlfred the Great

Danelaw

Various dialects of Old English

These dialects continue to be influenced by Latin and Celtic

They are also now influenced by Scandinavian languages

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?

Where do words come from?

Anglo-Saxon words: to, and, for, in, man, wife, child, fight, love, sleep, eat, house, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Latin words: altar, monk, preach, priest, hymn, noon, candle, offer

Viking words: lift, take, give, husband, sky, dirt, skull, leg, rotten, crawl, clasp

Here come the French! Here come the French!

1066 a.d. William the Conqueror invades from Normandy, France

Brings 600 ships and 10 to 12 thousand men

Defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings

Battle of Hastings

What Changes?

William the Conqueror was FrenchHe did not speak EnglishFrench now becomes the language of the government and aristocracyFor the next 300 years all English royalty speak only FrenchCommon folk speak EnglishChurch speaks Latin and French

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?

Common folk speak English, which is slowly simplifying its form (losing tense and verb endings, etc)English is also adopting many, many French wordsUpper class folk speak FrenchChurch speaks French and LatinLatin and French are also written languages

Middle English (1150-1500)

Grammar is simplifiedCase and number endings are reducedFixed word order is developed Word order dictates meaning

Chaucer first major writer to use English

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time?

Middle English, in various dialects, is now dominantFrench begins to disappear from the sceneLatin remains prominent among the educated

Vocabulary

French Words: action, adventure, marriage, power, vision, beef, venison, honest, prefer, master, court, crownAlmost half of modern English vocabulary comes from Latin and French

The Great Vowel Shift (1450-1550 a.d.)

Middle English looks a lot like Modern EnglishBut it sounds a lot differentBetween the mid fifteenth century and the mid sixteenth century all this changesThis is called the Great Vowel Shift

Great Vowel Shift (continued)

Why does this happen? Nobody knows for sure

What happened? Six vowel sounds changed pronunciation

For example:Middle English “five” was pronounced “feeve”Middle English “house” was pronounced “hoose”Middle English “reed” was pronounced “raid”

Great Vowel Shift (continued)

Middle English also pronounced the vowel e at the end of words For example: “sweete” was

pronounced as two syllables “swait”-”uh”

The Great Vowel Shift changes all this.

Modern English

By the end of the 16th century, we have Modern EnglishWilliam Shakespeare and company are about to show the world what wonders can be worked with this languageSpelling has yet to be standardizedBut that’s another story entirely!