(A Very Brief) History of the English Language Bradley Wright Linguistics for Educators July 1, 2009

From whence it came There have been three distinct periods in the English language. Old English 5th century A.D. to the late 11th century. Middle English 12th century A.D. to the 15th century Modern English 16th century to present (yes, this means you speak the same language as William Shakespeare)

Old English Old English is a mishmash of Anglo-Saxon Germanic, Latin, Norse, and Celtic influences. Anglo-Saxons migrated from Germany into the British Isles beginning in the 5th century, just as the Roman Empire abandoned her English colonies. As written Old English developed, it incorporated the Roman writing system, similar to the system we use today, displacing the older Norse runic system used by the Saxons.

Luke XV verses 11-21: Old English Old English is much different from Modern English, however if you listen closely you may be able to pick out some familiar words. Old English was primarily Saxon German.

Middle English In 1066 an army of French Normans led by William the Conqueror invaded England. French became the language of the dominant political elite. Over time, Middle English developed as French terms and grammar blended into the Saxon German of the peasantry. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer were written in Middle English in the 1380s.

Luke XV verses 11-21: Middle English Middle English, while still not entirely intelligible to our ears has many more familiar words. Middle English pronunciation is much closer to modern English, although you can easily hear the German and French influences.

Modern English Pronunciation and Grammatic shifts led to the development of Early Modern English during the 2nd half of the 16th century (approximately 1550). The King James Bible, and the plays of William Shakespeare are examples of Early Modern English. Early Modern English did not necessarily follow spelling and punctuation rules consistently. That would happen later…

Luke XV verse 11-21: Early Modern English This passage is taken from the King James version of the Bible. The King James version is still published, and in use today.

Present Day English Late Modern English is the general form that we recognize today. In 1755 Samuel Johnson published the first English Language dictionary, “standardizing” English language spelling. Noah Webster’s dictionary for American English first appeared in 1783 (which is why I use a “z” in the word “standardizing”). The English language continues to evolve, it’s impossible to say what it will look, or sound like in the future!

Luke XV verse 11-21: Late Modern English This passage comes from the New International Version of the Bible. This verison was first published in 1975, it uses late modern English.

Future English There are a couple of different forces working at once on the English language Media such as Television, Movies, Radio, and the Internet standardize how English is written and spoken. However, because English is spoken all around the world by millions of people, different groups have learned, and utilize English differently. Over time, these changes could become different languages unto themselves.

Future English English is spoken by more than 850 million people around the world. Each English language-speaking population has a version of English that is similar, but unique. English in the United Kingdom is different than that of the United States, and that of Australia. It’s estimated that there are more than 1 million words in the English language. The English language continues to evolve. Words are… Borrowed from other languages Created as needed to express technology, medical or scientific knowledge Created by media or marketers (Johnny xeroxed a polaroid of Veronica’s kleenex.)

Resources Many resources were adapted from Edwin Duncan’s History of the English Language website for his English 451 class at Towson State University. All audio files, and transcripts were adapted from this source. This website is chock full of materials that are easily adaptable to high school classrooms. http://pages.towson.edu/duncan/helhome.html Wikipedia to the rescue! While Wikipedia should NOT be used as a primary source, it is best used as a jumping off point for further investigation. By the way… Wikipedia is also a portmanteau (combination word) Wiki from the polynesian word meaning “quick” and pedia, from the word “encyclopedia” Further proof that our language continues to evolve. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_english_language The book Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know to Teach was very helpful, especially Chapter 5 which deals with English Orthography (writing systems). My next lesson would utilize more of the orthographic materials. Freeman, D.E., and Y.S. Freeman. 2004, Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know to Teach, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.