CHAPTER 5 LANGUAGE

 Language: A system of communication through speech  Literary Tradition: a system of written communication  Common in many languages  Hundreds lack literary traditions  Official Language: used by government ( laws, road signs, money, etc)  Each countries designates at least one  Some have multiple  Not all citizens speak official language  Common in colonized countries CHAPTER 5: LANGUAGE

 Origin and Diffusion of English  Spoken by one-half billion people (2 nd most spoken in world)  Speakers distributed around the world  Official language in 50 countries, more than any other language  2 billion people live in a country where English is official language

ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES Fig. 5-1: English is the official language in 42 countries, including some in which it is not the most widely spoken language. It is also used and understood in many others.

 The History of the English Language The History of the English Language THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN 10 MINUTES

 England migrated with their language during colonization  English is official language in most former British colonies  17 th Century: English diffused to North America  Principal language of North America by 18 th century  British Colonization  17 th Century: Ireland  18 th Century: South Asia, South Pacific  19 th Century: southern Africa  United States  20 th Century: Philippines ENGLISH COLONIES

 Celts, 2000 BC: spoke Celtic  German Invasion, 450 AD  Angles: southern Denmark  Jutes: northern Denmark  Saxons: northwestern Germany  “Anglo Saxons” ORIGINS OF ENGLISH IN ENGLAND

INVASIONS OF ENGLAND 5 TH –11 TH CENTURIES Fig. 5-2: The groups that brought what became English to England included Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Vikings. The Normans later brought French vocabulary to English.

 England: “Angle’s Land” corner (angle) of Germany  Modern English evolved from language spoken by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes  Isolation from other Germanic groups allowed languages to evolve independently  Other groups later invaded England, adding to the evolution of the English language, ex: Vikings ORIGINS OF ENGLISH IN ENGLAND GERMAN INVASION

 1066 Normans from Normandy, France invaded  French became official language for 300 years  Royal family, nobles, judges, clergy spoke French  Majority of people did NOT speak French  Parliament changed official language back to English in 1362  French and English languages merged to create a new language NORMAN INVASION GermanicSkyHorsemanwoman FrenchCelestialEquestrianMasculinefeminine

 Dialect: regional variation of a language  Vocab, spelling, pronunciation  Speakers of one dialect can understand another  When speakers migrate, dialects may develop  English migration to North America and through colonization  Dialects of English: U.S., India, Pakistan, Australia, etc  Dialects can also be found within individual countries  US & England: southern & northern dialects DIALECTS OF ENGLISH

 One dialect is usually recognized as the “standard language”  Most acceptable for gov’t, business, education and mass communication  British Received Pronunciation (BRP)  Recognized as standard for English-speaking world  Upper-class Britons living in London area  Used by politicians, broadcasters, and actors DIALECTS OF ENGLISH

 Wide variety of dialects  Three invading groups, distinct regional dialects  Later invasion by the French  5 distinct regional dialects  London’s emerged as the standard language for writing & speech  Used by upper-class residents  Home to Cambridge & Oxford  Diffusion encouraged by printing press, 1476  Grammar books & dictionaries in 18 th century  Rules for “English” language based off London’s dialect  Dialects today: Northern, Midland and Southern DIALECTS IN ENGLAND

OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS Fig. 5-3: The main dialect regions of Old English before the Norman invasion persisted to some extent in the Middle English dialects through the 1400s.

 English language brought to America by British colonists, 17 th Century  “17 th Century English” became the norm in colonial America  Later immigrants from other countries adopted English to be the language of Colonial America DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

 Isolation: Atlantic Ocean  18 th and 19 th Centuries: English in the US & English in England evolved independently  Few residents travelled between the countries  Vocabulary  American settlers discovered new objects: needed new names  Landscape, animals (chipmunk), Native American names (canoe)  New inventions: elevator vs lift, flashlight vs torch DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY AND SPELLING

 Spelling  Noah Webster  creator of 1 st American dictionary/grammar books  Determined to develop a unique American dialect of English  “Spelling & grammar reforms would help establish a national language, reduce cultural dependence on England and inspire national pride”  Honor vs honour, color vs colour, defense vs defence DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY AND SPELLING

 Geographic Concepts: Isolation  Pronunciation has changed more in England than in the US  “A” and “R” pronounced in US the same way they used to be pronounced in Britain during 17 th Century  Standard dialect in Britain emerged AFTER colonization of America, 18 th Century  Colonists left England before “London English” became the standard or “proper” English DIFFERENCES IN PRONUNCIATION

 Major differences in US dialects is from differences in dialects of original settlers  American Colonies  New England: settlers from England: Puritans from East Anglia in SE England  SouthEastern: ½ of settlers from SE England, diverse group of social backgrounds: prisoners, religious & political refugees  Amy Walker’s Dialects  Dialects Video Clip Dialects Video Clip DIALECTS IN THE UNITED STATES