1. The History of the English Language

2. Language terms Dialect: vocabulary and speech used in a particular region / class (all the types of English). The lorry hit the boot of the car. Colloquialism: informal, spoken language. I put some fixings on my hamburger. Slang: language used by a group of people to include / exclude, usually spoken, Groovy, grody, far out, peachy, the bee’s knees Idiom: figures of speech that can not be literally translated, may have a mythic or folk source The ball’s in your court. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

3. Language terms Euphemism: a pleasant word substituted for something we find uncomfortable or taboo (often sex or bodily functions). He passed wind. They slept together. Jargon: specialized language of a trade, job, profession- verbal shorthand / excludes outsiders. We will interpret the portrayal of the protagonist in a cultural context. Gobbledygook: also known as bureaucratese, so many words overwhelm the meaning. Cliché: overused words and phrases, lost meaning and boring shortcut thinking. It’s always darkest before the dawn. What goes around comes around.

4. Olde English (450-1000 AD) Think Dark Ages and Feudalism (SS8) Germanic languages mixed with what is now Denmark (Jutes + Angles + Saxons = Anglo-Saxon of Britain mixed with Celtic)

5. Beowulf (1000 AD) Scolde Grendel thonan Feorseoc fleon under fenhleothu Secan wynleas wic. Wiste the geornor thaet his aldres woes ende geogongen dogora doegrim. Grendel escaped, But wounded as he was could flee to his den, His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh Only to die to wait for the end of all his days. After that bloody combat the Danes laughed with delight.

6. Middle English (1150-1500) Norman Invasions (from France) bring new words and ideas Language simplified, adds punctuation Rules established (1400 in England) Weird leftover “gh” sounds- slough

7. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1380?) Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root and all

8. Early Modern English (1500-1800) The Great Vowel Shift: changes pronunciation and spelling c. 15 th century A= ah care = car sheep= shape my = me Renaissance classical learning = new words, new ideas, new inventions Printing press & universities = more literacy = more literature (words are fun!) 1604 first English dictionary

9. Shakespeare, Hamlet (1604?) Madame, will it please your grace to leave us here? With all my hart.

10. Late Modern English (1800-2000) More words from Industrial Revolution, inventions, exploration, conquest, empires. Literacy and grammar widely taught and studied, more simplified and standardized rules about spelling, punctuation, etc. Different levels of literacy, formality, dependant upon class and education. Language revealed you (My Fair Lady).

11. The Evolution of English (2000-) Internet, texting, media etc. have changed, altered, eliminated, and added words. New words added to dictionary every year (d’oh, gif) often from pop culture or tech Simplification of spelling phonetics “w/re u @, internationalized rules (colour / colour) short-hand, symbols Speed and efficiency rather than poetry

12. Orwell, 1984 & Language the future is the reduction of language and the simplification of thought= double- un-good. Limiting language = limits thought = sheeple Spin doctors

13. The Future of Language Languages evolve through use and time, habit and custom, with technology and with ideas. Influences from different parts of the world change the English language (think Southern USA dialect vs. Australian vs. South Africa, slang words). How will language change in the future?