1. History of the English Language
The Beautiful, Masterful Tongue

2. Origins of English
England (Briton) has been inhabited for 50,000 years, yet English has been spoken for only 1,500.
Around B.C.: Celts are the first Indo European speakers in England.
What do we mean by Indo-European?
Languages/dialects which cover a large part of Europe and part of Asia.

3. Based on the graph below, what kind of Germanic tongue is English?

4. What happened to the English Language as it came into contact with other cultures?
Grimm’s Law: A statement of the relationship between certain consonants in Germanic languages and their originals in Indo-European.
Over time, a language becomes softer due to the softening of the consonant sounds.

5. For example…identify this OE text
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice

6. The Lord’s Prayer in Middle English
Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halewid be thi name; thi kyndoom come to; be thi wille don in erthe as in heuene: gyue to us this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce; and forgyue to us oure dettis, as we forgyuen to oure gettouris; and lede us not in to temptacioun, but delyuere us fro yuel.

7. What do you notice about the spellings and the sounds between Old English vs. Middle English?
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice
Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halewid be thi name; thi kyndoom come to; be thi wille don in erthe as in heuene: gyue to us this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce; and forgyue to us oure dettis, as we forgyuen to oure gettouris; and lede us not in to temptacioun, but delyuere us fro yuel.

8. Society of Old English Period
Society was founded on a comitatus (friendly) relationship between a
A. Lord (King, owner of land)
B. Thane(theign): a man ranked between earl (man of noble rank) and ordinary freeman.