Language change

• percentages of linguistic influences upon English

  40% Anglo Saxon

  30% French

  7.5% Latin

  5% Greek

  2.5 Other
• Old English time period


  5th - 11th Century
• Middle English time period


  11th - 15th Century
• Early Modern English time period


  15th - 18th Century
• Modern English time period


  18th - 20th Century
• Late Modern English time period


  20th Century - present
• surviving Celtic words


  crag = rock

  coombe = deep valley
• Germanic tribe invasion


  499 AD
• Anglo Saxon words


  brea = bread

  miel = meal

  boat = boat

  
  

  Germanic tribes gave English its structure and basic vocabulary.
• Christian Missionaries


  597 AD - brought Latin with them from Italy to spread word of God
• Why are the missionaries important

  introduced the Latin Alphabet which was adopted by the monasteries for the written word.

  
  

  Anglo Saxons were trained to read in Latin.

  
  

  Never the language of the people - written word and upper class.
• examples of religious words from Latin


  angel, devil and priest
• When did the Vikings invade

  9th and 10th century
• Old Norse words in English

  sky = sly

  knif = knife

  angr = anger

  
  

  influenced Old English grammar and gave pronouns, they their and them.
• Synonyms of Old English and Norse

  Craft - Skill

  Sick - Ill

  
  

  reflects diversity of English
• What marks the Middle English period

  Norman Invasion in 1066 - King Harold was the last English speaking king for 300 years.

  
  

  New new elite and nobility were French.
• French vs English words today for animals/meat

  Beef - cows

  mutton - sheep

  pork - pigs

  
  

  reflects the class divides between french elite and the English peasants who reared the animals
• Examples of french words

  prisun, justise, castel
• Why didn't French engulf English entirely?

  English was spoken by 90% of the population (poor).

  
  

  French rulers of Britain became cut off from French identity - nobility married English speakers and noble families learnt English from mothers/nurses - ruling classes became bilingual.

  
  

  The bubonic plague in 14th century - latin speaking clergy were reduce by half in some areas (communal monasteries) - were replaced by English speakers.

  
  

  Survivors of plague had greater opportunity and power - English speakers became to occupy education, state, laws, royalty. English used to rebuild idea of nationhood.
• What marks the early modern English period?

  Caxton's printing press in 1476 - allowed for mass reproduction and circulation of printed material.

  
  

  The East Midlands dialect was chosen to print -> Oxford and Cambridge, favoured institutions such as education, monarchy and trade (merchants).

  
  

  Idea of too much variation and miscommunication -> several spelling of eggs (egges, eyren). needs standardisation
• When was the first English Bible?

  King James Bible in 1611 -> first authorised bible represents that English is worthy of God and on par with Latin.
• David Crystal quote about King James Bible of 1611


  "The King James Bible has contributed far more to English in the way of idiomatic expression than any other literary source"
• When was the Renaissance?

  Approximately 1500-1700
• Britain's trade in the 16th and 17th centuries


  Britain had naval supremacy which helped English gain linguistic supremacy - brought new worlds for things/ideas and opened world up to trade.
• Example of words from British exploration


  yogurt from Turkish and coffee from Arabic
• Renaissance word examples


  Balcony and opera are derived from Italian - reflected cultural influence of Italian in Renaissance period
• Why was their a revival of Latin and Greek during the renaissance?

  intellectual, artistic and scientific discovery in Europe -. language needed to express new ideas -> Latin and Greek were chosen as it was a language of scholarship and enabled scholars to communicate with each other.

  
  

  e.g skeleton, temperature, technique
• Inkhorn Controversy


  a dispute between the dominance of Latin + Greek over Anglo Saxon derived terms.

  
  

  first formal dispute about English language - evaluating the condition and direction of the language. Evidence of conscious prescriptivist and descriptivist attitudes to language.

  
  

  Ironic - implies there is a pure form of English which discounts germanic, norse and french roots of the language.
• Shakespeare's influence upon English


  combined rich poetic vocab of courters with slang from London's underclass.

  Theatre very influential in this period.

  
  

  First recorded uses of obscene, accommodation, leapfrog, advertising. (over 2000 words recorded from his work)

  
  

  expressions - to be or not to be, to wear your heart on your sleeve.
• Key characteristics of the Modern English period

  linguistic - consciousness about direction of the language

  
  

  social and cultural - aspirational middle class, language as a reflection of class and propriety.

  
  

  Technological - industrial revolution
• Jonathon Swift


  1712 - a proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the English Tongue.

  
  

  objected to unnecessary abbreviations and contractions e.g mobile vulgus shortened to mob.

  
  

  Proposed an English Academy to save and protect English (like the French)
• Was Jonathon Swift in 1712 successful?

  Abbreviations still exist today - prescriptivist debates also still exist.
• Samuel Johnson


  1755 "The Dictionary of Engilsh" - comprising 43,000 words.

  
  

  Wanted to legislate and prescribe linguistics but learnt that language can't be controlled as it is like 'lashing against the wind'.
• Samuel Johnsons impact/relevance


  Demonstrated that language control is difficult/impossible as the language will change and develop with words becoming out-dated or new ones in its place.

  
  

  Dictionaries are perhaps a record of language rather than a tool for control.
• Robert Lowth


  1762 - A short Introduction to English Grammar.

  
  

  objective to prescribe grammar and ban poor grammar.

  
  

  Lowth objected to split infinitives, adverbs and the misuse of countable/uncountable nouns.
• Why was Lowth and others futile?

  Language changes with the times and future influences/values.

  
  

  However, it may have influenced Standard English and formal tests in education e.g SPaG tests at the end of KS2.
• Industrial Revolution and its impacts


  new technologies and inventions reinvigoration the language.

  
  

  Steam power brought neologisms such as piston and cylinder into use.

  
  

  Semantic broadening such as horse power for machinery which previously referred to farming and actual horses.
• Euphemisms in the 18th/19th century

  pilgrim's staff and silent flute - male organ.

  
  

  reflected the aspirational middle class' intetntion to 'speak properly' and avoid improper and sensitive topics.
• Gene Aitchison's metaphors


  Damp spoon syndrome - laziness

  
  

  Crumbling Castle - peak of perfection but is now falling apart.

  
  

  Infectious Disease - language change spreads and infects others.
• Noah Webster's dictionary


  First dictionary in US 1828 - successful in standardising US spellings.

  
  

  -our vs -or suffix e.g colour vs color

  
  

  double consonants reduced in unstressed syllables e.g traveller (BE) vs traveler (AE)

  
  

  it simplified the language and make AE more attractive than British e.g more phonetic pronunciation and less letters.