A Brief History of the English Language

1
A Brief History of the English Language
2
Basis of Old English

• 5th or 6th centuries A.D.
• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
• came across the English
• Channel from continental
• Europe
• Spoke dialects of German
• English grammar and pronouns have their roots in
  this Germanic history

3
The new language (old English) pushes the
existing Celtic languages to isolated regions of
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Breton.
4
Old English

• Beowulf
• 700 1000 AD
• Heroic Epic Poem
• In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of a Germanic Tribe
  from southern Sweden travels to Denmark to help
  defeat a monster named Grendel. He later returns
  to Sweden, where he becomes king, and when he is
  old he kills a dragon and dies.

5
Beowulf Defeats Grendel!
6
Beowulf Translation
7
Middle English

• 1066 the Normans (mixture of Scandinavian
  Northmen and French, invaded the islands
• Bring a new vocabulary that mixes with the Old
  English to form Middle English

• ¼ of our language has French origins
• Words ending with a silent e, or with or, er,
  ent, ant, ion, ian, or ien probably derive from
  French words
• Cognates badminton, lion, parade, science

8
Middle English The Canterbury Tales is a
collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer
in the 14th Century The tales, are told by a
collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from
Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of
Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral

• Whan that aprill with his shoures soote2 The
  droghte of march hath perced to the roote,3 And
  bathed every veyne in swich licour4 Of which
  vertu engendred is the flour5 Whan zephirus
  eek with his sweete breeth6 Inspired hath in
  every holt and heeth7 Tendre croppes, and the
  yonge sonne8 Hath in the ram his halve cours
  yronne,9 And smale foweles maken melodye,10
  That slepen al the nyght with open ye11 (so
  priketh hem nature in hir corages)12 Thanne
  longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,13 And
  palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,14 To
  ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes15 And
  specially from every shires ende16 Of engelond
  to caunterbury they wende,17 The hooly blisful
  martir for to seke,18 That hem hath holpen whan
  that they were seeke.

9
Translation of Chaucers Prologue

• When April with his showers sweet with fruitThe
  drought of March has pierced unto the rootAnd
  bathed each vein with liquor that has powerTo
  generate therein and sire the flowerWhen Zephyr
  also has, with his sweet breath,Quickened again,
  in every holt and heath,The tender shoots and
  buds, and the young sunInto the Ram one half his
  course has run,And many little birds make
  melodyThat sleep through all the night with open
  eye(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and
  rage)-Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,And
  palmers to go seeking out strange strands,To
  distant shrines well known in sundry lands.And
  specially from every shire's endOf England they
  to Canterbury wend,The holy blessed martyr there
  to seekWho helped them when they lay so ill and
  weal

10
Modern English

• 16th and 17th centuries Classical Renaissance
• Latin and Greek words added
• English merchant seamen roamed the world
• New words acquired from Italian, Hindi, Finnish,
  etc.

11

Modern English (1599) William Shakespeares
Henry V (Act 3, Scene 1)
To his full height. On, on, you noblest
English.Whose blood is fet from fathers of
war-proof!Fathers that, like so many
Alexanders,Have in these parts from morn till
even foughtAnd sheathed their swords for lack of
argumentDishonour not your mothers now
attestThat those whom you call'd fathers did
beget you.Be copy now to men of grosser
blood,And teach them how to war. And you, good
yeoman,Whose limbs were made in England, show us
hereThe mettle of your pasture let us
swearThat you are worth your breeding which I
doubt notFor there is none of you so mean and
base,That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.I
see you stand like greyhounds in the
slips,Straining upon the start. The game's
afootFollow your spirit, and upon this
chargeCry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint
George!'

• Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once
  moreOr close the wall up with our English
  dead.In peace there's nothing so becomes a
  manAs modest stillness and humilityBut when
  the blast of war blows in our ears,Then imitate
  the action of the tigerStiffen the sinews,
  summon up the blood,Disguise fair nature with
  hard-favour'd rageThen lend the eye a terrible
  aspectLet pry through the portage of the
  headLike the brass cannon let the brow
  o'erwhelm itAs fearfully as doth a galled
  rockO'erhang and jutty his confounded
  base,Swill'd with the wild and wasteful
  ocean.Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril
  wide,Hold hard the breath and bend up every
  spirit

12
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

13
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• they, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor
• paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

14
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

15
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

16
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

17
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

18
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

19
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

20
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

21
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

22
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup - Asian
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

23
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup - Asian
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback - Australian
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

24
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup - Asian
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback - Australian
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra - African
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

25
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup - Asian
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback - Australian
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra - African
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
  Middle Eastern
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig

26
Where in the world did these English words come
from?

• They, them, their, knife, sky, ski, happy, scare,
  egg - Scandinavian
• Nation, city, poetry, court, medicine, dance,
  physician, beef, fashion, mayor - French
• Paragraph, school, alphabet, stomach - Greek
• Camp, wine, paper, perfume, umbrella, mile,
  senator, legislator - Latin
• Canoe, toboggan, oppossum, moose, pecan, igloo,
  kayak Native American
• Cigar, mosquito, tornado, rodeo, canyon - Spanish
• Volcano, balloon, balcony, tarantula, macaroni -
  Italian
• Cookie, coleslaw, deck, dock, boss, pump - Dutch
• Hamburger, kindergarten, pretzel, book - German
• Pepper, panther, shampoo, silk, tea, jungle,
  ketchup - Asian
• Kangaroo, boomerang, koala, outback - Australian
• Chimpanzee, banana, banjo, okra - African
• Candy, cotton, coffee, sugar, spinach, tiger
  Middle Eastern
• Man, woman, morning, night, day, month, year,
  cat, dog, house, red, yellow, at, in, by, from,
  cow, calf, pig Old English

27
English is still growing!

• Technology, science, and pop culture continue to
  add new words year after year
• dot-commer noun (1997) a person who owns or
  works for a dot-com
• ringtone noun (2006) the sound made by a cell
  phone to signal an incoming call
• biodiesel. noun (2006) a fuel that is similar
  to diesel fuel and is derived from usually
  vegetable sources (as soybean oil)
• avian influenza noun (2006) a highly variable
  mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is
  caused by strains of the influenza A virus which
  may mutate and be transmitted to other
  vertebrates -- called also bird flu
• headbanger . . . . noun (1979) a musician who
  performs hard rock also a fan of hard rock
• mosh pit noun (1988) an area in front of a
  stage where very physical and rough dancing takes
  place at a rock concert
• soul patch noun (2006) a small growth of beard
  under a man's lower lip