A History of English

1
A History of English

• Chapter 1
• Introduction

2
Introduction 1

• To Aetius, thrice consul, the groans of the
  Britons.
• Bede (730), Ecclesiastical History of the English
  nation Gildas, De Excidio Britannicae
• Picts,Scots, Huns
• They consulted what was to be done, and where
  they should seek assistance to prevent or repel
  the cruel and frequent incursions of the northern
  nations and they all agreed with their King
  Vortigern to call over to their aid, from parts
  beyond the sea, the Saxon nation

3
Introduction 2

• In the year of our Lord 449the nation of the
  Angles, or Saxons, being invited by the aforesaid
  king, arrived in Britain with three long ships,
  and had a place assigned them to reside in by the
  same king, in the eastern part of the island,
  that they might thus appear to be fighting for
  their country, whilst their real intentions were
  to enslave it. Accordingly they engaged with the
  enemy, who were come from the north to give
  battle, and obtained the victory which, being
  known at home in their own country, as also the
  fertility of the country, and the cowardice of
  the Britons, a more considerable fleet was
  quickly sent over, bringing a still greater
  number of men, which, being added to the former,
  made up an invincible army.

4
Introduction 3

• In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited by
  Wurtgern, king of the Britons to his assistance,
  landed in Britain in a place that is called
  Ipwinesfleet first of all to support the
  Britons, but they afterwards fought against them
• (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

5
(No Transcript)
6
Introduction 4

• Saxons, Angles, Jutes
• In a short time, swarms of the aforesaid nations
  came over the island, and they began to increase
  so much that they became terrible to the nations
  themselves who had invited them
• 457 In this year Hengest and Aesc (the leaders
  of the Jutes) fought against the Britons at a
  place called Crayford and there slew four
  thousand men and the Britons then forsook Kent
  
• 473 In this year Hengest and Aesc fought
  against the Welsh and the Welsh fled from the
  English as one flies from fire
• The history of English as a narrative

7
A history vs. The history

• There is not one story to tell
• The familiar narrative originated in the 19th
  century, drawing on the idea of a national
  identity
• Nationalism assumes the existence of an
  unchanging national essence residing in shared
  ethnic origin, fixed territory, common language
• Emphasis on early history, on Anglo-Saxon roots,
  on Standard varieties neglected

8
One truthEnglish is a contact language, a
MischspracheContact situations Latin, Celtic,
Scandinavian (Viking), Norman French, Central
French, Latin again
9
When did English begin?

• The name of the language Pytheas, Pretanoi,
  Britanni, Britannia
• Picti, Wealas, Angli, Aethelbert, Angli, Anglia,
  Englisc, Englaland, England
• The roots Indo-European family of languages

10
When did English begin?

• The traditional answer When a branch of the West
  Germanic family of languages was brought to what
  is today England, from the 5th century onwards,
  by the Germanic peoples collectively known as
  Anglo-Saxons (a number of tribal groupings, each
  of which spoke a different, though mutually
  intelligible variety)

11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Franks Casket

• Fisc flodu ahof on fergenberig
• War gasric grorn ær he on greut gisworn

• Den Fisch hat die Flut emporgehoben auf die
  Strandeshöhe
• Es ward der Ozean bekümmert als er auf das Geröll
  antrieb

15
Traditional periods

• Old English ca. 500-1100
• Middle English 1100-1500
• Early Modern English 1500-17/1800
• Late Modern English 1700-1900
• Modern English 1900-???
• Postmodern English? Global English?
• Beowulf, Geoffrey Chaucer

16
Henry Sweet before the Royal Society 1873

• I propose, therefore, to start with the three
  main divisions of Old, Middle, and Modern, based
  mainly on the inflectional characteristics of
  each stage. Old English is the period of full
  inflections, Middle English of levelled
  inflections, and Modern English of lost
  inflections.
• gifan,given, give
• nama, name, name

17
The history of English a story of invasions and
cultural revolutions

• The Germanic Invasion 449
• The Norman Invasion 1066
• The Renaissance, the Printing Press, the
  discovery of the New World,and the Reformation
  1500
• The independence of the American colonies the
  end of the English monopoly on the language 1776

18
Other important factors

• The invasion of the Scandinavians from the end of
  the 8th century onwards
• The Royal dynasties Lancaster, York, Tudors

19
Intralinguistic criteria

• The branching off of English from other Germanic
  dialects
• The loss of inflections
• The end of French influence
• Latin and Greek loans
• Standardization of Spelling and Grammar
• The spread of English New Englishes
• industrialization

20
What is English?

• Standard English vs. Varieties
• Dialects and Registers
• Written vs. Spoken English
• Englishes, the English Languages
• Lingua franca

21
What is a standard language?

• A standard language is a written variety which is
  either imposed or promoted over a wider
  geographical area than where it originated with
  the aim of making it the principal or sole
  written form in the country as a whole
• It is regulated, codified, and has overt prestige

22
Standard Varieties of English

• West Saxon Standard
• No Standard English in Middle English instead
  Latin and French
• The London standardization from 1400 on English
  as a national language promoted by the
  Lancastrians (Henry IV, V)
• Chancery Standard spelling standardization,
  printing press

23
When did English begin another answer

• A more realistic answer with the development of
  a standardised written form of the language,
  under the influence of Latin (providing a guide
  as to what a standardised language should look
  like)
• This did not happen before the ninth century
  under King Alfred the Great
• This answer underestimates dialects

24
Alternative histories

• Old English as the first phase of several phases
  in a single on-going language
• Old English as the ancestor of an English within
  which Sots is a distinct entity
• Old English as the common ancestor of both
  English and Scots
• Language history as a continuum
• English as a pluricentric language
• English-Only Europe?

25
Samuel Daniel

• And who in time knows wither we may vent
• The treasure of our tongue, to what strange
  shores
• This gaine of our best glorie shal be sent,
• Tinrich vnknowing Nations with our stores?
• Which worlds in thyet vnformed Occident
• May come refind with thaccents that are ours?

26
Causes of language change external

• Imperfect learning
• Substratum
• Individual variation
• Linguistic accomodation
• Migration, Prestige
• Replacement
• Contact vs. Separation

27
Causes of language change internal

• Ease of articulation
• Analogy
• Reanalysis
• Grammaticalization

28
Sources of Information on Language Change

• Evidence from archaeology
• Theoretical reconstruction
• Spelling and Misspellings
• Rhymes
• Translations
• Modern dialects as mirrors to the past
• Linguists