The English language as many other languages in the World has been evolving through time, and it passed through many stages including its nearly extinction. So where and when did this story begin? 2000 years ago in what now would be the United Kingdom, the language was incomprehensible. The Anglo-Saxon, wich is known also as Old English, was a language that sounded like the modern Frisian language. This language arrived when Germanic tribes invaded Britain and subjugated the native Celts. Nowadays some words have stayed more or less the same down the centuries, words like: buter (butter), brea (bread), tsiis (cheese) miel (meal), sliepe (sleep), boat (boat), snie (snow), see (sea), stoarm (storm). It was the west Germanic tribes which invented these words. Anglo-Saxon, we all speak it every day; nouns like: youth, son, daughter, field, friend, home and ground; prepositions: in, on into, by, and from. And, an; come from Old English, so as all the numbers and verbs like: drink, come, go, sing, like, and love.
Britain was devided in several kingdoms: Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. During the 6th and 7th centuries, Christian missionaries brought the Latin language, thus the Anglo-Saxon absorbed Latin words which helped the language evolve. The Christian missionaries brought the Latin alphabet which later on would become the primary means of writing Anglo-Saxon.
Beowulf was the first great rite poem written in Old English; since its appearance, it marked the beginning of a glorious tradition which would lead to Chaucer, Shakespeare and beyond. With this poem the descriptive and narrative power is revealed; the poem describes the glorious times of the hero Beowulf from the Geats.
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...nguage of the streets was not allowed in Jane Austen’s world.
During the late 18th and 19th century, came the Inustrial Revolution with its new words to enrich the English language; not only did it change the language, but it changed the world too. The steam engine changed the meaning words like "train", "locomotive", and "tracks" so that they could fit with the new technology. There was a change in society too, “Cockney rhyming slang” appeared and became a new form of speech used by the lower class.
Today English circles the globe, it inhabits the air we breath. What started as a guttural tribal dialect simile isolated in a small island is now the language of well over a thousand million people around the world. The story of the english language is an extraordinary one, tenacity, luck near extinction, dazzling flexibility and an extraordinary power to absolve.
Christian missionaries to Britain in the early centuries took many words belonging to heathen beliefs and practices and adopted them into the church (Blackburn 3). For example, Hel was at one time the goddess of the world of the dead; Catholic missionaries used Hell to indicate the place of the dead, later of the damned. Likewise with words such as Yule, Easter, God, haelend, nergend, drihten, metod, frea; the latter ones have fallen from usage. We see these words used in Beowulf as well as other Anglo-Saxon poetry.
Since it’s been a predominant topic of our discussion, let us talk about the infamous English language. We can be sure that it has painstakingly progressed throughout generations of reevaluation and modernization, and has thus become what it is today. It has gone in several directions to try and mesh with the various epochs of language, from the Shakespearean era to the common English slang we use now, we can all agree that English is a language that has been transcending and will continue to transcend into many
The English language has changed tremendously throughout the course of history. It began when the Germanic tribes began immigrating to Britain in the third century. The Anglo-Saxon language evolved into Middle English when France invaded Britain in 1066. The English we know today has flourished from the beginning of our technological advances. The modern English language spoken today began with defining advances of technology including the printing press, vehicles of transportation, and devices used to communicate.
English language has lately become the world’s lingua franca, making it one of the most spoken languages worldwide. An important feature that gives it a sustainable advantage over other languages is ability to easily adapt to changes. It is spoken in many dialects across multiple countries and continues to welcome new words while other words change meaning or are slowly abandoned. For instance, the word “abandoned” wouldn’t have made sense in the last sentence if an English man from the 14th century read it, because back then, it meant “to subjugate.” On the other hand, there are many English words that are added to official dictionaries at a yearly basis such as “tweep”, “selfie” and “hashtag”.
Throughout history, many languages change over time but out of them all I feel English has changed the most. I feel as we go on the way we pronounce words, use slang, rewrite words that have the same meaning but sound differently has changed drastically. I think the main influence on the evolution of the English language would be migration. We the people have moved so much going across countries and other states with English as our default or with broken English or not knowing the language at all. Most out of the United States do have broken English or simply don't know english at all but can identify which language is being heard. No two speak identically either, as they learn English their born language begins to fight with it for example
how the English language has changed in the many years from then until now. The
In conclusion, Beowulf is an epic poem that has a plot which centers around the heroic acts of the main character. It has a unique structure and wide use of rhetorical and literary devices, that make the poem memorable. The employment of these devices and other specific elements prove it pertains to Old English poetry. The poem also introduces Christian beliefs and values throughout the text. The interlocking of Anglo-Saxon ideas and Christian values was probably a
Language has been said to effect culture and a person’s way of thinking; in addition to culture effecting language. Throughout the last 100 years there have been apparent and subtle changes in the English language. The changes an English speaking person may see throughout their life time are different catchphrases, the way language is written, the type of formality used, and how deeply English is affected by cultures; as well as how it effects other cultures around the world.
The Old-English or Anglo-Saxon era extends from about 450 to 1066. The Germanic tribes from the Continent who overran England in the fifth century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought with them a language that is the basis of modern English, a specific poetic tradition, and a relatively advanced society. All of these qualities and spirit are exemplified in the eighth-century epic poem Beowulf.
Mollin, S., 2006. “English as a Lingua Franca: A New Variety in the New Expanding Circle?”, The Nordic Journal of English Studies 5(2), pp. 41-57. Available from
The Middle English period in Britain was one characterized by a variety of external forces, which help define and shape the English language into its modern day form. According to Spielvogel, “the urban centres and the urban population of Europe were experiencing a dramatic expansion” and “new forms of cultural and intellectual expression also arose in this new urban world” (185). With this new jest for life, the people Britain and Europe during the Medieval period were fueled with desire to trade, and expand their territory. The two major, most influential contributing factors that shaped the development of the Middle English language were the lasting implications of the French language that were brought to England with the conquest William the first, and the devastation to the population that the Black death of the fourteenth century brought to England. Thanks to these two lingering influences the English language was allowed to regain its status as the official language of the country.
The authors have attempted in this paper to explain how the English vocabulary evolves and grows. They have identified over a dozen ways in which this happens, some of the more common being imitation, new meanings, change of speech, affixation, portmanteau words etc. They have supplied a large number of examples to substantiate their points.
To understand how English became the lingua franca for the world one must begin by understanding the colonization influence of the British Empire, beginning with the Americas in the early 1600’s. Once the language itself had been somewhat established in Great Britain, although not necessarily agreed upon, the next obvious step was to take the language and the culture to new parts of the world and colonize. The British Empire set out to the Americas in two vastly different manners, yet both had major influences on the language of what soon would become America.
...Kentish, West Saxon, Northumbrian, and Mercian. Since the Normans came from France and had already taken over the rule over England, certain dialects of the French language integrated into the English language. Several years after the Normans had invaded England, the English language underwent numerous changes due to the influence of various settlers. However, the arrival of the Normans in England introduced a new language and culture. Most people had little knowledge about the language and culture introduced. The French language was a preserve for the upper class and the ruling class. Although French remained a language of the upper class and the rulers for a long time, a period came when even the people in higher social classes considered it a necessity to learn the English language. The Norman Conquest resulted in a complete transformation of the English language.
SeargentPhilip, and Joan Swam. English in the world: History, diversity, change. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012.