The Origin of the English Language

The Origin and History of the English Language Notes over “The Growth of the English Language” More History of the English Language General Language Concepts Cornell The History of the English language, cont’d.    Prestige dialects – the language spoken by the educated, the socially prominent, and the politically powerful Early English – the West Saxon dialect survived, or became the prestige dialect After the Norman conquest (1066), French became the official language, or prestige dialect The History of the English language, cont’d.   Derivatives – words borrowed from other languages Etymology – the investigation of the origins and meanings of words and word-forms etumon – true meaning (Gr. root a.k.a. etymology) ology – the study of (suffix) The History of the English language: Primary Path to Modern English Indo-Europeans 2500 BCE Old English 450 – 1100 CE Anglian West Saxon Middle English 1100 – 1500 CE Northern West Midland East Midland Southern Kentish Kentish London Modern English 1500 CE What you should know about language… Objectives: It is important to understand the origin of the English language because it shows how British history has influenced modern English language. It also explains why past literature seems frozen with terms or syntax we no longer use.  Objectives: Language Concepts    It changes As a language grows older, it becomes grammatically less complex (inflections and word order) Political power determines the prestige of a language or dialect Objectives: Language Concepts, cont’d    Different languages have different grammatical structures Social mobility tends to lessen differences among language dialects Mass communication and transportation tend to lessen differences among dialects Objectives: Language Concepts, cont’d    Language is illogical Language is idiomatic Language can be studied scientifically (etymology)