history of the english language all the details your momma didn’t tell you

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History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

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Page 1: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

History of the English Language

All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Page 2: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

The Big Picture

• The primary reason English is so quirky is that it’s a Germanic language upon which they have forced Latin grammar.

• 5 big events in the history of English language (h.e.l.l.=history of the English language Luigi)– Anglo-Saxons settled in England– Vikings toddled over too– 1066 Norman conquest– Attempt at standardization– Globalization

Page 3: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

A Complex Timetable

Page 4: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Old English (where we started)—Aelfric talking about how the Pope decided to

send missionaries to England

• Eft he axode, hu ðære ðeode nama wære þe hi of comon. Him wæs geandwyrd, þæt hi Angle genemnode wæron. Þa cwæð he, "Rihtlice hi sind Angle gehatene, for ðan ðe hi engla wlite habbað, and swilcum gedafenað þæt hi on heofonum engla geferan beon."

Page 5: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Anglo-Saxons Come to Britain

• Anglo-Saxons brought a Germanic language with them.

• There is no point in calling their early language English because it was the same dialect that was spoken on the continent of Europe.

• Over time, Old English emerged as a separate dialect of Old German.

• In the meantime, speakers of the older Gaelic languages were pushed into Wales and Scotland. Gaelic is also the mother tongue of Ireland.

Page 6: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Vikings

• After the Romans went home to watch their empire be destroyed, the Vikings decided that England was ripe for raiding and eventual settlement. By the 11th century there was even a Danish king, Canute, in England.

• The Vikings brought their own version of a Germanic language with them, and Old English sucked a number of words that are in common use today, like take and they.

Page 7: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Norman Conquest--1066

• This was a monumental event in HELL, but not for the reasons that you might think.

• For roughly 300 yr. French was the official language of England. That’s not the big deal because English continued to be spoken everywhere outside of the court.

• The important thing is that the language was neglected for 300 years and left to change as people wished. By the time it again became the official language, it had become bizarre and fragmented.

Page 8: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Middle English• Lauerd me steres, noght wante sal me:

In stede of fode þare me louked he.He fed me ouer watre ofe fode,Mi saule he tornes in to gode.He led me ouer sties of rightwisenes,For his name, swa hali es.For, and ife .I. ga in mid schadw ofe dede,For þou wiþ me erte iuel sal .i. noght drede;Þi yherde, and þi stafe ofe mighte,Þai ere me roned dai and nighte.Þou graiþed in mi sighte borde to be,Ogaines þas þat droued me;Þou fatted in oli me heued yhite;And mi drinke dronkenand while schire es ite!And filigh me sal þi mercyAlle daies ofe mi life for-þi;And þat .I. wone in hous ofe lauerd isseIn lengþe of daies al wiþ blisse

• Lord my steres, not want shall me:In stede of fode there me looked he.He fed me ouer water of fode,My soul he turns in to good.He lead me ouer sties of righteousnessFor his name, as holy is.For, and if I go in mid shadow of dread,For thou with me while iuel shall I not dread;Thy yherde, and thy staff of might,They are me roned day and night.Thou graithed in my sight borde to be,Ogaines thas that droued me;Thou fatted in oil my head yhite;And my drink dronkenand while schire is ite!And filigh my shall thy mercyAll days of my life for-thyAnd that I wone in house of lord isIn length of days al with bliss

Page 9: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Standardization

• Charles I lost his head (literally).• Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan Happy Boys were

running the show in England for a few years.• Charles II returned to England, claimed the throne,

and English became, once again, the official language.

• The word nerds of the time looked at the confused state of the language and called for new standards. Frankly, nobody really cared about that but…

Page 10: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Printing Press

• Before this time, William Caxton brought the printing press to England.

• THIS is what really brought about standardization of English. Imagine trying to print something for sale throughout England when “Hooked on Phonics” was the only spelling rule. Even as late as Shakespeare’s time, spelling was largely free-form.

• Letz luk at sum egzampuls.

Page 11: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

Barriers to Standardization

• While the Normans were speaking French and ruling England, the language fragmented into literally hundreds of regional dialects. So—whose English becomes the “correct” one?” Have you ever heard of the “king’s English?”

• The tradition in English has always been to keep the original spelling of loan words, i.e. the French word cuisine. In English this would have been pronounced cheweezyn.

Page 12: History of the English Language All the Details Your Momma Didn’t Tell You

They Tried It Anyway

• There was a chance at this point to REALLY make a change in the language. (time period=1600 to about 1750)

• But they let the chance slip away.– These guys were still bowing down to Latin as a model of

a great language and tried to make English grammar as close to that as possible. It wasn’t possible.

– They chose to keep the most “popular” spellings, pronunciations and word meanings rather than the ones that made the most sense, hence rough, slough, debt, etc.