I. Introduction
Researches argued that there was little evidence to accurately determine the early language in England. While the region was inhabited by humans for thousands of years, and that the presence of culture was detected, it was noted that the English language has been only adopted for a comparatively short span of time. History revealed that the English language we have today is a product of the different spoken dialects of the Germanic tribes who immigrated to England sometime in the 5th century. The development of the English language is comparable to a division of historical periods, and that it was divided according to recognizable “broad characteristics and certain special developments that take place” (Baugh a& Cable, 2002). It has progressed from being an inherited language of Great Britain, to being an internationally recognized either as an official or second language in many countries around the globe. People will better appreciate the beauty of the English language by immersing themselves in the history of its evolution.
II. Old English
A. England before the adoption of the English language
The Celts, who was referred to as the first inhabitants of England, was linked to a definite form of language. They communicated through the Celtic language which was spoken in various forms; currently, these divisions of the Celtic language are the Welsh, Irish, Gaelic and Breton (Hogg, 2002). Many scholars theorized that the Celtic language might have a considerable impact on the grammatical structure and development of English, but this speculation lacks substantial evidence (Oxford, 2016). As noted by linguistic scholars, the Celtic tongue has a minimal influence on the English language, save to some prominent name of places such as London, Leeds, Trent and Devon (Barber, 1993). Moreover, prior to the adoption of English was the Latin language, which was a vital mode of communication in Britain owing to the fact that the region has been part of the Roman empire for hundreds of years. But while Latin became a largely influential language in European countries, it was not the case with Britain and this can be attributed to the arrival of the Anglo-Saxon who dominated the native inhabitants, and eventually influencing their mode of communication.
B. The Anglo-Saxon settlement
The Anglo-Saxon speakers of English originated from the three tribes that came to Britain during the early 5th century, they are they Angles, Saxons and the Jutes. These tribes arrived in the British expanse and settled particularly in the eastern and southern part of the region. They were described to have come from very powerful Germanic tribes, and they settled “in such a large numbers that there could be no question of their absorption by the Celts” (Barber, 1993).
Despite coming from different tribes, the Angles, Saxons and the Jutes share a closely similar and related language, thus they considered themselves as one people which resulted to cultural unity. Consequently, the gradual shift of power and civilization leads to the unification of the English region under the West Saxon kings, which gave rise in the acknowledgment of the West Saxon tongue as a literary standard (Barber, 1993). Based on the study of the languages used in the earliest records, as well as the literary text taken from particular localities, the old English has not yet achieved a considerable unity at this time. It would be centuries later, particularly during the 16th and the 17th century, when English evolved into its modern form and became an established language all over Britain (Truchot, 1991).
C. The Scandinavian Settlement
There were also the invasions of Britain by the Scandinavian Vikings from groups that originated from Denmark and Norway. Sporadic raids from these groups commenced during the 8th century, but it was in 835 AD when the Vikings launched frequent attacks. They were able to occupy a large part of Britain, but the leadership and resistance of Alfred of Wessex prevented them from further expanding in the region. Scholars pointed out that had it not been for the resistance of Wessex, the English language spoken today would have been Danish (Hogg & Denison, 2008). The success of the Wessex in defending their region guaranteed the supremacy of the English language. Moreover, the Scandinavians integrated into the native population, and the assimilation leads to the adoption of Scandinavian linguistic features. The absorption of Scandinavian language structure in the Old English was fostered because of certain similarities of the English, Danish and Norwegian languages.
2. Middle English
The period after the Scandinavian conquest came the Middle English period, which marked by the historic evolution of the English language. There were major and extensive and transformations that far exceeded those that taken place in the previous centuries. While some of these changes were the consequence of the Norman conquest and the events that followed, others were a manifestation of the major tendencies that were initiated in the Old English. As noted by linguistic scholars, the changes in the English language would have taken place even with the absence of the Norman conquest, but that they took place at a more rapid manner because of the impact of the Normans. It was argued that the Norman invasion caused the removal of different “conservative influences that are always felt when a language is extensively used in books and is spoken by an influential educated class” (Baugh & Cable, 2002).
The different changes introduced during this period affected the grammar and vocabulary structure of the English language; for instance, the English grammar was reduced from being greatly inflected to a particularly analytic language. The vocabulary, on the other hand, loss a large number of the Old English word-stock, countered by the addition of numerous words from the French and Latin language. The beginning of the Middle English period marked the learning of a language much like a foreign tongue, but its consequence was the emergence of Modern English.
a. Diversity of the Middle English Dialects
The Middle English language was characteristically varied, and this noticeable distinction was not limited in certain territories but extended to other districts. While it was difficult to distinguish the dialectical divisions, linguist came up with four main Middle English dialects, and these are: The Northern, East Midland, West Midland and Southern (Baugh & Cable, 2002). The distinctive features of these dialects included the manner of pronunciation, vocabulary and inflection. Consequently, out of these local divisions of the Middle English, was the acknowledgment of the standard written English, of which London has largely contributed to its recognition.
The spread of the London standard of English in its written form was observed during the 15th century. This can be attributed to the introduction of printing and the rise of book publishing in England. For example, Caxton, who was referred to as the first English printer used the London form of English language in the majority of his publications and translation (Baugh & Cable, 2002). Nevertheless, the complete uniformity of the English language was not yet attained during this time, as most writers of the 15th century found difficulty in choosing a language that was acceptable by the majority.
3. Modern English
a. Early Modern English
This was the period of the Renaissance where different words and phrases were introduced in the English language. During this period, the educated English people were very particular with the usage of the English language, such that they were enormously concerned about its prestige when compared to other languages such as French and Latin. For instance, the first book English book printed by Caxton entitled Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, was originally written in French (Barber, 1997). There was an apparent doubt as to the beauty and appropriateness of the English language when used in literary works. This is especially so because the English language has to compete with the most prestigious and widely used Latin language of the 17th century. Nevertheless, the superiority of the French and the Latin language was gradually superseded by the English language due to the rise of nationalism in England. The strong sense of nationalism has greatly impacted the use of the vernacular, much like a language that is equal to the French or Latin languages.
b. Late Modern English
There was a change in the structure of the English language, and this was brought about by the industrial revolution and the invention of innovative technology that resulted in the creation of new words. The increased territory of the British empire during the height of colonization leads to the adoption of new words and phrases from other regions. The 18th century saw “the codification of the rules of the language into grammars and dictionaries” (Tieken-Boon van Ostade, 2009). Some of these books include the Dictionary of the English Language which was published in 1755 and the Short Introduction to English Grammar which followed publication in 1762 (Tieken-Boon van Ostade, 2009)
III. Conclusion
The English language has evolved from from the combination of the different languages of the native inhabitants of England, and the more prominent language of the Anglo-Saxons who came into the region during the 5th century. The historical development of the English language is divided into the Old, Middle and the Modern English. There are diverse tribes that impacted the progress of the English language for what it is today. For example, the Norse and Scandinavian settlement resulted in the borrowing of words that eventually found their way in the standard English. Accordingly, the English language has found its prestige as an international language, and is continuously transforming with the advent of technological advances and globalization.
References
Barber, C. (1993). The English language: A historical introduction. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=KKgHkD6O1-cC&redir_esc=y
Barber, C. (1997). Early modern English. Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Early_Modern_English.html?id=Iat4Bk_YeR4C
Baugh, A., & Cable, T. (2002). A history of the English language. London: Routledge. http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1360684875.785%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%B1.pdf
Hogg, R. (2002). An introduction to Old English. Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from https://www.uibk.ac.at/anglistik/staff/herdina/an-introduction-to-old-english.pdf
Hogg, R., & Denison, D. (2008). A history of the English language. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511791154
Oxford University Press. (2016). The history of English. In Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/the-history-of-english
References
Truchot, C. (1994). The spread of English in Europe. Journal of European Studies, 141. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15680212&v=2.1&u=lom_falconbaker&it=r&p=PPWH&sw=w&asid=36c62d02ff1d865a8112adb8d0d8bebf
Yiekn-Boon van Ostade, I. (2009). An introduction to late Modern English. Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=qBylBgAAQBAJ&dq=An+introduction+to+late+Modern+English.+Edinburgh+University+Press.&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Annotated Bibliography
Baugh, A., & Cable, T. (2002). A history of the English language. London: Routledge.
The discussions in this book include the historical account of the origin of the Old English, from the Anglo-Saxons and the conquest of the Norse tribes. There is also the topic about the evolution of the language into the Middle language structure and how it became an international language used currently.
Hogg, R. (2002). An introduction to Old English. Edinburgh University Press.
In this book, Hoog talked about the historical development of the English language, starting from the Norman conquest during sometime in the 5th century. Just like other books that discussed about the origin of the English language, this book was designed to present the relevance of the Old Englis structure to that of the present day English. This book is helpful for readers and researchers not only in understanding the Old English structure, but also in knowing about how much of it has remained intact despite the passage of time and the different changes introduced in the English language.
Hogg, R., & Denison, D. (2008). A history of the English language. Cambridge University Press.
This book discussed about the history and the development of the English language. The facts and opinions presented by the authors are helpful in the research as they brilliantly outline the progress of the language through the centuries. The history of English starting from the Celts and the Germanic speaking immigrants is important facts that are useful in validating facts presented in other scholarly sources.
Oxford University Press. (2016). The history of English. In Oxford Dictionaries.
The history of the English language is also discussed in this article from the Oxford Dictionaries, particularly the five events that help shape the English language. These five events include the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavian settlement, the subsequent conquest of the Norse, the standardization of the English language and the colonization and globalization that helped in the spread of English as the language of the modern times.
Truchot, C. (1994). The spread of English in Europe. Journal of European Studies, 141. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15680212&v=2.1&u=lom_falconbaker&it=r&p=PPWH&sw=w&asid=36c62d02ff1d865a8112adb8d0d8bebf
This journal article talked about how the English language spread throughout Europe, being a language that most people are familiar with in the region. The favorable attitude towards the English language can be traced to the recognizable kinship of the Europeans to this world language. This article supports the idea that English has gone through changes that helped it become a recognized world language.
The History of the English Language
-The English language is a product of different spoken dialects of the Germanic tribes that came to England during the 5th century.
- The development of English as a language can be compared to historical development where events are divided into time frames.
b. Thesis
It has progressed from being an inherited language of Great Britain, to being an internationally recognized either as an official or second language in many countries around the globe. People will better appreciate the beauty of the English language by immersing themselves in the history of its evolution.
II. Body
A. Old English
a. England before the adoption of the English language
-The Celtic language of the native inhabitants of Britain
b. The Anglo-Saxon settlement
- The immigration and conquest of the Anglo-Saxon who have a large impact in the development of the Old English
c. The Scandinavian settlement
-Have some impact on the English language
B. The Middle English
a. Diversity of the Middle English dialects
-The integration of foreign vocabulary of the English language, such as the words adopted from the Low countries. There is a significant similarity of the Flemish, Dutch, and Low German that has become difficult to determine whether a specific word is adopted or native to the Old English language. Moreover, there were also differing characteristics of the English language used in various parts of England.
c. The rise of standard English
-It was during the 14th and the 15th century, when English was recognized as a standard mode of communication both in writing and speech.
d. The London English
-London played an important role in the rise of English as a standard language in the region.
3. Modern English
a. Early Modern English
-This was the period of the Renaissance where different words and phrases were introduced in the English language.
b. Late Modern English
III. Conclusion
