Origins of the English Language

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Origins of the English Language
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• Written records of English have been preserved
  for about 1,300 years. Much earlier, however, a
  people living in the east, near the Caspian Sea,
  spoke a language that was to become English.

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Proto-Indo-European

• The earliest family of languages made up of most
  of the languages of Europe, Iran, India, and
  other parts of Asia.
• Proto the first or earliest form of something

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(No Transcript)
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Indo-European Languages

• Proto-Indo-European people traveled and settled
  in parts of Turkey, Iran, India, and most of
  Europe. Their languages changed into what we now
  call Per-sian, Hindi, Armenian, Greek, Russian,
  Polish, Irish, Italian, French, Spanish, German,
  English, Dutch, Nor-wegian, Swedish, and most of
  the languages of Europe and India.

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Timeline of Language in England

• People Group Language
• 307 B.C.-1 A.D.- Celtic
• Celts/Britons
• C. 50 A.D. Romans Latin
• 449 A.D.- Angles Saxons Danish
• Scandina-
• vian

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Timeline of Language in England

• People Group Language
• 597 A.D.
• Roman Missionaries Latin
• Latin words borrowed from Roman soldiers mile,
  street, wall, wine, cheese, butter, dish
• After conversion to Christianity, these words
  were added to vocabulary school, candle, alter,
  paper, circle

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Timeline of Language in England

• People Group Language
• 793 A.D.- Vikings Norse/ Scandin- avian
• Words borrowed from Vikings get, give, hit,
  kick, law, sister, skirt, sky, take, window,
  they, their, them

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Timeline of Language in England

• People Group Language
• 849-899 A.D. Saxon
• Alfred the Great (Old English)
• Words from Old English/Anglo-Saxon
• Heart (heorte), foot (fot), head (heafod), day
  (dæg), year (gear), father (fæder), mother
  (moder), son (sunu), daughter (dohtor), name
  (nama), east (east)

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Anglo- Saxon Roots
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Timeline of Language in England

• People Group Language
• 1066 A.D. French
• William the
• Conqueror
• (Normans)
• Words from borrowed from French
• abjure, abstain, account, beverage, blank,
  blanket, bonnet, calendar, cancel, canon, found

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Beowulf Manuscript
Hwæt! Wé Gárdena in géardagum Listen! We --of the Spear Danes the days of yore,
þéodcyninga þrym gefrúnon of those clan-kings heard of their glory.
hú ðá æþelingas ellen fremedon. how those nobles performed courageous deeds.
Oft Scyld Scéfing sceaþena þréatum Often Scyld Scaefs son, from enemy hosts
monegum maégþum meodosetla oftéah from many peoples seized mead-benches
egsode Eorle syððan aérest wearð and terrorised the fearsome Herudli after first he was
féasceaft funden hé þæs frófre gebád found helpless and destitute, he then knew recompense for that-
wéox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þáh he waxed under the clouds, throve in honours,
oð þæt him aéghwylc þára ymbsittendra until to him each of the bordering tribes
ofer hronráde hýran scolde, beyond the whale-road had to submit,
gomban gyldan þæt wæs gód cyning. and yield tribute- that was a good king!