of English Jennifer Mayer 2017 How English sounds to nonEnglish speakers Ancient Britons spoke the Celtic Common Brittonic language which diversified into a group of related Celtic languages such as Welsh Cornish ID: 678408
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Slide1
A History of English
Jennifer Mayer 2017Slide2
How English sounds to non-English speakers…Slide3
Ancient Britons spoke the Celtic Common Brittonic language which diversified into a group of related Celtic languages such as Welsh, Cornish, Pictish, Cumbric, and Breton.Slide4
43 BCE: Romans invade BritainSlide5
Roman influence on EnglishThis is, surprisingly, almost nil.
The Celts, whom the Romans met when they landed, were displeased by the invasion. Due to Roman military superiority, however, the Celts were forced to beat a hasty retreat and Celtic and Roman society rarely mixed thereafter. This preserved the Celtic language by preventing its influence by the Latin-speaking Roman occupiers. Meanwhile, the Romans established military outposts throughout England which are denoted by the modern town names ending with -
chester
(Chester, Manchester,
Chichester
, Colchester, Rochester, etc.). Slide6
410 CE: Romans leave BritainSlide7
450 CE: Germanic tribes invade BritainSlide8
Anglo-Saxon languageAnglo-Saxon (“Old English”) gave the English language words for practical things relating to the human body
animalsfarmingthe weatherfamily relationshipscolorslandscape featureshuman activities (such as cooking, eating, sewing, hunting and carpentry)Slide9
Examples of Anglo-Saxon words
bird child eye
chicken daughter
clean fair gold good
feather hand mouth
pretty lip kind youngSlide10
Food
applehoney
ice
milk
nutSlide11
Tools
axehammer
knife
knot
ladle
nail
needle
pin
pipe
plough
rag
sword
thimble
vat
yarn
yolkSlide12
Descriptions
alive awake bloody cold daft dead evil high
green keen long old open quick right wrongSlide13
At home
bath
bed
cup
door
gate
house
yard
Slide14
Outdoors
ground harbor island land
marsh meadow orchard shadow
oak
path
plant
poppy
rockSlide15
Animals
deer
fish
fox
nest
owl
rat
sheepSlide16
Relationships
brother
friend
husband
man
sister
woman
I
you
usSlide17
The body
elbow
ear
thumbSlide18
Verbs
carve drink
find
make
name
read
ride
say
see
send
take
thank
thirst
wag
wake
walk yawn
love kiss laughSlide19
Royal titlesSlide20
Time
dusk
evening
fall
moon
night
now
today
winter
tomorrow
yearSlide21
Days of the week
Several days of the week were named for Anglo-Saxon gods:Tuesday, for Tiw, the god of war
Wednesday, for
Woden
(or Odin), the patriarch of the gods
Friday, for Freyja, goddess of love, beauty, and fertilitySlide22
597 CE: Christian missionaries arrive
Christianity brought new Latin words such as martyr, bishop, abbot, clerk, nun, pope, and priest.
Words related to the church itself included font, altar, candle, mass, school, carpet, brooch.
The word “bless” comes from the old Germanic pagan word
blētsian
, "to sacrifice, consecrate by shedding blood" adapted by Old English scribes, becoming the word bless.
Sometimes Old English words were enriched by Latin additions.
The Latin word for “spoon” joined Old English
spōn
and
hlædel
(Modern English ladle);
The Latin for "fork" was added to Old English
gafol
;
The Latin word for "chair" was added to Old English
stōl
,
benc
and
setl
(stool, bench, settle).
In all, 600 Latin words were used in very limited fashion, e.g. in literary or scholarly contexts, and most did not survive the Middle English period.Slide23
800 CE: Viking raids beginThe Vikings brought action words:berserk
clubskull ugly knife slaughter scathing drag ransack
thrust
die
give and take
gun (meaning “war”)
In all, Vikings contributed 2000 words to English.Slide24
society and culture
bylaw haggle hell law litmus loan saga sale skill thrift tidings troll yuleSlide25
food
cake egg steakSlide26
people
thrallhusband heathen
fellow
guest
lad
oafSlide27
the body
frecklesfoot
leg
skinSlide28
animals
bug bull reindeer skate (fish) wingSlide29
landscapes
bleakflat
rugged
fog
gust
low
skySlide30
icky things
dirt (excrement)dregs
mire
muck
rottenSlide31
and other things…
call choose crawl
get glitter
kindle race raise bag
ball glove knot
link ill loose sly
scant weak run
scare scrape sprint stagger
sway seem shake
thwart want whirl whisk
mug plow scale scrap
seat skirt window anger
awe happy irkSlide32
Late 10th century: The WandererSlide33
1066 CE: Norman conquest
The Norman conquest created a stratified society in which the Norman ruling class spoke Anglo-Norman, and the lower class spoke English.From 1066 until Henry IV (1399), English royalty spoke Norman that become
Frencher
through regular contact with France.
Meanwhile, Latin was still used in church.
Norman French contributed over 10,000 words, 75% of which are still in use today. Slide34
governance
council parliament clerk sovereign judge jury evidence justiceSlide35
and others…
melodyproudmusic
jewel
fruit
cape
poor
mercy
taste
oil
chance
war
pain
basin
market
tableSlide36
The Norman-English divide exists to this day.
Anglo-Saxon: cow, sheep, swineFrench:
beef, mutton, pork
Only after the 100 Years’ War against the French did English take over as the language of power. Slide37
1387-1400: The Canterbury Tales (Prologue)Slide38
1500-1650 CE: The Renaissance10,000 – 12,000 new words entered English, including lexicon.Many were borrowed from Latin, which also borrowed from Greek.
New words included allusion anachronism democratic dexterity enthusiasm imaginary juvenile pernicious sophisticatedSlide39
Shakespeare: 2000 new words and phrases
flesh and blood eat out of house and home good riddance green-eyed monster breaking the ice, dead as a doornail getting your money’s worth short shrift
lay it on with a trowel hoisted with one’s own petardSlide40
nouns
academe addiction advertising alligator amazement assassination backing
bandit bedroom birthplace blanket
buzzer champion compromise
courtship critic discontent excitement
exposure eyeball fixture
gossip gust luggage moonbeam
mountaineer
ode
pedant
outbreak
radiance
rant savagery
scuffle
skim milk
summitSlide41
verbs
arouse bet bump besmirch cater dawn dishearten dwindle
elbow grovel
hint hobnob impede label lower
mimic metamorphize
negotiate panders
submerge torture undressSlide42
modifiers
accused barefaced beached
blushing bloodstained
caked circumstantial cold-blooded
dauntless deafening
drugged countless epileptic
equivocal fashionable
flawed frugal generous
gloomy gnarled hurried
impartial invulnerable
jaded lackluster laughable
lonely lustrous
majestic marketable noiseless
monumental obscene
obsequiously Olympian puking
premeditated remorseless
secure swagger tranquil unreal varied
vaulting worthless zanySlide43
1603: William Shakespeare’s HamletSlide44
1611: The King James Bible completed
This translation of the Bible was commissioned by King James I of England in 1604.It was done to resolve problems in earlier translations perceived by the Puritans, a sect of the Church of England.
It is known for its majestic language and is one of the most important books in English culture. No serious student of English literature should be without one, as it is to this translation of the Bible that most notable English authors allude in their work.Slide45
expressions from the King James Bible
the powers that be labor of loveheart’s desire turn the world upside down
go the extra mile all things to all men
to fight the good fight fire and brimstone
from strength to strength
get to the root of the matter
salt of the earth filthy lucre
a fly in the ointment the writing on the wall
to the ends of the earth a wolf in sheep’s clothing
a leopard can’t change its spots
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bushSlide46
1660: The Royal Society founded
In the 17th century, scientists began to be recognized, including English physicists Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, and Robert Boyle.
Up to this point, scientific lectures and writing were in Latin, enabling scientists throughout Europe to read each other’s work.
English scientists, however, endeavored to devise words to express in their own language concepts and anatomical features, such as
acid, gravity, electricity, pendulum
cardiac, tonsil, ovary, sternum, penis, vagina, and clitoris.Slide47
1583-1914: Empire
10 million square miles, 400 million people
Caribbean: barbecue, canoe, cannibal
India: yoga, cummerbund, crimson, bungalow
Africa: voodoo, zombie
Australia: nugget, boomerang, walkaboutSlide48
1746: The Age of Dictionaries begins
Samuel Johnson’s dictionary took 9 years to write (1746-1755). Upon completion, it was 18” tall, with 42,773 entries, including
pickleherring
,
fopdoodle
, and jobbernowl.
New words continued to be invented.
The Oxford English Dictionary was begun in 1857 and included words such as restaurant, coupon, lager, casino, bonanza, and flair. It took 70 years to complete, and was finally published in 1928, cataloguing such words as nonsense, tommyrot, and balderdash.
It continues to be revised to this day.)Slide49
1607: English colonization of America begins
When the English encountered the Indians for the first time in 1607, they adopted words for local flora and fauna, such as raccoon, squash, and moose.The Dutch arrived in America in 1703, bringing with them the words
cole
slaw and cookies.
Germans arrived in appreciable numbers in 1856, with their pretzels and delicatessens.
In 1935, Italians immigrated, bringing with them the words pizza, pasta, and mafia.Slide50
economics
Trade between America and the rest of the world grew, bringing with it the development of a new language of economics.New words such as break even, bottom line, blue chip, white collar, merger, and downsizing.Slide51
transportation
The invention of the automobile, and American’s love affair with their cars, as well as President Lyndon B. Johnson’s nationwide initiative to connect the country through superhighways, gave rise to words such as freeways
subways and
parking lots.Slide52
entertainment
cool movies
groovy jazzSlide53
When American English becomes old English
Over time, Americans continued to use older English words such as fall (autumn) faucets
diapers, and
candy
while the British continued to develop newer words for the same things such as
autumn
taps
nappies, and
sweetsSlide54
1972: The first e-mail is sent
In 1991, the Internet was created, bringing with it the following words: inbox messaging email host
spam download
toolbar firewall
blog poke
reboot hard drive
crash fail
FYI FAQ
LOL
BTW
IMHO (in my humble opinion) Slide55
Today: Global English
English today has words from over 350 languages.1.5 billion people speak English: 25% are native speakers;
25% speak it as L2; and
50% are ELLs.
“In conclusion, the language has got so little to do with England these days, it may well be time to stop calling it English.”Slide56
Sources139 Old Norse Words That Invaded the English Language,
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/139-norse-wordsThe Adventure of English 500 AD to 2000, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajIV-Qu3hFY
Celtic Britons,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Britons
Collins English Dictionary,
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-lovers-blog/word-origins/anglo-saxon-words,7,HCB.html
The History of English in 10 Minutes,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njJBw2KlIEo&t=601s
The Roman Influence on the English Language,
http://www.sociodialeto.com.br/edicoes/12/12092012084813.pdf
Wiki: Latin Influence in English,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_influence_in_English
Words Shakespeare Invented,
http://shakespeare-online.com/biography/wordsinvented.html