History of English
The English language is arguably the most influential in the modern world. As the language of the only modern military and economic superpower, the United States, it has become the de facto language of international trade. But though English is spoken now by over 300 million people ( British Council ), few of them would be able to understand the English of the 1300's, and far fewer still the English of the 500's. As nations were conquered and cultures assimilated, English grew in both popularity and diversity, but also changed dramatically. As a member of the Indo-European family of languages, English bares a strong resemblance to many modern languages across the world, but it has developed on a path all its own (Watkins 2002). This development of Old English in and around the British Isles is discussed, as well as its transition through Middle to Modern English and finally the (relatively) recent emersion of the American dialect. English is one of more than 150 members of the Indo-European (IE) family of languages. Named for the early prevalence of its speakers in and between India and Europe, the Indo-European family can now claim approximately half of the Earth's population and its relative languages are spoken on ev
It was this Latin carried by the Anglo-Norman speaking conquerors was one of the most important infusions in the history of English (Ball). Its use brought an increase in literacy to the masses and it became profitable to distribute books in English as opposed to Latin. While no written evidence exists to support the Proto-Indo-European theory, its existence seems necessary to explain the appearances of cognates, words which share a common root, throughout the Indo-European family. Important among these few is the poem Beowulf, which has been translated into Modern English (and many other languages, for that matter). While Old English was spoken for more than 600 years, it produced very few notable pieces of literature. Often a French word would be adopted in lieu of on Old English word, such as crime for firen and uncle for eam. Looking at the direct translation, though, it is easy to tell that many words, such as Fæder (Father) and todæg (today), are directly related to their more modern incarnations. The printing press also had unifying effect; as most of the publishing houses were in London (and the first English dictionary was published there in 1604), the London dialect became ubiquitous across the country. These Spanish influences are visible now in words such as canyon, ranch, vigilante, armadillo and coyote (from the Aztec by way of Spanish conquistadores), while the French armoire, bayou and jambalaya have all found places in modern usage. Beowulf depicts the story of the Norse warrior, Beowulf, containing historical and legendary accounts of the Geats, Danes and other Germanic tribes. yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred. Though it bares a good deal of similarities with its Middle English cousin, however, a modern speaker would almost certainly not understand the Middle English version if it were spoken. The Brahmin dialect of Boston, for instance, spoken by the upper class (of which Mr.
Common topics in this essay:
Middle English,
Modern English,
Ball Fæder,
Pennsylvania German-Dutch,
Germanic Latin,
Anglo-Norman Latin-rooted,
English's Germanic,
British Council,
Aztec Spanish,
Vater Latin,
modern english,
indo-european family,
american dialect,
middle english,
american english,
english's germanic roots,
watkins 2002,
english's germanic,
british isles,
family languages,
germanic roots,
/ lead temptation,
/ forgive selves,
lead temptation deliver,
hallowed thy name,
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Acceptance Essays
