History of the English Languag

             The history of the English language is very closely tied to the history of the people who speak it. Whenever something happened that affected the people or culture, the language changes also. Everything affects the language, from the oldest culture to the newest civilization. The world of ancient Britain is not known very well by many people. It used to be called "Thule" and was populated by a very primitive and violent people, the Celts. The Celts were a technologically advanced and barbarous people who lived around 2000 B.C. in Thule and Gaul. Although the early Celts were composed of a number of different races and tribes, they were linked by common origins and language (Proto-Indo-European), common religious traditions, and a close similarity of laws. The Celts themselves did not commit their traditions to writings, regarding their laws, genealogies and spiritual disciplines as sacred, required to be handed down orally, which is why we know so little about them today. The Druids, the high priests of the Celts, would spend twenty years learning the traditions and oral lessons. The Celts were highly ritualistic and religious. Celtic religion featured many female deities such as mother goddesses and war goddesses. The Celtic people were excellent fighters and hunters. Around 45 A.D. Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) noticed that some Celts were fighting with the Gaul. This enraged him and he launched an attack on Thule in 45 and 44 B.C. When the Romans departed they did not leave any Roman influence like they normally did.
             It took a hundred years, during the reign of Claudius (10 B.C.-54 A.D.), for Rome to come back and change the Celts from barbarian to defenseless farmers. The Romans completely pacified the people of this new province of Rome, and renamed it Britain. The Romans build roads, aqueducts, theaters, fortifications and protected the Britons from the Picks and Scots. For nearly four hundred years, the Britons, forme...

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History of the English Languag. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 20:48, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/20819.html