Words.

Compile a list of words that werent around 25 years

The English Language.

ago..

Wordswordswords
The English language is a variable grab bag of words, 500BC-43BC

The Celts

handed down, borrowed or created over more than 2000 years. Our language is in a constant state of change. When you parents were in school, no one knew these terms: DVD, iphone, cable news, etc. A dissection of the history of our language and English history reveals the source of our words

Early inhabitants of England

The Celts are the earliest inhabitants of the British

Isles to leave a mark on our language. Celtic words In fact, very few Celtic words have lived on in the English language; many English place names have Celtic origins.

The Romans
Romans 43BC-450AD
Romans invade and rule British Isles for over 400

Anglo Saxons 449AD

Anglo Saxon dialects form the basis of the language

years About 200 Latin words are inherited from the Romans - passed on from this era are those coined by Roman merchants and soldiers. These include win (wine), candel (candle), belt (belt) and weall (wall).

we now call Old English. About 400 Anglo Saxon texts survive from this era, including many beautiful poems - these tell tales of wild battles and heroic journeys. Anglo Saxon Words Approximately one third of Anglo-Saxon vocabulary survives into modern English, including many of our most basic, everyday words: earth, house, food, sing, night and sleep.

St Augustine 597 AD
Christian missionaries, led by St. Augustine, move

Vikings 789AD
The year 789 sees the first Danish invasion of Britain
For a hundred years the Vikings control most of Eastern

through the land, converting the Anglo-Saxons from their Pagan beliefs to a Catholic faith. Throughout Europe, the language of the Church is Latin, and the missionaries inject hundreds of new Latin words into the English language. Latin Words: Many of the new words derived from Latin refer to religion, such as altar, mass, school, and monk, but others are more domestic and mundane such as fork, spade, spider, tower, and rose.

England, before being pushed back into the North East of the country by King Alfred the Great. During this time King Alfred uses the English language to develop a sense of national identity amongst the English. Norse Words: These raiders and settlers bring almost 2000 new words into the English vocabulary. Words derived from Norse include anger, awkward, cake, die, egg, freckle, muggy, reindeer, silver, skirt and smile.

The Norman Invasion 1066 A.D.

The Normans transform England, both culturally and

100 Years War 1337-1450s

100 Years War fought between England and France
The universities of Oxford & Cambridge are

linguistically. For over 300 years French is the language spoken by the most powerful people - royalty, aristocrats and high-powered officials - some of whom can't speak English at all. French is used in political documents, in administration, and in literature. Latin is still the language of the church and of scholars, but most of the general population speak English in their everyday lives. Thousands of French words become embedded in the English vocabulary, most of which are words of power, such as crown, castle, court, parliament, army, mansion, gown, beauty, banquet, art, poet, romance, chess, color, duke, servant, peasant, traitor and governor.

established. Literacy increases but books are still copied by hand and are therefore extremely expensive. Many Latin words come into the language, most of which are connected to religion, medicine, law or literature. These words include scripture, collect, immortal, history, library, solar, recipe and genius.

Renaissance 1476-1650
In 1476, Caxton introduces the printing press to England

We Need Grammar! 1700s

An age of dictionaries, grammars and rules and

and prints mythic tales, popular stories, poems, phrasebooks, devotional pieces & grammars. Because of the Exploration of the New World, new words from across the globe, including atmosphere, explain, enthusiasm, skeleton and utopian (from Latin); bizarre, chocolate, explore, moustache and vogue (from French); carnival, macaroni and violin (from Italian) harem, jar, magazine and sherbet from Arabic); and coffee, yoghurt and kiosk (from Turkish); tomato, potato and tobacco (from Spanish)

regulations

Human knowledge continues to stretch into new areas,

with discoveries in the fields of medicine, astrology, botany & engineering. Many scholars believe that the English language is chaotic, and in desperate need of some firm rules. Books teaching 'correct' grammar, pronunciation & spelling are increasingly popular. Samuel Johnson publishes his famous dictionary in 1755. Words hated by Johnson and omitted from his dictionary, include bang, budge, fuss, gambler, shabby, and touchy.

The Industrial Revolution 1760s-1800s

In an age of inventions and contraptions, of science

1900-present day
A century of world wars, technological

& industry, of expanding cities & smog-gurgling factories the language must swell to accommodate new ideas. Newly coined words include biology, taxonomy, caffeine, cityscape, centigrade, w att, bacterium, chromosome and claustrophobia. In the world of burgeoning capitalism, money can suddenly slump, inflate, boom and cause depressions. Victorian writers pen over 60,000 novels.

transformation, and globalization.

The language continues to incorporate new jargons,

slangs, technologies, toys, foods and gadgets. It is in this century that we get doodlebugs, gasmasks, gobstoppers, mini skirts and rockers; we enjoy dim sum, cappuccino, chicken marsala and pizzerias; we talk of geeks, nerds and weirdos; and we are addicted to televisions, websites, DVDs and HDTV.

English Language Dates

499-1066: Old English Beowulf
1066-1500: Middle English The Canterbury Tales

Important dates
499-1066: Old English 1066-1500: Middle English 1500-Today: Modern English

1500-Today: Modern English From Shakespeare to Eliot to Rowling

(Fromkin Rodman Hyams 462)

499: Saxons invade Britain 6th Century: Religious Literature 8th Century: Beowulf 1066: Norman Conquest 1387: Canterbury Tales 1476: Caxtons Printing Press 1500: Great Vowel Shift 1564: Birth of Shakespeare (Fromkin Rodman Hyams 462)

Traditional Word Order

S-V-O
ADJ NOUN

Historical Word Order

Varied - did not stick with S-V-O
Kennings word compounds

Can you recognize this?

Fder ure,
ou e eart on heofonum,

The Lords Prayer (Matt 6:9-13)

Fder ure, ou e eart on heofonum, Our Father which art in Heaven,

si in name gehalgod.
Tobecume in rice. Gewure in willa on eoran swa swa on heofenum.

si in name gehalgod.
Tobecume in rice. Gewure in willa on eoran swa swa on heofenum. Urne gedghwamlican hlaf syle us to dg. And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfa urum gyltendum. And ne geld u us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. Solice.

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

Urne gedghwamlican hlaf syle us to dg.

And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfa urum gyltendum. And ne geld u us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. Solice.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Can You Read This?

Ther was also a nonne, a Prioresse, That of hir smyling was ful symple and coy, Hir gretteste oath was but by Seinte Loy, And she was cleped Madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service dyvyne, Entuned in hir nose ful semely.

Word Sets
Text Speak combination of symbols and letters
Slang words you use with your friends

Colloquial Speech informal

Elevated teachers, parents, preachers, etc. Professional Speech employee to patron

Formal essays

And Frenshe she spak ful faire and fetisly After the scole of Stratford-atte-Bowe, For Frenshe of Parys was to hir unknowe.

007

Lit. allows us to travel back in time. When we hear old or middle english, we can go back and see that time periods people's priorities and values etc.