Language change
7.1 How was English changed?
How and why has English changed?
● The English language has changed, developed and evolved over the last
2000 years
Early modern English: english used between 1500 and 1800 CE, marked by a
relatively sudden and distinct change in pronunciation and the inclusion of European
lexis and the classical lexis of Latin and Greek
Linguistic terms:
Graphology: the writing system of a language, as well as other visual elements on
the page // the study of writing forms such as the alphabet
Grammar: the rules for meaning in a language, syntax is part of grammar // rules for
the appropriate use of a language, word order and meaning are included
Orthography: the part of language concerned with letters and spelling
Phonology: the pronunciation and sound patterns which affect understanding of
words
Pragmatics: how the context in which words and phrases are used affect their
meaning // is the study of ways in which language is used in its social context
Morphology: the structure of words with their meaning
Lexis: the lexis of a language
Semantics: the meaning of words
Syntax: the order of the words in a sentence
● The language origins of English have evolved from Indo-European family of
languages
● Over time, the Indo-European root split into different languages, including
Celtic
● Celtic was widely spoken in Europe and different forms evolved to be spoken
in Britain and Ireland from approximately 600 BCE
● The Irish variety of Celtic, Giodelic, was the root of Irish Gaelic and Scots
Gaelic as well as other forms of the language
● Brythonic evolved into Welsh, Cornish and Breton languages
Timeline of language change
43 CE: The Roman invasion of England
● Brought a core of Latin lexis
● Eg. Street - Strata, a constructed road - -chester
,410 CE: The Goths destroy Rome and the last Latins withdrew from Britain
● Latin was replaced by the languages of the various tribes which invaded
Britain (Picts, Scots, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians)
● The Celtic tribes retreated to distant areas of Wales (Welsh), Ireland and
Scotland (Gaelic language)
● The Ecclesiastical History of the English People was written by a monk in 731
CE about the invasion of the tribes of Northwest Europe
700 CE
● The earliest manuscript written in England in old English
● There are still nouns and verbs from Old English that are in use today
○ Strong, water, be
Old English: The language of the Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain which was the
main language until approximately 1100 CE. The structure is different than Modern
English, although a significant amount of lexis comes from Old English
793 CE
● Norseman (Vikings) attacked, mainly from Scandinavia, Denmark and
Norway
● ´Viking´is a term given to people from those regions who travelled in
longboats and attacked British settlements
● The Vikings primarily settled in Northern and Eastern England and brought
their language with them
● The Viking’s influence spread until 884 CE when they were defeated by King
Alfred the Great
● After this, the language of the Anglo-Saxons dominated and helped England
gain a sense of national identity
1066 CE
● William and Normandy conquered England and Noman French became the
language of the ruling class
● Old English survived among the peasantry
● Approximately 10 000 French words came to the language over 200 years
● Middle English was the spoken and written language which evolved from the
fusion of Norman French an Old English dialects
● Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in the London dialect, which became the variety of
spoken and written English among the governing class
● This changed the structure and sounds of Old English
Middle English: th spoken and written English language which emerged after the
Noman invasion and which eventually developed into Early Modern English in about
1500
, Early Modern English
● Language is a tool adapted as required by users
● The development of EME between 1500-1800 was due to a period of change
where social, political and economic life was different
● In 1476 CE, the English printer William Caxton introduced the first printing
press into England which helped to standardise spelling, punctuation and
system of writing
● In 1755 CE, Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary of the English
Language, which recorded the language used at the time
● Great developments happened during this period in science, medicine and
arts which led to new lexis getting established
● More contact with other countries and their ways of life was made through
travel and exploration, including Europe’s discovery of America, new
language was adapted from other languages such as Italian and French
● Writers enriched the English language with word from Classical Latin, Greek
and other European languages
● EME lost some of the grammatical patterns of Old English and Middle English
and became much more flexible
The Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift: a series of changes in the pronunciation of English affecting
the vowels, which lasted for about 200 years (from 1350 CE onwards)
● Towards the end of Middle English, the pronunciation of vowels, especially
long vowels, changed
● This was a complex process that happened faster in some regions than
others
● The change in pronunciation took place at the same time that spelling became
standardised, which explains the difference between the spelling and
pronunciation
● Evidence from spelling and rhymes of this period help to prove the changes in
pronunciation
● There are several suggestions why this occurred, including the movement of
people in the 14th century to the south-east of England during the Black
Death plague (where accents were different)
● Another suggestion is that people wanted to sound different than the ruling
class - even though they spoke English, it had a French sounds in the voice
● Important books such as William Tyndale’s translation and the Authorised
King James Version of the Bible and the work of Shakespeare introduced new
words and idioms to the language - it gave prestige to the English language
● Salad days, vanished into thin air, green-eyes jealousy, tongue-tied—>
Shakespeare
