Exam (elaborations)
Essays as guidelines.
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
Essays as guidelines
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SECTION A:In this essay, I will compare an Old English (OE) and a Modern English (MnE) passage in order to
comment on the differences and similarities between Old English and the modern version that we
know today. I will begin by discussing the historical context of the Old English passage. Secondly, I will
identify the differences and similarities between the two passages in terms of; orthography, spelling,
vocabulary and inflections. Additionally, I will explain how the changes from Old English to Modern
English occurred, by focussing on the influences of other languages such as French, Latin and Old
Norse.
After the withdrawal of Roman occupation from Celtic Britain by 420 CE, Germanic tribes known as
the Angles, Saxons and Jutes (collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons) invaded Britain during the 5th
and 6th centuries. These tribes, who are believed to have come from areas of what is today known as
Denmark and Germany, established mutually intelligible dialects, which formulated the starting point
of English. As the Germanic invaders and their language became dominant, Celtic influence became
suppressed and consequently had little influence on the emerging English language. The reason for
this lack of Celtic influence could be that cross-linguistically, language contact between a conquering
power and a subjected population is known to be asymmetrical; as it is the subject population who
mostly adapts to the lexical features of the conquering power (this trend can be seen along the
development of English as it has at different times been either superstrate or substrate). Bragg
(2003:5) comments on another possible reason for lack of Celtic influence, which also illustrates the
aggressive nature which started the English language. Notably the ability of English to foreignize
existing occupants from their identity can be seen throughout history, and is perhaps a strong factor
in its growth;
One answer could be that the invaders (Anglo-Saxons) despised those they overcame. They called
the Celts ‘Wealas’ (which led to Welsh) but fifteen hundred years ago it meant ‘slave’ or ‘foreigner’
and the Celts became both these in what had been their own country.
Latin influence later returned to the region, but not by means of direct invasion, but in the form of
missionaries from the Roman Catholic church. Due to the Churches’ aim of converting Anglo-Saxons
to Christianity, a strong Latin influence on the English language can be traced back to 600 CE; “Because
the Latin used emanated from the Church, much of the vocabulary that entered the language was
associated with religion, specifically Christianity.” (Crystal 1995:24). Aside from their influence on the
Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, the missionaries also modernised it’s the Anglo-Saxon writing system; before
the arrival of the missionaries, runes were the alphabetical symbols used by the Anglo-Saxons. These
symbols (as can be seen in the OE passage) were made up of straight lines as they were usually carved
into wood. The alphabet of the OE language was consequently altered by the manuscripts written by
the early Roman missionaries, which consisted out of twenty-four letters. This would also later aid in
preserving the English language by its ability to keep record. Although most of the OE alphabet was
based on the Latin alphabet, some runic symbols from the Anglo-Saxon alphabet remained.
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