Origin Of The English Language

have you ever read an older piece of text and noticed anything different? such as the way the language was spoken/written. The reason our language differs from then is because of the influence of other languages around the English language its self. This influence help to create the modern English language we know today.

Old English dates back to approximately the year 700. If you go back even farther, Dutch, German and old English can all be traced back to the same source. French had a large impact on the English language during the medieval centuries primarily because England was ruled by the upper class that spoke French. English today has spread across the globe. People around the world will adapt English into their own cultural practices.

Late Modern English, a global language spoken around the world by over 2 billion people can trace its roots to the Germanic language introduced by Anglo-Saxon invaders in the 5th century. Before the arrival of the Anglo Saxons, many parts of Britain were bilingual Celtic-Latin speakers, although very few traces of Celtic remain in the English language – other than in place names, for example Avon and Ouse – which derive from the Celtic word for ‘water’, and words found more in local dialects than mainstream English – for example ‘broc’ for badger.

How did English come to be? Why is it so important? The answer isn’t simple. The Proto-Indo European started the language and it doesn’t exist now. “Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. The English language is a result of

The English language developed over two thousand years and was first by spoken by Danish Vikings who invaded England to blend over

The study of language is very intriguing once you start looking a little farther into it. I read through many books and sources to help make the history of language a little more clear and found many interesting ideas. I found that something as simple as the way you use your hand could shape the brain, language, and human culture (The Hand). I also found many sources on human evolution; and digging a bit deeper into this area showed me many thoughts and ideas I never even have thought about. The book that was most helpful in this area gave me many topics to think about. It had a few chapters in it that really caught my eye. It had historical views on this subject, a modern evolutionary theory,

Since its origin as the writing system of the ancient hieroglyphics, through the contribution of a multitude of human civilizations, the new alphabetical system of English has yet developed into its optimum form. Through the systematic research of the alphabet’s origin as the Hieroglyphics, its developmental stage throughout the ancient world and on the advancements of the English alphabet, it will evidently expose the significance of the alphabet ad how collective learning assisted in its development. The unique nature of the English alphabet holds a significant role in modern society as it acts as a powerful means of communication in assistance with the role of collective learning passed down through many cultures.

The ancient Sumerians developed the first actual language, called cuneiform. Before it was a worded written language, it was in the form of pictographs, which are pictures that symbolize something. As that concept evolved more and more, the Sumerians started using triangular shapes to show sounds, which started the concept of spelling letters. The Babylonians and Assyrians used cuneiform as well. As many more civilizations came, the symbols or alphabets evolved and changed to eventually what we know today as our English

Some believe runes originated from either Latin, Turkish, or Etruscan languages. Other rune enthusiasts have theorized that runes were developed from Old Italic, or Greek, however, this seems highly unlikely for two main reasons. Firstly, Old Italic evolved from Etruscan, an ancient Greek alphabet which evolved from the Semitic alphabet, disseminated by the Phoenicians. The Semitic alphabet, Old Italic, and Greek alphabets, commence with the characters, Alpha and Beta. These two letters are distinctly absent from all early runic inscriptions. Secondly, the oldest rune engravings display runes that were written, and read, sometimes left to right, other times right to left, and in some instances, both right to left and left to right in the same inscription. It was not until the runic alphabet converged with Roman imperialism, that runes were predominantly written and read, left to

Well when the Romans invaded England in 55 B.C. Julius Caesar saw the area and thought that these peasants shouldn’t have this beautiful language of Latin. Then in the fifth century the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They all put their language together and made Anglo-Saxon German. Then

I totally agreed Allison. To be literate in the western world is imperative as our society has evolved to require this specific knowledge and understanding (Gee & Hayes, 2011). As you state the need to read and write within the Piraha tribes is non-existent due to their remote surroundings and simple way of life. The ever growing importance to be able to read and write is certainly apparent in modern society. The fact is to be literate promotes independence in adulthood through possible employment, increasing the chance of further education, simply being able to write a shopping list or reading instructions of how to take medication. I also found the YouTube clip regarding 'How did English evolve? fascinating and how different countries and

Both the Anglo Saxons and Vikings had their own identity and language, they migrate and then have to find ways to communicate and understand each other. The same happened in the previous centuries when countries were invaded by other tribes and cultures integrated. People were brought together and had to communicate, new languages were formed or existing languages had to adapt to accommodate new loan words and phrases. Written communication had to be such that most of the readers influence on English, as a modern language today is still visible. Each of these cultures, their language and religions contributed to the development and evolvement of Old English into the international language English is now. In modern times language evolves when

English can trace its roots back thousands of years, beginning with the emergence of the Germanic language. As the Germanic language involved into Old English and Middle English, it eventually became the modern version of English one knows today. Though, using the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), one can see that some parts of English can be traced to other languages. Languages like Spanish and French have often loaned and influenced English, however, even distant languages like Japanese have left their mark on the growth of English. Within the last two centuries, dozens of words have entered the English language due to the growing interest and trade with Japan. During that time, some of these words have adopted new English meanings, with some even entering slang language. Additionally, the OED lists when exactly these words with introduced into English and their frequency in the language today. By looking at the types of words and the OED, one can see how Japanese has influenced English and the usefulness of the OED at discovering the etymology of words.

One of the fundamental ideas of linguistics is that all languages undergo some sort of change. It might be surprising at first to know that language changes, it was especially to me because I’ve never looked at language in that particular perspective. Although all language changes, they change at particular rates, whether it takes a thousand years or a couple hundred, and in different ways, whether it is grammatically or phonologically. However, it’s important to note that language change is definitely not a bad thing. It usually seems like the older generation grumbles about the younger generation’s poor English, but there is indeed nothing bad about any form of language. It is something that happens due to a variety of factors, but a common question from a person who has no background in linguistics is “Why can’t they just speak with correct English?” However, after learning and researching more about linguistics, that statement is extremely absurd. There isn’t a correct English. The English that people think is correct is the dialect with the most power, which is Standard English. There is nothing that is sloppy or lazy about a way that a person speaks because language will never stop changing. English is always a work in progress!

     While many of these of the types of English vary as much as American and British English, it is still understood around the world. Without there being English many of the Presidents, dictators, tyrants, and terrorist couldn’t understand each other. At all of their meeting there would have to be someone that spoke all of the languages that the members of the meeting spoke, or several translators which would make the it even more difficult.