The Origin Of The English Language

“The History of the English Language”. http://www.uni-due.de/SHE/. Univ. of Duisburg Essen. April 2013. Web 4 Oct. 2013.

Some of the examples Richard Lerderer gives to explain the widespread influence of the English language are “English has acquired the largest vocabulary of all the world’s languages”. He Also says “half of the world’s books are written in English, and majority of international calls are made in English”. Another important example is that English is universally spoken.

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,

“ The Language Wars: A History of Proper English”, it discusses about the propriety and properness of language that a large majority of the people in this country speak, which is English. Throughout, the article it discusses the changes of the English language, such as the changes of meanings of words. Provides the audience an interesting perspective to how language changes the context of several words by giving the words a new meaning(s). Comprehensive coverage of history, covers the history of the first form of the English language that came from the Georgian Age. Therefore, it discusses many events throughout, where there have been a lot of misuse, disease, and abuse of English grammar over all the centuries that English has been a language

So what groups gave us the English language, well it is a combination of several groups which were; the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes. The Jutes aren’t as influential as the Angles and Saxons. These groups came from the Germany and Denmark areas. They were called the Anglo Saxon Germans. Most of our language is Anglo-Saxon German and some French Latin. Why did we have the Anglo-Saxon German language instead of Latin?

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

The English Language has been in existence for many years. This is thanks to many early conquers who spoke the language. As a result, today English is used by “at least one out of every seven human beings around on the globe” (Lederer 216). With that many speakers, the reality in Lederer’s words that “half of the world’s

Before today’s “Modern” English, there were major shifts: Old English Shift and Great Vowel Shift. Both of these lead to how we speak today and why we speak the way we do. Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson state in “A Guide to Old English”, in the Old English language they used the Germanic language of Great Britain. This can be

Editor Doug Larson once remarked, “If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” Even at an early stage, all English learners realize how complex and versatile the English language can be. Due to its extensive lineage and consistent reformation, the English language holds a highly diversified panorama of linguistic landscape. Dating back as early as 410 A.D., the fall of the Roman empire, neighboring countries and tribes vigorously fought for the rule of England (Literature). In the act, they transformed human interaction and left imprints of influence not only in monarchy or social paradigms, but in linguistic advancements as well. The English language has been a hybridized substance molded in the hands of war, exploration, and cultural innovation.

Across time, many people have advocated for the stabilisation of the English language. Samuel Johnson was a lexicographer who dedicated his life to doing so. He published his dictionary in 1755, in an effort to prescribe the use of the London dialect of English. However, his aims were not met and people continued to speak in their various dialects. What Samuel Johnson did not expect was the unstoppable way in which language evolves. Neither did he realise the timeframe required for

Think of things that morph over time. What comes to mind? People may think about a music artist’s change from YouTube videos recorded on iPhones to sold-out concerts. Or, they may think about the changes an athlete makes from childhood to becoming a professional athlete. However, did you think about how much a language changes over a couple of years? Every year words are added to and taken from the dictionary. Words are formed and forgotten. Language changes because of a person’s vocabulary and location, but what happens to a language, like the English language, that is spread across the whole world?

English is an international language which is used officially all around the world. Anybody who wants to make connections with the world we live in should learn English. I had English language classes in my secondary and high school years. I also took some private English learning courses throughout summers in my country, Turkey. However, I could not improve my English effectively as all Turkish students in Turkey. I fully agree that English will be learned most efficiently in the boundaries of an English-speaking country not in the home country because of some cases. Therefore, I came here, USA, to learn English better after graduation from my university.

English was one of many languages spoken in Britain for four hundred years before it began to be called English. It was a language with no special status and without a special strong identity. In fact, the history of English started with the arrival of Anglo-Saxons in Britain in the 400s when Celtic languages were spoken by the inhabitants of the island. English shows some traces of Celtic, rising from the merge of dialects brought by the Germanic invaders. And after the Norman conquest of 1066, English spelling and vocabulary was affected by French and Latin, especially when French becomes the official language of England. But in the period of renaissance, Shakespeare and the Elizabeth era, the role of the church, of French and Latin turn down and English becomes the language of government and science. And when the first official government documents were written in English, a common sense of a

     “In the world were over seven thousand languages have exisisted, one language had become dominate. This dominant language is English.” “In the majority of countries throughout the world speak English as their second or first language, no longer just America or England.” English has taken many forms, American English, the Queen’s English, Australian, Canadian English, and several others. Even American English has taken several types of English, Jersey English, East Coast English, West Coast English, Southern English, slang English, and Ebonics. All of these languages have major variants between them, but are all of them are still understood aboard. Without English the world couldn’t operate,

     Knowing a language means one can speak, be understood and understand others who know the language. Although I have taken three years of Spanish, I would not say that I definitively know Spanish. I would not feel comfortable going to Spain alone and trying to survive merely with the three years training that I received. I would inevitably make mistakes, conjugating verbs improperly or stringing nonsensical sentences together. Knowing a language means knowing the things that you aren?t taught. I could spend five more years in a Spanish class, learning all the rules and vocabulary, but I still would not feel I knew the language. Knowing the language means understanding the unspoken rules behind that language. It