The History of English Language

Old English 450-1150
1. Anglo-Saxon - language from Germanic and Denmark invaders who settled in Britain
2. Not much grammar used
3. Before language used was latin because of relgion
4. Latin was still considered the formal language and legal institutions still used it
5. More verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns
6. Gender specific grammar in nouns and adjectives
Changes in language after 1066
1. Normans attempted to conquer British
  1. Vikings got defeated - normans settled with OLD NORSE language
    1. Simplified grammar and new words were introduced
    2. West Saxon dominated the writing form of language
Middle English 1150-1500
1. Plural 's' standarised Norman, French and German words
2. Grammar of language change - relied less on inflectional endings and more on word order
3. Grammatical gender was removed
4. Range of nouns was reduced
5. Vocabulary changed due to more words from other countries
Early Modern English 1500-1700
1. Henry 8th
  1. Religious and Political views started to grow
2. Scientific technology started to grow
3. Accents Welsh and Scottish Appeared
4. Social classes had different dialects because of literate levels between high and low formalities
Great Vowel Shift 1300-1750
1. Pronounciation of language
  1. Value of long vowel sounds
    1. IPA
2. Different Accents
Caxton's Printing Press 1476
1. First printing press in England
2. Printed over 100 books in his lifetime
  1. Many were translated into other languages
3. First standardisation of English
4. Invention of the alphabet
  1. Books were available more easily
5. More people were literate
Geoffrey Chaucer 1389
1. Canterbury Tales - 24 uncompleted stories
2. One of the first writers to write in English
Shakespeare 1585
1. Performing and using new words - writing the lexis down in the plays
2. Many words and phrases are still used now which he invented
  1. Colourful and expressive words and phrases
3. Deep Emotion and analysing ability in few words
King James' Bible 1611
1. Authorised version of the English version of the Christian Bible for Church of England
2. Replaced the Great Bible translated by WILLIAM TYNDALE
Johnson's Dictionary 1755
1. first published dictionary
2. 40,000 words
  1. Defined in detail, illustrated with quotations
Prescriptive
1. Grammar rules trying to keep word structure
2. Politically correct words
First grammar books
1. For schools and academies - changes to the English language with Latin American
Modern English 1700-1900
1. The Language change after the great vowel shift
Industrial Revolution
1. Technical machines - wider lexis
  1. Fashion, technology, food, leisure, medicine, chemistry and psychology
American English 1600's
1. Colonialisation of N.America created distinct American variety of English
  1. 'Americanisms' - Old British expressions
2. Still big influence now - entertainment and trade
3. Spanish and french had an impact through surrounding settlements
Oxford English Dictionary 1857
1. Re-examined Anglo-saxon dictionary
2. Took 50 years with 10 different volumes
  1. 1992 made the dictionary electronic constantly updating
National Curriculum 1988
1. Standardised education - same language used throughout
  1. Then language passed through generations
Global English
1. Words and phrases known worldwide
  1. 'Okay'
  2. 375 million speak english as first lang, and same for 2nd language
21st Century Technological Changes
1. More expensive lifestyles
2. Technological advancements
  1. Removing more manual labour
  2. Lexis used for a specific item and words surrounding it known world wide
    1. Brand names E.g. Hoover

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The History of English Language

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