Stages in the development of the English language.

It is customary to divide the history of the English language into three main periods:

OLD ENGLISH, which lasts from the 5^th century to the end of the 11^th century; the dates of its end as suggested by various authorities range from 1066, which is the year of the Norman Conquest, to 1150.

MIDDLE ENGLISH – from the 12^th to the 15^th century; the period is believed to have ended in 1475, the year of the introduction of printing.

NEW ENGLISH, which means the English of the last six centuries. It covers the period from 1500 to the present.

During the Old English period, most additions to the English vocabulary were based on native English words. Old words were given new meanings, new words were formed by the addition of prefixes or suffixes, or by compounding. Of foreign languages the most influential was Latin. The Scandinavians also influenced the language of English during the Old English period. From the 8^th century, Scandinavians had raided and eventually settled in England, especially in the north and the east. This prolonged if unfriendly contact had a considerable and varied influence on the English vocabulary.

The Middle English period was marked by a great extension of foreign influence on English. The Norman Conquest in 1066 brought England under French rule. The English language, though it did not die, was for a time of only secondary importance. French became the language of the upper classes in England. The variety of French they spoke is now called Anglo-French. The lower classes continued to speak English but many English words were borrowed from French.

Modern English (New English) has been a period of even wider borrowing. English still derives much of its learned vocabulary from Latin and Greek. English has also borrowed words from nearly all the languages of Europe. And with the modern period of linguistic acquisitiveness English has found opportunities even farther afield. From the period of Renaissance voyages of discovery through the days when the sun never set upon the British Empire and up to the present, a steady stream of new words has flown into the language to match the new objects and experiences which English speakers have encountered all over the world.

The historical events taken as the dividing lines between the periods are really those that affected the language.

Study the information in the following table and use it to describe some events in the history of Britain:

Stages in the development of the English language	Periods, dates	Events in British history
1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon language) ‘Gese, ic sprece Englisc’.	AD 5^th-6^th centuries         9^th-10^th centuries	Anglo-Saxon (Germanic tribes of Jutes, Saxons, and Angles) overran all England except Cornwall and Cumberland. They formed independent kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, and Wessex. The Celts were forced to move north and west.   England was converted to Christianity by St. Augustine. Many religious terms were borrowed from Latin.   The Danes and Norwegians invaded North and East England and introduced many Norse words into the English language. It was the languages of Anglo-Saxons and then Danes that formed the basis of the English language. The West Saxon dialect emerged as the main form of Old English and was used in the literature of the period.
2. Mlddle English ‘Yis, I speke Englyssh’.	11^th-15^th centuries	Norman Conquest. England passed into French hands under William the Conqueror. French was used as the language of government, business and the ruling classes for 300 years. The grammatical endings of nouns, verbs and adjectives in Old English became simplified.   Henry II became the first English-speaking (Lanca strian) king of England to rule since 1066.   By the 14^th c. the East Midland dialect of London became the standard form of English and was used as the literary language.
3. Early Modern English ‘Yes, I speake English’.	15^th-16^th centuries     1536-1543	The spread of printing, which helped to stabilize the written language.   Translation of New Testament into English. The revival of interest in Classical Latin and Greek led to many learned words being introduced into English.   Acts of Union, which united England and Wales after conquest.
4. Later Modern English ‘Yes, I speak English’.	18^th-19^th centuries       19^th century	Act of Union between England and Scotland under Queen Anne. The countries became known as Great Britain.   First major English dictionary was published. It was written by Samial Johnson. It attempted to fix and refine the language further.   The growth of British colonial power led to the spread of English as a world language and many varieties of English appeared in North America, South Africa and Australia.
5. Present-day English	20^th-21^st centuries	Present-day English is an international language spoken in most parts of the world. It’s language of the post-industrial society.

Lecture 2

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