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OLD ENGLISH
Before
English
The
various dialects spoken by the Germanic tribes are known as Pre-Old English.
The term England developed later from the tribal name Angles,
possibly because this kingdom was dominant. The term Anglo-Saxon
referred to the West Germanic tribes generally. Old English was not
entirely uniform and four main dialects were predominant: Northumbrian,
Mercian, West Saxon, and Kentish. Nearly all of Old English literature is
preserved in the West Saxon dialect
Periods in History of English
·
Old English: 449-1066
·
Middle English: 1100-1500
·
Modern English: 1500 on
Old English (500-1066 AD)
West
Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark—the Angles, Saxons, and
Jutes— began to settle in the British Isles in the fifth and sixth centuries
AD. They spoke a mutually intelligible language that is called Old English.
Four major dialects of Old English emerged, Northumbrian in the north of
EnglandThese invaders pushed the original, Celtic-speaking inhabitants out of
what is now England into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, leaving behind
a few Celtic words. These Celtic languages survive today in the Gaelic
languages of Scotland and Ireland and in Welsh. Cornish, unfortunately, is, in
linguistic terms, now a dead language.
Influence
of Old English
The
majority of words in modern English come from foreign, not Old English roots.
Only about one sixth of the known Old English words have descendants surviving
today. But this is deceptive; Old English is much more important than these
statistics would indicate. About half of the most commonly used words in modern
English have Old English roots. Words like be, water, and strong,
for example, derive from Old English roots.
BEOUWULF
Old
English, whose best known surviving example is the poem Beowulf, lasted
until about 1100, just after the most important event in the development and
history of the English language—the Norman Conquest in 1066.
MIDDLE
ENGLISH
The
Anglo-Norman Period: 1066-1350 A.D.
· The
Norman Conquest of Britain took place on October 14, 1066 (The Battle of
Hastings).
· 1066 also marks the end of Old English
and the beginning of Middle English.
Language
In Britain
·
Majority of the population spoke Old English,
but the clergy and the rulers spoke French.
French
Influence on English Language and Literature
·
Heavy consonants of Anglo-Saxon was changed to
softer French.
·
English begins to become standardized.
·
Lines of communication are opened throughout the
country
· Alliteration and Caesura are replaced with rhyme
and meter, Iambic Pentameter, and Rhymed Couplet.
French Influence on English Language and Literature
(cont.)
· French culture influenced Anglo-Saxon
“mindset”. (Arthurian Legend and Courtly
Love).
·
Feudalism is introduced to England.
·
Strong influence of the church.
Chaucer’s Time
·
English society was evolving from medievalism to
modernism.
·
Age of Skepticism and satire: faith and authority were losing hold on the
people.
·
The Black Plague struck three times in the 14th
century.
·
Social structure became unstable.
·
Church was full of abuses—popes, friars, and
summoners blackmailed people.
·
100 years war ended in 1453.
·
Henry VII brought peace and stability in 1485.
Some
of Chaucer’s Themes:
·
Satire of the aristocratic hero figure.
·
Comic revelation of the foibles of love.
·
Models of marriage relationships.
·
Ideals of love and sacrifice.
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
Early
Modern English (1500-1800)
The Renaissance brought the revival of
classical scholarship and brought many classical Latin and Greek words into the
Language. These borrowings were deliberate and many bemoaned the adoption of
these "inkhorn" terms. Many survive to this day.
Shakespeare
· Shakespeare wrote in modern English.
Elizabethan English has much more in common with our language today than it
does with the language of Chaucer. Many familiar words and phrases were coined
or first recorded by Shakespeare. Some 2,000 words and countless idioms are
his.
· Newcomers to Shakespeare are often shocked at
the number of clichés contained in his plays, until they realize that he coined
them and they became clichés afterwards. "One fell swoop,"
"vanish into thin air," and "flesh and blood" are all
Shakespeare's. Words he bequeathed to the language include
"critical," "leapfrog," "majestic,"
"dwindle," and "pedant."
Standardization
·
The printing press brought standardization to
English. The dialect of London, where most publishing houses were located,
became the standard.
·
Spelling and grammar became fixed.
·
The first English dictionary was published in
1604 (Cawdrey’sA Table Alphabeticall).
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