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7.2.12

English thought and culture


English thought and culture

First lecture
Introductory lecture


Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in
the 5th century.
Old English (450-1100 AD)



The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in
Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English
did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers
now would have great difficulty understanding Old English.
Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in
Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and
water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was
spoken until around 1100.


An example of Middle English by Chaucer.
Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of
modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new
conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of
French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the
ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of
linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and
the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English
became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words
added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language
of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be
difficult for native English speakers to understand today


Modern English
Early Modern English (1500-1800

)
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change
in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being
pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British
had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and
the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words
and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also
meant that there was now a common language in print. Books
became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also
brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became
fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses
were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary
was published.
Late Modern English (1800-Present)
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late
Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more
words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial
Revolution and technology created a need for new words

secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of
the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign
words from many countries.
Varieties of English
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America
resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English.
Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached
America. In some ways, American English is more like the English
of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions
that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British
expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for
a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb
instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up,
was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies).
Spanish also had an influence on American English
(and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch,
stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that
entered English through the settlement of the American West.
French words (through Louisiana) and West African words
(through the slave trade) also influenced American English
(and so, to an extent, British English).Today, American English is
particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema,
television, popular music, trade and technology (including the
Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the
world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand
English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English
and Caribbean English


The Germanic Family of Languages




English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.
Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.





Second lecture
Introductory lecture
Old English (450-1100 AD)
Part of Beowulf, a poem written in Old English.
The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in
Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English
did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers
now would have great difficulty understanding Old English.
Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in
7
Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and
water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was
spoken until around 1100.





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