Essay on the Developments of the English Language

552 Words3 Pages
The beginning of the English language was not written down in books and papers, it was only spoken. The few words we knew from that time came from inscriptions in the runic alphabet. The development of the language started in the 5th century when the British Isles were invaded by Angles (northern Germany), Saxons (Germany) and Jutes (Jutland/Denmark). These 3 tribes made a clear cut and almost obliterating the language. As a matter of fact one third of the words we use today are from “the old English”. In the period (787-1066) there was a major influence on the language: Scholars and Norse (Danish Vikings) were settled and established the Danelaw. The influence of the Norse was powerful and long-lasting:” Families are still called Henderson and Johnson, thus reflecting the Norse søn/sen, and there are over 1,500 place names which end in –by, -thorp, and –toft.” (WoE, p126). The Normans invaded Britain in 1066. Back then 90 percent of words were old English origin. By the end of the Middle Age it had shrunk to 75 percent. The 15 percent of new words came from the Normans. “This is not strange at all, considering the fact that the Normans dominated government, law, administration, the church, medicine, art and literature, and fashion for 150 years.” (WoE, p125) England had become a trilingual nation for while with the Norman who spoke French, the clergy, bishop and priest who spoke Latin, and the common people who spoke Old English. In the beginning of the early modern English a lot of people were working to make dictionaries and grammar books. From 1476 to the late 18th century the world explodes as regard the scientific discovery. New things were invented, concepts and techniques and they required new words. A Standard English language had arisen in the end of the 18th. This fast development was caused by William Caxton’s invent of the printer in 1476.

More about Essay on the Developments of the English Language

Open Document