Download Old English (Anglo-Saxon) (500-1100 AD)

A Short History of English
Part One--Old English (Anglo-Saxon) (500-1100 AD)
The Roman Empire was falling apart and its armies were pulling out of Britain, home of the
Celts. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, originally from northern Germany and southern Denmark,
invaded the eastern and southern coastal regions of Britain and then moved further into Britain to
settle. The time was about 410 A.D. Their languages became Anglo-Saxon, or Old English.
While only about one-sixth of known Anglo-Saxon words are still in use, they make up about
half of commonly used words today. Many of our high frequency words come from AngloSaxon words whose spellings often don’t match their modern pronunciation.
The clergy of the Christian church was using another language called Latin during this time
period. This was called Low or Medieval Latin and many English words come from it. The use
of Latin continued side by side with Old French and Old English (Anglo-Saxon), the mix
blending to create Middle English.
The Vikings, called Norsemen, invaded the coastlines of the British Isles regularly,
beginning around 850. They settled and became part of the population, adding Norse words to
the language. The French king gave the Vikings a section of France in order to stop the constant
raiding. These Norsemen eventually became Normans. They had strong ties with England.
In 1009, the Danes conquered England. Now began the time of the Danish kings-Sweyn,
Canute, and Harthcanute. Members of the royal families of England had escaped to Normandy in
France. Eventually, one of these, Edward the Confessor, returned to England to be king. He
brought French Normans with him and they had great influence at court. Edward had supposedly
“promised” the English crown to William of Normandy, but when Edward died, the Witan (a
group of powerful nobles) voted Harold to be king. William invaded in 1066 and conquered
England, bringing with him the language of the upper class, Anglo-Norman.
The Old English time period ends by 1066, the date of William’s invasion.
A Short History of English
Part Two--The Norman Conquest and Middle English (1100-1500)
With the Norman invasion, Normandy and England were united and a whole new strain of
language was brought to Britain. The new court and all except the common people spoke
Norman French. The Latin roots upon which it was based would now be available as word
building materials. The Norman upper class brought legal terms ("adultery," "slander"), military
words ("surrender," "occupy"), names of meats ("bacon, ""venison") and words from the royal
court ("chivalry," "majesty").
It is interesting to see how the powerful, influential upper class of Normans brought words
that signified how different their lives were from the common people of Britain. Where an
Anglo-Saxon might enjoy the benefits of “water,” and a “cow,” his Norman overlord might eat
“beef” or “victuals.” While Anglo-Saxon words showed concerns with head, heart, brother, fair,
love, and hate, the Normans brought words relating to finance and government such as justice,
peace, and money.
In 1204 AD, King John lost the province of Normandy to the King of France. The attention
of the Norman nobles turned more toward their lives and lands in England rather than France,
and English gradually began to be used by them as well. When the Black Death (1349-50) killed
about one third of the English population, the working classes became more important as well as
English, their language. The mixture of Norman French and English became Middle English. By
1362, the language divide between the upper and lower classes was over. English began to be the
“language of record” in the courts and in government.
The period of Modern English began around 1500 A.D. bringing about the end of Middle
English.
Early Modern English (1500-1800)
Next, Greek and Latin influenced English in the Renaissance. Classical learning was
rediscovered and classical Latin and Greek words came into the language. With the printing
press, scholarship was opened to all. Books were cheaper, more and more people could own
them, and learning and scholarship spread. Spelling and grammatical forms became more
standardized and the first English dictionary was published in 1604.
A Short History of English
Part Three--Late-Modern English (1800-Present)
As modern ideas exploded in the areas of science, technology, and industry, new words
were created from Greek and Latin roots. Examples include oxygen and protein as well as cyber,
byte, and nano. Other new words were created from recombinations of English words such a s
horsepower and airplane.
The world has become smaller over the ages due to faster travel and communication. Words
have come into English from almost every language on earth: raccoon, tomato, canoe (American
Indian), adobe and massage (Arabic), typhoon and yen (Chinese), brick and yacht (Dutch),
chauffeur and ballet (French), kindergarten and dollar (German), sabbath and gauze (Hebrew),
pariah and karma (Indian), sushi and karaoke (Japanese), kimchi and tae kwon do (Korean),
mogul (Mongolian), comrade (Russian), canyon, ranch, and stampede (Spanish), and goober,
canary and gumbo (Africa).
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