A Brief History of the English Language英语简史课件.pptx

AHistoryofEnglishSomeHighlights

EarlyInfluencesCelticborrowings:AfewCelticwords,suchascrag,enteredwhatwouldbecometheEnglishlanguage.Latinloans:RomansoldiersandpriestscametotheBritishIslesbeforethemassiveinvasionsofNorthernEuropeans.

NorthernInvasionsAngles,Jutes,SaxonsFrisians,Danes,andNorwegiansbroughtnewlanguages.

Angles,Saxons,andJutes“GermanicinvaderscalledthenativeCeltswealas(‘foreigners’),fromwhichthenameWelshisderived.TheCeltscalledtheinvaders‘Saxons,’regardlessoftheirtribe,andandthispracticewasfollowedbytheearlyLatinwriters…ReferencestothenameofthecountryasEngaland(‘landoftheAngles’),fromwhichcameEngland,donotappearuntilc.1000”(Crystal7).

TheAnglo-SaxonChronicleAlthoughmostEuropeanchroniclesoftheeraappearedinLatinorFrench,thesewerewritteninOldEnglish.Thesemanuscriptsmakeupmultiplechronicles.ThechroniclescovertheperiodfromaroundthebirthofChristtothetwelfthcentury.

Beowulf

manuscriptcopyfromtheoraltradition,ca.1000

QuestionIn1066,whateventtookplacethatchangedthecourseoftheEnglishlanguage?

AnswerTheBattleofHastingsAccordingtolegend,KingHaroldpluckedanarrowoutofhiseye.

DomesdayBookIn1086,KingWilliam(Guillaume)orderedasurveyofEnglishlands,writteninLatin.

WhichWitchisWhichHowdidweendupwithsuchweirdspellings?

TheStoryofYeHowdoyoupronouncetheword‘ye’?

ItallgoesbacktoathornWhatnowlooksliketheletter‘y’wasathorn,alettersoundinglikethecontemporary‘th.’Overtime,readerssoundedthisoutwitha‘y’sound.

UneedtoseeaVManymanuscriptsusedavatthebeginningofawordandauwithintheword.

ANewLookforOldEnglishScribesaddedletterstomakewordslookmorelikeLatinorFrench,languagesconsideredmorecultivatedthanEnglish;forexample,detbecamedebtandilandbecameisland.

BritishBilingualismFrenchhelditsplacea