Today, we present the first of two programmes about the history of the English language.
English is the language that more people are trying to learn than any other in the world. It is the language of political negotiations and international business. It has also become the international language of science and medicine. International treaties state that pilots of passenger aeroplanes must speak English.
It is the main foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe. Schoolchildren in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age. It is the official language of more than seventy-five countries, including Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia and South Africa.
In countries where many different languages are spoken, English is often adopted as an official language to facilitate communication. India is a good example of this. English is the common language in this country, where at least twenty-four languages are spoken by more than one million people.
So where did the English language come from? And why has it become so popular? To answer these questions, we must travel back in time about five thousand years to an area north of the Black Sea in south-eastern Europe.
Experts say that the people in this region spoke a language known as Proto-Indo-European. This language is no longer spoken. Researchers do not really know what it sounded like.
Yet Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. These include ancient Greek, ancient German and ancient Latin.
Latin itself disappeared as a spoken language. However, it gave rise to three great languages: modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German evolved into Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian and Swedish, as well as one of the languages that developed into English.
English is the result of invasions of the British Isles over many hundreds of years. The invaders came from the northern coast of Europe.
The first invasions occurred around one thousand five hundred years ago, when a people called the Angles arrived. They were a Germanic tribe who crossed the English Channel. Later, two more groups crossed to Britain: The Saxons and the Jutes.
These groups encountered the Celts, who had inhabited Britain for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders fought.
Eventually, most of the Celts were killed or enslaved. Some escaped to the area that would become Wales. Over time, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their languages. The result is known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English.
Old English is extremely difficult to understand. Only a few experts can read this earliest form of English.
Several written works from the Old English period have survived. Perhaps the most famous is the poem Beowulf. It is the oldest known English poem. Experts believe it was written in Britain over one thousand years ago. The author’s identity remains unknown.
Beowulf tells the story of a great king who fought monsters. He was a good king who was well liked by his people. A new book by Seamus Heaney retells this ancient tale in modern English.
Listen to Warren Scheer read the opening of this ancient tale.
The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north, beginning around one thousand one hundred years ago. Fierce people called Vikings raided the coastal areas of Britain. They came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves, and to take anything else of value.
In some areas, the Vikings became so powerful that they established temporary bases. Sometimes these temporary bases became permanent. Later, many Vikings settled in Britain. Many English words in use today originate from the ancient Norse language. Words such as ‘sky’, ‘leg’, ‘skull’, ‘egg’, ‘crawl’, ‘lift’ and ‘take’ originate from the ancient languages of the far northern countries.
The next invasion of Britain took place in 1066, more than nine hundred years ago. This invasion is known to history experts as the Norman Conquest. It was led by William the Conqueror.
The Normans were a French-speaking people from the region of Normandy in northern France. They became the new rulers of Britain. For several hundred years, these new rulers spoke only French. At that time, it was the most important language in the world. It was the language of the educated elite. However, the common people of Britain still spoke Old English.
Old English borrowed many words from Norman French. Examples include ‘damage’, ‘prison’, and ‘marriage’. Most English words relating to law and government come from Norman French. Examples include “jury”, “parliament”, and “justice”.
By eight hundred years ago, the French language used by the Norman rulers had greatly changed the way English was spoken. English became what language experts call ‘Middle English’. Over time, the ruling Normans stopped speaking pure French. Their language had become a mixture of French and Middle English.
Middle English sounds similar to modern English. However, it is now very difficult to understand. Many written works from this period have survived. Perhaps the most famous of these was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet who lived and died in London in the fourteenth century. Chaucer’s most famous work is The Canterbury Tales, written over six hundred years ago.
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of poems about different people travelling to the town of Canterbury. Listen to Warren Scheer read the opening lines of Chaucer’s famous work.
Now listen as Mr Scheer reads the same sentences again, but this time in modern English.
Language experts say that Geoffrey Chaucer was the first important writer to use the English language. They also agree that his great Middle English poem provides a vivid portrayal of the people of his time.
Some of the characters in The Canterbury Tales are wise and brave, while others are foolish and stupid. Some believe that they are extremely important. Some are very kind, while others are mean. But they all seem real.
The history of the English language continues as Middle English evolves into Modern English, which is spoken today. We will explore that in more detail next time.
