Today, we present the second part of our series on the history of the English language.
Last week, we explored how the language evolved following several invasions of Britain. The first of these was by three tribes: the Angles, the Jutes and the Saxons. A mixture of these languages produced a language known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English. It sounded very much like German. Only a few words remained from the Celtic languages spoken by the people who had previously lived in Britain.
Two more invasions added more words to Old English. The first of these was by the Vikings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, who arrived in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The next invasion took place in 1066. The French forces, led by a man known as William the Conqueror, came from Normandy.
The Norman rulers added many words to the English language. Words such as “parliament”, “jury” and “justice” come from the Norman rulers and deal with law.
Over time, these languages combined to create what English experts call Middle English. While still sounding similar to German, Middle English also begins to sound like Modern English.
Here, Warren Scheer reads the opening lines of Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous poem The Canterbury Tales as it was written in Middle English.
Chaucer wrote the poem in the late 1300s. It was written in the language of the people. At that time, the rulers of Britain still spoke the Norman French that they had brought with them in 1066.
It was not until the early fourteenth century that the kings of Britain began to speak the language of the people. Gradually, Norman French became used less and less until it disappeared.
The English language has been strongly influenced by an event that took place over one thousand four hundred years ago. In 597, the Roman Catholic Church began its attempt to make Christianity the religion of Britain.
The language of the Catholic Church was Latin. At that time, Latin was not spoken as a language in any country. However, it was still used by some people.
Latin enabled church members from Rome and Britain to communicate with each other. It allowed educated people from different countries to communicate with each other.
Latin has had a significant impact on the English language. Here are a few examples: The Latin word ‘discus’ gave rise to several English words, including ‘disk’, ‘dish’, and ‘desk’. The Latin word quietus became the English word quiet. Some English names of plants, such as ginger, and trees, such as cedar, come from Latin. So do some medical terms, such as ‘cancer’.
English is a little like a living thing that continues to grow. It began to grow more quickly when William Caxton returned to Britain in 1476. He had been in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe, where he had learnt the art of printing. He returned to Britain with the first printing press.
This made it possible for almost anyone to buy a book. This helped to spread education and the English language.
Over time, during the 16th century, English evolved into the modern language we recognise today. English speakers today would be able to communicate with English speakers from the end of the sixteenth century.
It was during this period that the greatest English-language writer produced his work. His name was William Shakespeare. Almost four hundred years after his death, his plays continue to be printed, performed in theatres and shown in films.
Experts say that Shakespeare’s work was written for the stage, not for reading. Yet the mere sound of his words can evoke vivid images and elicit emotions such as anger, fear and laughter. Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet is so sad that people cry when they watch it.
Another very popular Shakespeare play is the story of the power-hungry King Richard III. Listen to Shep O’Neal read the opening of Richard III.
Just nine years before the death of William Shakespeare, the development of the English language took a giant step. In 1607, three small British ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They landed in an area that would later become the US state of Virginia. This marked the beginning of several British colonies. The first colony was named Jamestown.
Over time, the people living in these new colonies started to use words borrowed from the indigenous peoples they encountered. Many of the great rivers in the United States, for example, are named after American Indian words. The Mississippi, the Tennessee and the Missouri are examples of this.
Other examples of Native American words include ‘moccasin’, a type of shoe made from animal skin that Native Americans wore on their feet. The adoption of foreign words into English is a way of expanding the language. The names of three days of the week are good examples of this. People from Northern Europe honoured three gods with a special day each week. These gods were Odin, Thor and Freya. Odin’s day became Wednesday, Thor’s day became Thursday, and Freya’s day became Friday.
Britain had other colonies in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and India. English also became part of these colonies. These colonies are now independent, but English is still one of the languages spoken there. The English language grew as words from the native languages were added.
For example, the word ‘shampoo’ for soap used on the hair came from India. ‘Banana’ is believed to be from Africa.
The origin of many English words is unclear. For hundreds of years, a dog was called a ‘hound’. This word is still used, but not as commonly as “dog”. Experts do not know where or when the word “dog” came from. English speakers simply started using it. Other words whose origins are unknown include ‘fun’, ‘bad’, and ‘big’.
English speakers also invent new words by combining old ones. A good example of this is the word ‘motel’, which is a combination of ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’. Many years ago, someone combined them to create the word ‘motel’. A motel is a small hotel near a road where people travelling by car can stay for the night.
Other words come from the initial letters of the names of groups or devices. For example, a device used to detect and locate objects that cannot be seen is called Radio Detecting and Ranging, or “Radar” for short. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is usually called NATO.
Experts say that English has more words to describe the same thing than any other language. For example, the words ‘large’, ‘huge’, ‘vast’, ‘massive’ and ‘enormous’ all mean ‘big’.
People often ask how many words there are in the English language. Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists around 615,000 words. However, the many scientific words not included in the dictionary could increase this figure to almost one million.
Experts are never really sure how to count English words. Take the word ‘mouse’, for example. A mouse is a small creature from the rodent family. However, ‘mouse’ also has a very different meaning. It is also the name of a hand-held device used to control a computer. So, if you are counting words, do you count ‘mouse’ twice?
Visitors to the Voice of America hear people speaking more than forty different languages. Most VOA broadcasters come from countries where these languages are spoken. International organisations such as VOA would find it impossible to operate without a second language that everyone speaks.
The language that enables VOA to function is English. It is not unusual to see someone from the Mandarin Service talking to someone from the Urdu Service, both speaking English. English is becoming the common language of millions of people worldwide, helping speakers of many different languages to communicate.