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The History of English

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The History of English The History of English History The Four Periods of English • Pre-English (3000 B.C.- 500 A. D.) • Old English (500 A.D.- 1066) • Middle English (1066-1485) • Modern English (1485- Present) Pre-English • Proto-Indo-European – About 5000 years ago – Asia Minor or southeast Europe – Ancestry of most language of • Europe • North India • Iran – Proto= First Indo= India European= Europe Pre-English • Anglo Saxons – Germanic tribes consisting of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes • Settled along the North Sea, in what today is northern Germany – Germanic (the Anglo-Saxon’s form of Proto-Indo-European) is the ancestor of modern English • Loan words: words that one language borrows from another Old English • Eventually Anglo-Saxons spread to Britain • Picts (a group of independent, fierce people) inhabited the northern part of the islands – Painted themselves blue and howl as they raided neighbors • Romans – Brought Anglo-Saxons in to prevent Picts from raiding them Old English • Romans stopped ruling Britain • Anglo-Saxons took over – Called the island “Engla land” or the land of the Angles – Language was Englisc (AKA: Old English) – Many sounds used by Anglo-Saxons we have lost Old English • Writing – At first Anglo Saxons wrote with angular looking alphabet • Runes – Then Irish monks taught them a rounded form of letters • Insular hand – Many of the spellings of Old English have changed in Modern English Anglo Saxon Runes Middle English • 1066 – Anglo-Saxons conquered by Normans • Spoke Norman French – Marks beginning of Middle English • Many French and Latin words were borrowed in Middle English Modern English • Printing Press – Invention by Gutenberg – Germany – Appearance of Modern English – First book published • Around 1475 by William Caxton – Result: Books became readily available, literacy increased, English became standardized Modern English • Words – More travel around the world, more words introduced into the English language • America – English people began to settle in America and brought language with them • American English – The United State’s own version of English – Used after breaking away from Britain American English • Settlers – Found new types of animals and other things never see before – Needed names for them • Examples: RACCOON and TURKEY • Americanisms – Words that entered the English language in the US • Examples: DISHWASHER, BLIZZARD, PRETZEL Who uses English? • Three types of users – People who speak English as their native language – People who use English frequently as a second language – People who use English occasionally for special purposes • Examples: BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS, TRANSPORTATION, ENTERTAINMENT, TECHNOLOGY Dialects • Dialect – Language variation that tells us about our home locality, ethnic background, education, gender, and age • Regional Dialect – Geographical differences or language that is particular to one area of the country • Main types – Four main types in one half of the country • Northern, North Midland, South Midland, Southern Dialects • Ethnic – Dialects of special communities that have preserved their heritage from the past (African American English/ Hispanic English) • Standard English – Most widely used variety of English – Used more in writing than in speaking • Non-Standard English – Inappropriate in standard English situations – Used in casual speaking Dialects • Slang – Informal, non-standard vocabulary • Phat • That’s off the hook • I’m chillin’ • Jargon – Language that has special meaning for a particular group – Used mostly in occupations, hobbies, or fields of study • PRAXIS test • Gaffer • Birdie .
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