The History of the English Language

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The History of the English Language
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Language terms

• Dialect vocabulary and speech used in a
  particular region / class (all the types of
  English).
• The lorry hit the boot of the car.
• Colloquialism informal, spoken language.
• I put some fixings on my hamburger.
• Slang language used by a group of people to
  include / exclude, usually spoken,
• Groovy, grody, far out, peachy, the bees knees
• Idiom figures of speech that can not be
  literally translated, may have a mythic or folk
  source
• The balls in your court. Dont bite off more
  than you can chew.

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Language terms

• Euphemism a pleasant word substituted for
  something we find uncomfortable or taboo (often
  sex or bodily functions).
• He passed wind. They slept together.
• Jargon specialized language of a trade, job,
  profession- verbal shorthand / excludes
  outsiders.
• We will interpret the portrayal of the
  protagonist in a cultural context.
• Gobbledygook also known as bureaucratese, so
  many words overwhelm the meaning.
• Cliché overused words and phrases, lost meaning
  and boring shortcut thinking.
• Its always darkest before the dawn. What goes
  around comes around.

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Olde English (450-1000 AD)

• Think Dark Ages and Feudalism (SS8)
• Germanic languages mixed with what is now Denmark
  (Jutes Angles Saxons Anglo-Saxon of Britain
  mixed with Celtic)

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Beowulf (1000 AD)

• Scolde Grendel thonan
• Feorseoc fleon under fenhleothu
• Secan wynleas wic. Wiste the geornor thaet his
  aldres woes ende geogongen dogora doegrim.
• Grendel escaped, But wounded as he was could flee
  to his den,
• His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh
• Only to die to wait for the end of all his days.
  After that bloody combat the Danes laughed with
  delight.

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Middle English (1150-1500)

• Norman Invasions (from France) bring new words
  and ideas
• Language simplified, adds punctuation
• Rules established (1400 in England)
• Weird leftover gh sounds- slough

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Chaucers Canterbury Tales (1380?)

• Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
• The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
• When in April the sweet showers fall
• And pierce the drought of March to the root and
  all

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Early Modern English (1500-1800)

• The Great Vowel Shift changes pronunciation and
  spelling c. 15th century
• A ah care car sheep shape my me
• Renaissance classical learning new words, new
  ideas, new inventions
• Printing press universities more literacy
  more literature (words are fun!)
• 1604 first English dictionary

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Shakespeare, Hamlet (1604?)

• Madame, will it please your grace to leave us
  here?
• With all my hart.

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Late Modern English (1800-2000)

• More words from Industrial Revolution,
  inventions, exploration, conquest, empires.
• Literacy and grammar widely taught and studied,
  more simplified and standardized rules about
  spelling, punctuation, etc.
• Different levels of literacy, formality,
  dependant upon class and education.
• Language revealed you (My Fair Lady).

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The Evolution of English (2000-)

• Internet, texting, media etc. have changed,
  altered, eliminated, and added words.
• New words added to dictionary every year (doh,
  gif) often from pop culture or tech
• Simplification of spelling
• phonetics w/re u _at_,
• internationalized rules (colour / colour)
• short-hand, symbols
• Speed and efficiency rather than poetry

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Orwell, 1984 Language

• the future is the reduction of language and the
  simplification of thought double-un-good.
• Limiting language limits thought sheeple
• Spin doctors

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The Future of Language

• Languages evolve through use and time, habit and
  custom, with technology and with ideas.
• Influences from different parts of the world
  change the English language (think Southern USA
  dialect vs. Australian vs. South Africa, slang
  words).
• How will language change in the future?