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The English language boasts a rich and expansive history. It has grown out of a myriad of other languages and incorporates a variety of influences that date back millennia. This evolution has left us with words that have attained various meanings depending on context and usage over time. To understand the beauty of English, it is important to look back at the breadth of its development. By exploring the etymology of words you will understand their histories and the influences that shape them.
The Age of Anglo-Saxon
Prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, English was entirely Germanic, primarily the Anglo-Saxon dialect. This language was often known as Old English or the Anglo-Saxon tongue, with a spoken form that sounded distinctly different from Modern English.
The English language at this time borrowed primarily from a few key sources—mainly from the German communities living in Northern Europe, topographic influences (like ‘fell’ to designate a mountain), and an influx of vocabulary from classical Latin and Greek. This was the age when ‘become’ was bitumen, ‘flower’ was blostm, and ‘help’ was helpan, to give a few examples.
The Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest saw the introduction of the French language to Britain. And with it a dramatic influx of vocabulary. French was then imported by Normans who brought with them French structures and sentence formation.
This new usage of French saw a wide range of words entering the English language. There can be found such words as ‘battle’ and ‘parliament’, ‘universe’, and ‘justice’. Some of the words of French origin were absorbed into ‘Old English’ vocabulary. They were completely assimilated into the language.
Middle English
After the Norman Conquest, the spoken language of the aristocracy, court, and religion was largely French, though the spoken language of the people remained mostly Anglo-Saxon. This was a period when the language was somewhat in turmoil. The cultural mixing of the French- and Germanic-speaking worlds became a feature of literary writing. This period is often referred to as Middle English. It includes authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland writing works such as The Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman.
Modern English
The adoption of French elements of government, legal, and religious lives saw the French language become a language of prestige in the upper classes. English was transforming into the language of the commoners. This period is often referred to as early Modern English. It saw the crucial difference between pronunciation and spelling, something which still affects English today.
The addition of foreign words was also immensely important at this time. Influences from the arrival of new empires and ideas had resulted in words such as ‘cotton’, ‘coffee’, and ‘chocolate’ entering the language.
Present English
As the English language emerged and evolved, so too did grammar. For many centuries, English only had two past tense forms, and the way in which sentences were formed was largely broken into sections. It was not until the 1700s that grammar really began to be codified in attempts to standardize the language and write in ways that were more consistent and logical in order to make English easier to learn.
The English language continues to expand today. It is influenced by technological advances, new words from other languages, and modern expressions. As we know it today, English has incorporated a vast selection of influences that date back to a variety of sources.
Its rich history makes English the language it is today. It has become diverse, powerful, and truly unique. The evolution of words is just one aspect of the complexity of English.
