The Basics – History of the English Language – External Influences:

ALPHABET

Semitic writing [Phoenician] started the use of many consonants.

Greeks adopted Phoenician with changes & additions.

Ionic alphabet (Roman) became the Greek standard.

Romans adopted Greek with changes & additions.

In the early Middle Ages,

Celts used runes [ “secret”],

Irish monks used “Insular Hand”(Roman).

Norman Conquest { French }

LANGUAGE

Celts – earliest Britannians

Picts & Scots – bullies who attacked the peaceful Celts

Rome wouldn’t help.

449- arrival of first germanic sea warriors to help Celts—

        They helped... then shamelessly took over the island.

449 = Beginning of Old English period

6^th century – Rome sent St. Augustine to straighten out those pagans & convert them    to Christianity.

Then –

A Second Wave of Vikings

878 – King Alfred began unification-

-Resulting in assimilation and 4 major dialects.

1066- Norman Conquest { French }

Middle English =

OE [ germanic ]

Latin [ Rome ]

French [ Normandy ]

= trilingualism

15^th century

Death of Chaucer

[Phonetic changes

&

Respellings

=

Confusion]

1700s

Revolution

        order

                reform

OED

Prescriptive grammar

Early Modern English

1800s
Modern English

2000

Present Day English

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