History of English
Where did English come from? The obvious answer is England. However, in the last two thousand years very many people came to England and changed the language. Perhaps most of the language comes from the Anglo-Saxons who came to England in the fifth to the seventh centuries. But there are also Roman words from the time when England was a part of the Roman Empire: the ending - 'chester' in the name of an English town such as Colchester comes from the Latin word 'castra' and shows that there was a Roman town there. The Vikings brought many words with them, such as 'they' and 'their'; the Normans governed England for many years and brought French words with them.
Old English

The Anglo-Saxons, who invaded England in 350 AD, came from Germany, Denmark and Holland. They spoke a Germanic language which became the basis of old English. Even today , words used in modern English for ordinary objects are mostly Anglo-Saxon, or Germanic in origin.They are usually short (often just one syllable) and tend to be informal in modern English.
shoe    clothes     earth    sun    moon    day    man    wife
   child    friend    house    food    water    sleep    love    say 
  live    have    be    work

  When Julius  Caesar  invaded  Britain   in    545 BC,  the Celtic  tribes lived on the British Isles. Their Celtic languages still survive as 'Gaelic' in Scotland ? Ireland, 'Welsh' in Wales, and 'Manx' in the Isle of Man, as well as 'Breton' in France. The Romans brought Latin to Britain, which was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. But early English did not develop mainly from Latin, so it is unlike French, Spanish and Italian, which did come directly from Latin. Early English was the language of the tribes who invaded from the East, from what is now Germany. They spoke different dialects of a Germanic language, from which modern German developed. This explains why German and English are often similar, as many of their words developed from the same original language.
           In 878 AD, the Vikings invaded Britain from Scandinavia, bringing with them the Norse language, though this was similar to the old English or Anglo-Saxon language already used. The dramatic arrival of the Norman army from France, led by King William the Conqueror in  lO66, and the defeat of the English King Harold at the Battle of  Hastings, brought very big changes to English life. The Normans brought with them the Old French language, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business class.

government    parliament    judge    court    legal    military    army    crown    nation    state    country    power    authority    people

 
Middle English


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By about 1200, the Kingdoms of England and France had ceased lo be one unit. The use of Old English came back, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English, the language of the poet Chaucer (about 1340- I400). He has been called the greatest English poet before Shakespeare. It is difficult for even English speakers to read and understand his vvritings well. This "Middle English" was very different in different parts of the country, and of course travel was limited in those days. But another big revolution was coming - the printing press, just as radio, television, video, and computers have changed communication in our time, so did printing after about 1300 AD. Now there was a common language in print, as well as access to the old languages of Latin and Greek.
GERMANIC        LATIN              GREEK
   book                    library           bibliography
  renew                   renovate              neolithic
  water                    aquatic              hydraulic

SHAKESPEARE
Now came the 'Renaissance' in Europe - a time of great advance of learning and culture. By this time; English was not very different from the English used today. And the most famous person to write in English in this period was William Shakespeare (1564-1616). His insight into human nature, and his gift for using words, make him possibly the most famous playwright of all time.
Having in his hands such a new rich language must have helped him too. Shakespeare gave the English language many phrases and savings, which English speakers still use every day. Often, they do not realise these words came from Shakespeare's plays or poems!
Probably you know some of these:
"To be or not to be..."
"All the world's a stage."
"A rose by  any other  name, would smell as sweet."
"All's well that ends well."
"Love is blind."
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    At almost the same time as Shakespeare, came the printing of a book which has had an even greater effect on society and culture - the 'Authorised' or 'King, James' translation of the Bible in 1611. For almost the first time, anyone who could read had access to the Bible in their own language, and in "The love of money is the root of all evil."
"Don't! cast your pearls before swine."

MODERN ENGLISH

            Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continued to chanSettlers from Britain moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa, and in each place, the language changed and developed, and look in words from other lan-guages. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian words, 'shampoo' and 'pyjamas' came from India.
            With the increase in communication, travel, radio and television, British, American, Australian and other Englishes have mixed. And words from many other languages - French, German, Spanish, Arabic, even Nepali - have been borrowed. So English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. For better or worse, it has truly become the world's international language. It has become the language of science, air traffic control, the world of computers, and most of the Internet. And in many countries, where there are other competing languages and people groups, English has been chosen as a common second language. This has happened in Nigeria and Ghana.
            This may not seem fair to other important and valuable languages, which are also international! For example, those of us who know and love France, realise that the French regret the way their language may not be so much of an international language as it used to be. And it is sad that English people are often lazy, and don't bother to learn other languages!
            So,  for many jobs and situations, English has become an essential gateway. If you are learning it - best wishes and we hope you enjoy it!

THE VARIANTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

   Where did English come from? The obvious answer is England. However, in the past two thousand years very many people came to England and changed the language. Perhaps most of the language comes from the Anglo-Saxons who came to England in the fifth to the seventh centuries. But there are also Roman words from the time when England was a part of the Roman Empire. The Vikings brought many words with them,  the Normans governed England for many years and brought French words with them. Then the English brought many words from different countries - 'kangaroo' from Australia, 'pyjamas' from India, and 'anorak' from Canada.
    But what is English now? It is no longer spoken just in England and there are many different kinds of English in different parts of the world.
There are two main families of Standard English, the American and the British. American English is spoken in the USA and in Canada. British English is spoken in the West Indies, Britain, Australasia, and Africa. However, many other parts of the world also use English. In India English is an official language still and there is a special kind of Indian English. In several African countries, such as Nigeria and Ghana, English is spoken in schools and colleges. In many sciences English is the language of communication. There are about 3OO million people who speak English.

Other Englishes

US or American English (see Unit 93) is not the only special variety of English. Each area of the
English-speaking world has developed its own special characteristics. This is usually mainly
a matter of vocabulary and pronunciation. This unit just gives you a small taste of I some of the
different varieties of English by drawing your attention to vocabulary used in 1 various
English-speaking regions. All the words covered in this unit would be understood 1 educated
native speakers of British English although they might not choose to use them themselves.
They are all words which you may come across in your own reading, listening \ viewing.
Australian English is particularly interesting for its rich store of highly colloquial
words an expressions. Australian colloquialisms often involve shortening a word. Sometimes the
ending '-ie' or '-o' is then added, e.g. a smoko (from smoking), is a 'tea or coffee break' and a milko
delivers the milk; beaut, short for 'beautiful' means 'great'. Because of the current popularity of
Australian TV programmes and films, some of these words are now being used by British people too.
Indian English, on the other hand, is characterised by sounding more formal than
British English. It has retained in everyday usage words that are found more in the classics of the
nineteenth century literature than in contemporary TV programmes from London, e.g. The bereaved
are condoled and the Prime Minister is felicitated on his or her birthday. An India might complain
of a pain in his bosom (rather than his chest) and an Indian bandit is referred to as a miscreant.
Scottish English uses a number of special dialect words. Some of the more common of these are

Aye: yes                             Loch: lake                       Dreich: dull
Ben: mountain                    To mind: to remember     Janitor: caretaker
Brae: bank(of river)                     Bairn: child                    Lassie: girl
Dram: drink (usually wisky)   Bonny: beautiful                   Outwith:outside
Glen: valley                               Burn: stream                   Wee: small
Kirk: church                               Stay: live                              Ken: know

Black English is the term used to refer to the English which originated in the Caribbean
| islands and has now spread to many parts of the UK, Canada and the USA. Some words listed
below are characteristic of Black English but are also now used in other varieties of English.
Many are particularly associated with the music world.
dreadlocks: Rastafarian hairstyle        beat: exhausted
chick: girl                                    dig: understand
jam: improvise                           pad: bed