Miss Saliba nsaliba@mackillop.vic.edu.au Year 10 English Miss Saliba nsaliba@mackillop.vic.edu.au

To recap so far…

How languages are related These sets of words are not only the same in meaning, but also look very similar because these languages are related. This is called genetic relatedness. Dutch Swedish English German broer broder/bror brother Bruder vader fader/fa father Vater du (archaic) du thou (archaic) dat det that das

Proto-language – tracing languages back to a single parent language – first language. Dutch, Swedish, German and English can be traced back to a single parent language – Proto- Germanic. The ancestral words in Proto-Germanic represent a relationship between sound and meaning that is carried through to each of the aforementioned modern Germanic languages: Dutch, Swedish, German and English. These kind of words are called cognates. Proto-word brōþer Cognate broer broder/bror brother Bruder

Cognates are words similar in form and in meaning because they are historically related. A simple language can split into dialects – particular grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation used in a particular region. Over a long period of time, these dialects can turn into distinct languages. Proto-Germanic did exactly this: eventually it diverged into Dutch, Swedish, German and English.

English and many other languages are descended from a hypothetical language spoken by a society that probably lived around the Ural Mountains between 5000 and 3500 B.C. It’s called Proto Indo-European. Think of this as English’s oldest known ancestor, but also as the parent of most of the languages of Europe, south-western Asia and northern India, including the classical languages Sanskrit, Ancient Greek and Latin. British Judge, Sir William Jones proposed the idea of a Proto-Indo- European language that no longer exists. Jones’ ideas were taken up by other scholars and before long the systematic study of language evolution was undertaken for the first time, classifying all the Indo- European languages into a family tree.

We then looked at... Affix Prefix Suffix

1. WORD STEM A word which can have affixes attached to it to change its meaning example) friend help agree fortune 2. AFFIX A word element that only makes sense when attached to a word stem. There are two different types of affixes; a SUFFIX and PREFIX. PREFIX A prefix is a group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning example) unfriendly unhelpful disagree misfortune SUFFIX A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word stem to change its meaning example) friendship helpful agreeable fortunate

prefix A prefix is a group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning example) unfriendly unhelpful disagree misfortune Common Prefix: semi Words that have semi as the prefix? semifinal semiconscious semicircle semiautomatic What could the prefix micro actually mean? Half or partial

suffix A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word stem to change its meaning example) friendship helpful agreeable fortunate Common Suffix: less Words that have less as the suffix? Childless Careless Thoughtless Hopeless What could the suffix less actually mean? without

Etymology The study of the origin and the historical development of words

Research task: questions & answers

1) What language was spoken in Britain before 55bc? In about 600 BC, the Celtic tribes arrived in Britain and dominated Europe for four of five hundred years. These people, the earliest known residents of the British Isles, spoke Celtic languages. Today, Celtic is spoken in parts of France, Scotland, Wales and England. Very few words remain in Modern English. Words: bin, ass, car, London, Thames, New York.

When did the romans invade Britain and what language did they bring with them? In 55 BC, Julius Caesar and the Romans led the first invasion of Britain. Their occupation of the region lasted for nearly 400 years, until 410 AD. The invaders brought Latin with them, as well as Roman commerce, technology, religion and architecture. Celtic was still the native tongue when the Roman occupation ended, but Latin was spoken in the towns.

Following the romans, which groups next invaded Britain and what language did they bring with them? The second invasion of Britain began after the Romans had gone. Next to invade were the Jutes, who pushed the Celts into Wales and Cornwall. As a result of this invasion, very few Celtic words (less than thirty) survive in English today (as we saw earlier). After the Jutes, the Saxons from Germany invaded Britain, followed by the Engles/Angles from Denmark. The Engles/Angles took over the north of Britain, while the Saxons took over the south.

Following these dialects, what became the common language – the first real English? These tribes (Saxons, Engles/Angles) together with the Jutes, spoke a German dialect. The German dialect that consequently soon became spoken throughout much of Britain (with fragments of the Celtic and the Latin remaining) is considered the first ever English, known as Old English.

What additional language did the Viking raiders bring to the aforementioned language? As many of the Viking invaders came from Scandinavia, many of them also brought Old Norse with them. This language was often merged with Old English, which has contributed to words like they, them, seat, gate, egg, birth, law, seat, sky, trust, ugly, crawl, take and scare.

St Augustine’s influence Following the welcoming of Saint Augustine into Britain in 597AD, there was a second injection of Latin into the vocabulary. People were converting to Latin Christianity, which meant that the Germanic tribes began to borrow Latin words, bringing to Old English a huge Latin vocabulary.

What was the next invasion and when did it occur? The next crucial change in the English language occurred in 1066AD when the Normans (from Normandy in northern France) conquered England.

What happened to old English as a result of this invasion? French became the language of the ruling class – upper class, who also held a powerful position in church and government while the everyday people continued to speak Old English. Overtime, the French and Old English became increasingly combined and, as happened with the Viking invasion, French and Old English words and phrases coexisted and began to be used interchangeably, adding greater choice and variety to the language. This English is known as Middle English. Love/cherish, ways/means etc.

Why do we have cow (the animal) and beef (the meat)? The answer lies in the etymology (the origin and historical development) of the two words and the social arrangements of Britain during the Middle Ages. The word beef comes from the French and the word cow comes from Old English. But how did we get this split? While the English underclass tended the animals and cooked for the Norman upper-class, they rarely got to eat meat themselves. Thus, the words for most domestic animals are English (ox, cow, calf, sheep, swine, deer) while the words for the meats derived from them are French (beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, venison).

Old English looked and sounded like the following: The Lord’s Prayer in Old English Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum; Si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice Father our thou that art in heavens be thy name hallowed come thy kingdom be-done thy will on earth as in heavens our daily bread give us today and forgive us our sins as we forgive those-who-have-sinned-against-us and not lead thou us into temptation but deliver us from evil. truly.

Old English: The Epic of Beowulf Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum, monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning! ðæm eafera wæ æfter cenned, geong in geardum, þone god sende folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat þe hie ær drugon aldorlease lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea, wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf; Beowulf wæs breme (blæd wide sprang), Scyldes afera  Scedelandum in. The first great poem in English

Middle English Combination of French and Old English words. Middle English was spoken during the Middle Ages (1050-1450).

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer was the literary genius who helped give prestige to the London dialect of English. He was writing at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin. Chaucer’s work legitimized the literary use of the Middle English language.

Middle English: Geoffrey Chaucer’s A Knight’s Tale Once on a time, as old stories tell to us, There was a duke whose name was Theseus: Of Athens he was lord and governor, And in his time was such a conqueror That greater was there not beneath the sun. Very many rich countries had he won; What with his wisdom and his chivalry He gained the realm of Femininity, That was of old time known as Scythia. There he married the queen, Hippolyta, And brought her home with him to his country. In glory great and with great ceremony, And, too, her younger sister, Emily. And thus, in victory and with melody, Let I this noble duke to Athens ride With all his armed host marching at his side.

What new technology arrived in England in 1476 and what impact did it have on English? In 1476, William Caxton set up the first English printing press and printed books in the London dialect that Shakespeare used to write his masterpiece. Caxton wished for consistency in spelling, grammar and vocabulary in his printed text, and as a result of Samuel Johnson publishing the first ever dictionary in 1755, many of the changes in language during this period began to stick.

Modern english The English we use today is called Modern English and began around 1700. During the Enlightenment Age of Reason in the eighteenth century, English became the preferred language of instruction over Latin in literature, science, commerce, communication, education and technology. New words mirrored changes in the environment and continue to do so today.