Languages in contact Outline the issues involved in the historical description of a language like English. The period covered is from the earliest records to the end of the Middle Ages. English as the vernacular of certain Germanic tribes

Language and social function Sociolinguistic profile Standardisation and literacy Language that function in the domains-can be described as developed(oral vernacular) Autonomous-standardized, literate, national language of a modern state Heteronomous-undeveloped, oral varieties Developed language-more prestigious than vernaculars,used by societies that are more centralized politically Diglossia-demonstrates the value of describing languages/linguistic varieties according to the ways in which they function in society(high variety, low variety)

Bilingualism Individual bilingualism- where one person commands more than one language Societal bilingualism- where a society regularly uses two or more languages to carry out its affairs Geographical bilingualism-The restriction of each language to certain areas Diglossic bilingualism- The speakers of the Low language are much more likely to be bilingual than those whose first language is the high one.

Latin as the language of Empire a developed, omnifunctional, autonomous, urbanized, standardized language. Codified by grammarians, and a writing system Christianity- language of an international religion Official language of high domains Language shift took place The successful spread of Latin over a vast area had much in common with the extension of other international languages such as Greek, Arabic... Roman citizens used Latin of Rome as the official language, teaching it in school to the nobility of the conquered peoples. Armies fostered Latin as a lingua fraca

The Collapse of the Empire in the north The subject populations of both Britain and Gaul were farming peoples known as Celts. The Celts were not literate Under the Romans, Celtic would have been the Low language In the South and east, Latin had displaced Celtic. By the fifth century AD, both had fallen to invading Germanic tribespeople; Angles and Saxons, the speakers of a language that was later to be called English. Germanic tribes-demand the cultivation of a standardized language, keep the Romans out of their homelands north of the Rhine and Danude, expand towards the south and west.

The Germanic invasion of Britain The groups of Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes who left their north German home lands for Britain in the course of the fifth century The Anglo-Saxons did not abandon their language. The Celtic language was displaced, and English developed not from a local variety of spoken Latin, but from the Germanic language of the invaders. Anglo-Saxons were simply unimpressed by what remained of Latin civilization in Britain. Anglo-Saxons had no desire to adapt or adopt the institutions and language of Imperial Rome. River-names show that Celts and Anglo-Saxons co-existed peaceably. Whatever languages the British Celts spoke, the Anglo-Saxons successfully imposed their own undeveloped, oral vernacular. Celtic language was preserved in Wales and Cornwall

The Anglo-Saxon settlement The boats would sail up the major rivers like the Thames and the Humber and establish the first settlements Process of land-clearing and cultivation could begin. Settlers used Roman roads and sites but Anglo-Saxons preferred to take over the kind of site (vicus) Established the structure of villages in the territory (England) The settlers did not venture into Wales and Cornwall. The small communities of Angles and Saxons, with their oral culture, were gradually organized into larger political units under petty kings of Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, and Sussex. With the institution of kingship came the gradual introduction of Christianity. And with Christianity came literacy.

The Vikings Anglo-Saxons and Vikings came into contact of one kind or another. A period of piracy was followed by military campaigns. One after another the Anglo- Saxon kingdoms were overturned. The Scandinavians were interested in securing footholds in the urban centres of Europe; and as farmers, they wanted new land, like the Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxons were scattered enough to have a settlement named after them. The Scandinavians brought with them their leaders, laws, and their own language. Scandinavians did not displace the Anglo-Saxons from their own settlements, but grouped themselves near them. ‘Englishness’ was kept alive by the kings of Wessex.