Language Families& Pre- History English

Objectives Definition of language family Indo-European-languages Proto-Indo-European-languages Pre-History Phases

language family A language family is a set of languages deriving from a common ancestor or "parent." Languages with a significant number of common features in phonology, morphology and syntax are said to belong to the same language family. Subdivisions of a language family are called "branches."

It is estimated that there are more than 250 established language families in the world, and over 6,800 distinct languages, many of which are threatened or endangered.

The number of languages that make up a language family varies greatly. There are many languages that do not appear to be related to any other. These single-member language families are referred to as language isolates.

English, along with most of the other major languages of Europe, belongs to the Indo- European language family.

Indo-European languages A family of languages (including most of the languages spoken in Europe, India, and Iran) descended from a common tongue spoken in the third millennium B.C. by an agricultural people originating in southeastern Europe.

Branches of Indo-European (IE) include Indo-Iranian (Sanskrit and the Iranian languages), Greek, Italic (Latin and related languages), Celtic, Germanic (which includes English), Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Albanian, Anatolian, and Tocharian.

Proto-Indo-European Languages PIE was the first proposed proto- language to be widely accepted by linguists The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). The term proto-language means an ancient parent language from which a group of related languages have descended through slow modification.:

PIE are languages thus brought into relationship by descent or progressive differentiation from a parent speech are conveniently called a family of languages. The surviving languages show various degrees of similarity to one another, the

similarity bearing a more or less direct relationship to their geographical distribution.

Proto-Indo-European languages It can be said that Proto-Indo-European refers to English--along with a whole host of languages spoken in Europe, India, and the Middle East.

Proposed geographic location of original home of the Proto-Indo-European tribes

They accordingly fall into eleven principal groups: Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Albanian, Italic, Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Hittite, and Tocharian. It is by far the most well-understood of all proto-languages of its age.

PIE The languages thus brought into relationship by descent or progressive differentiation from a parent speech are conveniently called a family of languages.

There for, English is a Germanic language which belongs to the Indo-European languages.

Pre-history phases The history of a language is intimately bound up with the history of the peoples who speak it.

The Roman Invasions 55 b.C.—Julius Caesar invades Britain. 43 a.d.—Emperor Claudius conquers Britain. Occupy Britain for nearly 400 years.

The island we know as England was occupied by a race of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was called the Brythons or Britons (where we get the term Britain) The Celts were Pagans and their religion was know as “animism” a Latin word for “spirit.” Celts saw spirits everywhere

Druids were their priests; their role was to go between the gods and the people

Important Events During Roman Occupation Julius Caesar begins invasion/occupation in 55 B.C. Occupation completed by Claudius in 1 st cent. A.D. Hadrian’s Wall built about 122 A.D. Romans “leave” in 410 A.D. because Visigoths attack Rome

St. Augustine lands in Kent in 597 and converts King Aethelbert (king of Kent, the oldest Saxon settlement) to Christianity; becomes first Archbishop of Canterbury

Hadrian’s Wall

Founded cities Built walls, baths, roads, theaters Intermarried with Celts. Place names—Lancaster, Manchester, Winchester, London, Bath Latin becomes the prestige language of education and social life

Roman Empire is threatened by invading Germanic tribes. 410 a.d.—Emperor Honorius summons all Roman troops back to Rome. Celtic tribes in Britain are left defenseless against future invasions.

So what language is being used in British Isles at this time? Celtic languages—the native language of the people. Latin—the language of Rome was the prestige language. –Education –Government –Written language

Anglo-Saxon Invasions The Anglo-Saxon period is the earliest recorded time period in English history.

The Anglo-Saxons form the basis of English culture, religion, and language and ruled England for 600 years. The term Anglo-Saxon refers to a group of settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony who took over England after the fall of the Roman Empire.

With the Romans gone, a power vacuum existed Germanic tribes from the mainland soon began to fill that vacuum. 450 a.d Angles and Saxons invade from Baltic shores of Germany, and the Jutes invade from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark

Nine Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms eventually became the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (England not unified), or “Seven Sovereign Kingdoms”

Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy = Seven Kingdoms 1.Kent 2.Essex (East Saxon) 3.Sussex (South Saxon) 4.East Anglia 5.Northumbria 6.Mercia 7.Wessex (West Saxon

The Anglo-Saxons society The Anglo-Saxons were a pagan society, but information about their lives and culture has been told by Christian writers. The Anglo-Saxons maintained order in their society through social means. Society was led by powerful leaders (a ring-giver, lord or lady) who rewarded their servants for various activities

Anglo-Saxons enjoyed serving their lords and found it hard to survive if they were not supported by their lords. Women had just as much power as men did during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Songs and poetry were very important components of Anglo-Saxon society. Poetry was first told orally but was written starting in 733. Archbishops were known to sing songs to attract crowds for their sermons.

One of the most valued members of Anglo- Saxon society was the scop (poet), who discussed social and cultural values in his work. Scops were responsible for maintaining a person's reputation through song after his or her death.

Exercise What is a language family? What are the branches of the PIE? Languages that have no common features among each other are known as………….

Using the Proto- Indo-European family map trace the history of the Modern English language. The first settlers of England were a. German b. Anglo-Saxon c. Briton

Write four of the most common influences of the Romans. What was the language of education & prestige during the Roman period?

Write briefly about the Anglo-Saxon society. Who is the Scop and what is his responsibility?

Important sites 0cYJA How the Celts Saved Britain - HD - 1of2 (BBC) - A New Civilization 0cYJA U9Eo "How The Celts Saved Britain" (part 2of2) Dark ages and the Celts U9Eo I168Anglo Saxon house - a reconstruction

Suggested Topics for research Language Families The Endo-European Languages French Influences on the English Language Latin and Greek Influences on the English Language The Anglo-Saxon Period The Vikings Period

Old English Literature: Characteristics & a model: Beowulf Middle English Literature: Characteristics & a model: The Canterbury Tales Modern English literature: Characteristics and a model.

The Differences Between the Old English and the Middle English Phonological Systems. The Development of the Noun System of the English Language The Development of the Verb System of the English Language

The Distinctive Features of Old English Morphology The Distinctive Features of Middle English Morphology The Differences Between Old English and Middle English Syntax

The Differences Between Middle English and Modern English Morphology. The Differences Between Middle English and Modern English Syntax. Differences Between British and American English