1. BEFORE ENGLISH (Prehistory – c. 500 AD)
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BEFORE ENGLISH (Prehistory – c. 500 AD)
Indo European
Spread of Indo- European Languages
Germanic/Celts/ Romans
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2. INDO EUROPEAN
Indo-Europeans or Proto-Indo-Europeans, who lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia from some time after 5000 BC.
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3. “comparative method”
Look at daughter languages to find similarities of possible parent
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4. Protolanguage – language family
Indo-European is the largest family, including those of most of Europe, North and South America, Australasia, the Iranian plateau and much of South Asia.
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5. SPREAD OF INDO EUROPEAN Languages
Sometime between 3500 BC and 2500 BC, the Indo-Europeans began to fan out across Europe and Asia.
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6. By 1000 BC – Main LANGUAGE GROUPS SPLIT
Hellenic
Italic
Indo-Iranian
Celtic
Germanic
Armenian
Balto-Slavic
Albanian
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7. Common ancestry - cognates
The common ancestry of these diverse languages exists in cognates (similar words in different languages).
For example: three in English, tres in Latin, tris in Greek, drei in German, drie in Dutch, trí in Sanskrit.
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8. William jones - philologist
Recognition of this common ancestry of Indo- European languages is usually attributed to philologist Sir William Jones in 1786.
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9. Philology?
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources.
Knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language or languages.
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10. Germanic
The Germanic, or Proto- Germanic, language group can be traced back to the region between the Elbe river in modern Germany and southern Sweden some 3,000 years ago.
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11. Germanic consonants shift forward
Certain consonants in the Germanic family of languages have shifted somewhat from the Indo-European base.
Shifting of the “p” to “f” and the “d” to “t”.
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12. Germanic consonants shift
Germanic words like the English foot
West Frisian foet
Danish fod
Swedish fot
are related to the Latin ped, Lithuanian peda, Sanskrit pada,
Example: P  F D  T
Lithuanian: Peda / English: Foot
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13. Early germanic tribes borrowed words
Words for natural environment, sea travel, social practice, and farming were borrowed from non Indo-European tribes
Environment: sea
Sea travel: sail
Social practice: bride
Farming: dung
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14. Germanic groups split
English belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages.
West Germanic languages in orange, yellow, and green  
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15. Celts
The earliest inhabitants of Britain about which anything is known are the Celts (the name from the Greek keltoi meaning "barbarian").
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16. Celts also known as ‘britons’
By around 300 BC, the Celts had become the most widespread branch of Indo- Europeans in Iron Age Europe.
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17. Vibrant celt culture
Between 500 BC and 400 BC until the Roman occupation, Celtic population in Britain kept increasing, and established a vibrant Celtic culture.
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18. Celtic British Place names
Many British place names have Celtic origins, including Kent, York, London, Dover, 
Thames, Avon, Trent, Severn, and Cornwall 
The influence of the Celtic language itself on English is marginalized, although they were dominant in the earliest formative years
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19. Julius caesar
Romans first entered Britain in 55 BC under Julius Caesar.
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20. Rome subjugates british celts
They did not begin a permanent occupation until 43 AD, when Emperor Claudius sent a much better prepared force to subjugate the fierce British Celts.
Queen Boudicca, or Boadicea , led a Celtic uprising against the Romans in 61 A.D. – although unsuccessful she remains a great part of Modern British Folklore
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21. 400 years under roman empire
Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years.
The cultures and people interbred.
This legacy takes the form of less than 200 “loanwords” coined by Roman merchants and soldiers.
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22. Loanwords from latin win (wine) butere (butter) caese (cheese)
piper (pepper)
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23. Was latin spoken in Briton?
The Roman Empire was failing, the Romans did a final withdrawal by 436 AD.
Only the rich and noble classes ever spoke Latin, and that status is still visible today.
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24. Review Quiz
Your professor will put you into groups randomly. You may not select your group.
On a piece of paper, write all your names.
Ask one member to clearly write the answers.
Another group will check your answers and score the quiz.
You can get answers to the quiz at the end.
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25. Group quiz
1. T/F Indo-Europeans or Proto-Indo- Europeans are the same people.
2. What is the comparative method?
3. By what year (B.C.) had the main language groups of Indo-Europeans split?
4. Three in English, tres in Latin, tris are examples of _____.
5. T/F Philology is the study of language in spoken historical sources
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26. Group Quiz continued
6. When we look at Germanic words like feet, we can see a _________ shift (Example: foot / peda).
7. Name two areas of life from which Germanic tribes borrowed words of predecessors.
8. T/ F English belongs to the Low Germanic branch of the Indo-European family tree.
9. Who are the earliest inhabitants of Britain in recorded history?
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27. Group quiz continued
10. When was Celtic culture most vibrant in Briton?
11. Who was Emperor of Rome in 55 B.C. when the Romans first entered Briton?
12. Britain was to be subjugated under the Roman Empire for _____ years.
13. Give two examples of Latin loanwords to English.
14. *OPEN ENDED QUESTION* If Latin was only ever spoken by the upper class (rich /educated) people of Roman Britain, what can we assume about Latin’s influence on Briton’s general population?
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28. Group quiz answers 1. T (they are the same people)
2. Look at daughter languages to find similarities of possible parent
3.1,000 B.C.
4. Cognates
5. F – WRITTEN / not SPOKEN
6. Consonant
7 natural environment, sea travel, social practice, and farming
8 F English belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages.
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29. Group quiz answers continued
9. the Celts
10. Between 500 BC and 400 BC until the Roman occupation
11. Julius Caesar
13. win (wine) butere (butter) caese (cheese) piper (pepper)
14. We can assume (most accurately guess) that Latin didn’t often come into contact with the general public.
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