التقييم : 3
نقاط : 357534
تاريخ التسجيل : 01/01/1970
 | موضوع: Why Is Enlish Language Called As English?!  الخميس ديسمبر 13, 2012 11:11 pm | |
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The history of the English language really started with the arrival of
three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD.
These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North
Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the
inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic
speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what
is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and
their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and
English are derived.A
Old English (450-1100 AD)A
The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain
developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound
or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great
difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the
most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The
words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old
English was spoken until around 1100.A
Middle English (1100-1500)A
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern
France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the
Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language
of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period
there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes
spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century
English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words
added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of
the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for
native English speakers to understand today.A
Modern English
Early Modern English (1500-1800)A
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in
pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being
pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had
contact with many peoples from around the world.A
This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new
words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also
meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became
cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought
standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the
dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the
standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published.A
Late Modern English (1800-Present)A
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English
is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from
two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology
created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its
height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English
language adopted foreign words from many countries.A
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in
the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English
pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some
ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than
modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call
"Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were
preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example
trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn;
another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through
Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American
English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon,
ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that
entered English through the settlement of the American West. French
words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave
trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British
English).A
Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's
dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology
(including the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English
around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand
English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and
Caribbean English.A
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