Origins & History of English
With the total number of English speakers exceeding 1 billion the English language is considered to be the primary language in 67 nations while it is the preferred secondary language in 27 countries. Having expanded and further expanding how did this language come to being. What is the story behind it? And how did it obtain the status of lingua franca?
In this article we will be answering those above questions. As it is important in the learning process to have at least a basic understanding of the origins and history of the language that one aims to excel in. it is also important in giving the necessary attention it needs which most people in Sri Lanka lacks. Rather than looking at the language as a byproduct of British colonization let’s have a broader view of it discarding all negativity.
The origins and history of English expand over four sequential sections of,
Old English
Middle English
Early modern English
Modern English
Old English was originated due to the arrival and settling of Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians (North Germanic People-now Northwest Germany, southern Denmark and Netherlands) to early Britain bringing with them the dialects of old English in the period of 5th to 7th century.
With the invasion of Eastern and Northern England by Vikings in the period of 8th to 10th century they brought in much of the words that shaped old English paving way for grammatical simplification.
When England was conquered by William Norman there established a ruling class composed of Normans and Frenchmen which caused the shift to Middle English. Where French words related to royalty, law and food entered the language.
Around the 15th century there was a transition to early modern English where the language borrowed many words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Dutch, French and German. This was the era of language which was used by William Shakespeare who contributed vastly in its modernization and vocabulary building.
This was also the era in which the Great Vowel Shift (15th to 17th century) took place where it caused a series of changes to English pronunciation which eventually affected all dialects of English.
The transition to late modern English took place with the large- scale migration from England to North America. Many words in this era rose due to the need for new words in the period of industrial revolution and initiation of various technologies. And with the result of British colonization covering one quarter of the Earth’s land surface the transition to Modern English takes place initiating from the 18th century to late 19th century. This also caused the borrowing of many words from foreign countries. And this caused the language to obtain the status of lingua franca linking cultures, customs and traditions across countries, conducting business overseas, diplomacy, sharing scientific and technological knowledge and communication.
In a way we can say that this language is mostly borrowed. Due to that very reason it is considered universal.
And the language itself is not static, changing and evolving with technological advancement and social media influence, where new words which are mostly shortened further will be included in the language depending on the needs of people. Unlike the Sinhala language which is fixed there is openness in vocabulary allowing admission of words from other languages where the word borrowed will be accepted with change or without change from its original language. Likewise words from over 350 languages have entered the English language.
The entire language centers around 25 characters with the division of it into consonants and vowels when it comes to pronunciation. But English all over the world is spoken with many accents unique to the country. It is their way of incorporating this wonderfully at times harshly originated language into their culture which a country like Sri Lana should also consider doing.