Explore how and why the English Language has changed.
Explore how and why the English Language has changed.
The English Language has changed over a long period of time due to a number of different factors which have had different effects on how the Language has progressed. Language is seen to have progressed through different stages, from Old English (beginning in the 3rd century and including the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons, which led to the creation of Englisc) through to Middle English (which may have begun in the 11th century with the rule of the Vikings, which introduced variations on the previous Anglo-Saxon pronunciation and speech. The French invasions in 1066 also affected the language as the ruling classes spoke the ‘prestige’ form of French and those who had been defeated spoke English. This led to the appearance of Latinate words in the language, particularly in terms of law, government, military, medicine and religion. This also brought in an SOV structure to the syntax of Language, rather than the SVO structure we use today). This continued into Early Modern English, which was the beginning of the Standardisation of the language as it would no longer have to deal with military invasions or power shifts, allowing the language to progress with what was already present, such as the Caxton printing press and The Bible being printed, which gave rise to prescriptivism. Finally, Modern English is the language that we speak today, which has been affected by all of the before mentioned periods.
In 1476, a printing press was introduced to England by William Caxton. This printing press was to dictate the future of the English Language in two ways; the language used would be easily replicated, and books could now be printed in English, rather than Latin or French. This meant that education would become more widespread, and books would now become more accessible to the public. The printing press would then spark a widespread debate about the standardisation of English. At the time literacy levels in the
The English Language has changed over a long period of time due to a number of different factors which have had different effects on how the Language has progressed. Language is seen to have progressed through different stages, from Old English (beginning in the 3rd century and including the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons, which led to the creation of Englisc) through to Middle English (which may have begun in the 11th century with the rule of the Vikings, which introduced variations on the previous Anglo-Saxon pronunciation and speech. The French invasions in 1066 also affected the language as the ruling classes spoke the ‘prestige’ form of French and those who had been defeated spoke English. This led to the appearance of Latinate words in the language, particularly in terms of law, government, military, medicine and religion. This also brought in an SOV structure to the syntax of Language, rather than the SVO structure we use today). This continued into Early Modern English, which was the beginning of the Standardisation of the language as it would no longer have to deal with military invasions or power shifts, allowing the language to progress with what was already present, such as the Caxton printing press and The Bible being printed, which gave rise to prescriptivism. Finally, Modern English is the language that we speak today, which has been affected by all of the before mentioned periods.
In 1476, a printing press was introduced to England by William Caxton. This printing press was to dictate the future of the English Language in two ways; the language used would be easily replicated, and books could now be printed in English, rather than Latin or French. This meant that education would become more widespread, and books would now become more accessible to the public. The printing press would then spark a widespread debate about the standardisation of English. At the time literacy levels in the