The History of the English Language.
The English language has had an adventure in many respects, and has been very near extinction. The original language is undistinguishable from the language that we speak today. Although the language is very deeply rooted in the Latin language it has managed to retain much of its Germanic qualities. Today the language is about sixty percent Germanic and forty percent Romantic.
The beginning of English started with the Scandinavian people when they landed in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. This is, at least, the point in which we know of the English language being used. This language was Germanic and somewhat resembled Flemish, Dutch, and German. In the 8th century, there where Viking attacks, and by extension their influence, this changed the language in many ways. The new English language now had Norwegian and Danish. This influence lasted until the Norman Conquest in 1066.
After William the Conqueror took Britain, the English language was in grave danger. William spoke in a Norman dialect, which very closely resembles French, a Romantic language. Thus, the language of the court was French, which meant that the most influential people spoke it. This was not, however, enough for English to fall into oblivion. A few common people and the surfs still spoke in English, but it was being used increasingly less. During this time the English language was changed dramatically. The language started to become inseparably tangled with the Latin language. This continued for many years
With time, English finally emerged again in Britain. Some speculate that this is because a nobleman, or possibly a king, married a woman that spoke English. If this is true that would mean that she would most likely teach this language to her son, and the son would therefore be more comfortable with the use of this language. After the printing press was invented, the standardization of English began. This resulted in many changes in the English language. Philip Durkin, an Oxford
The beginning of English started with the Scandinavian people when they landed in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. This is, at least, the point in which we know of the English language being used. This language was Germanic and somewhat resembled Flemish, Dutch, and German. In the 8th century, there where Viking attacks, and by extension their influence, this changed the language in many ways. The new English language now had Norwegian and Danish. This influence lasted until the Norman Conquest in 1066.
After William the Conqueror took Britain, the English language was in grave danger. William spoke in a Norman dialect, which very closely resembles French, a Romantic language. Thus, the language of the court was French, which meant that the most influential people spoke it. This was not, however, enough for English to fall into oblivion. A few common people and the surfs still spoke in English, but it was being used increasingly less. During this time the English language was changed dramatically. The language started to become inseparably tangled with the Latin language. This continued for many years
With time, English finally emerged again in Britain. Some speculate that this is because a nobleman, or possibly a king, married a woman that spoke English. If this is true that would mean that she would most likely teach this language to her son, and the son would therefore be more comfortable with the use of this language. After the printing press was invented, the standardization of English began. This resulted in many changes in the English language. Philip Durkin, an Oxford
Cited: Durkin, Phillip. "History of English" World of Words. 2005.Ask Oxford. Oct. 26, 2005. .