The History of the English Language
History of the English Language
A panoramic view of the social, economic and historical influences which have shaped and continue to shape the English language.
This course was developed and presented as a lecture over six 1½ hour sessions with 30 minutes set aside each session for questions and discussion. However the material can be used in a variety of ways; “one-offs”, short courses, discussion groups, as a stimulus for group work and independent research. Course leaders should feel free to adapt this material as needed. Suggestions about how this might be done are included.
Course Outline:
* What is language?
* Where did the English language come from?
* The Indo European family of languages.
* Celtic influence.
* Latin influence.
* Anglo-Saxon influence.
* Scandinavian influence.
* French influence.
* The Renaissance: an intellectual revolution.
* World Expansion: new worlds to conquer — effect on vocabulary.
* 17th — 18th centuries: attempts to standardise the language — grammar, spelling, dictionaries.
* 19th century onwards: growth of science and technology — coining words for the modern world.
* Where to from here for the English language?
Supplementary:
1. English Spelling — why is it so?
2. Slang — its uses and abuses.
3. Some old terms, many of which are no longer used.