1. Who were the first Enslish speakers? Before 100 B.C. Britain was populated by a mixture of
tribes, including Celts, Irish, Picts, Cornish: they spoke a variety of Celtic languages. In the 5th
Century A.D., settlers from Germany invated Britain: these tribes were called Saxons, Jutes and
Angles and spoke a dialect of the Germanic language that slowly evolved into the English we
know today.
2. Define Old, Middle and Early Modern English. Old English (400-1100 A.D.) was the language
spken by the Germanic settlers (it become German); Vikings invaders arrived in Britian around
the 8th century and part of their scandinavian language spread through the land becoming part
of the Old English. There was the Middle English (1100-1450 A.D.) when Normans invated
Britain in 1066 and imposed French as the dominant language: latin remained the language
spoken by the mass while Middle English was spoken by the educated upper class. For what
concerns Early Modern English, in 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press in
Britain: this led to a standardization of the language. Caxton chose the East Midlands (London,
Oxford, Cambridge) dialects to print and this soon became the most prestigious form of
English.
3. What is the Hastings Battle and why is it important for the development of English? It
happened in 1066. Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and the battle changed
the course of history and established the French-speaking Normans as the new rulers of
England, which in turn brought about a significant cultural, economic and military
transformation, and helped to create the modern English language.
4. When was pubblished the first English dictionary and what other important events happened
later? In 1755 the first English dictionary was pubblished by Samuel Johnson. In 1762, Robert
Lowth published the first English grammar book, which laid out some of the fundamental rules
for “correct” usage. In 1789 Webster’s wrote “Dissertations on the English language” defining
the rules of American English. During this time, many writers made attempts to define the
lexicon and grammar of English: this led to a view that some non-standard varieties of English
were inferior: this is called Normativism. Latin was upheld as the ideal language and used as a
model for English grammar.
5. What was unknow in 1950? That English would have become a world language, political
reality, cultural reality.
6. What are, then, the three most importan events for the development of English as a global
language? The advent of printing (that was a very long process), the spead of vocabulary and
the Industrian Revolution; The impact of Shakespeare during the XVI century and the “come of
age” literature; the consolidation of the British Empire.
7. What are three circles of English? The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle.
The first one comprises those who use English as their first language, the mother tongue, as do
a large number of Americans, British, British Irish, Australians and New Zelanda, Canadians, Est
and South Asian, Carribean, Africans or Indians. The second group is extended and uses English
as their second language. In this case English is an acquired language which is learned after
they have learned their mother tongue. The third group refers to the use of English as a vehicle
for science, mass media and some kind of mass entertainment. This description refers to the
expanding circle which includes those nations in which English has become important as an
international language.
8. Why is Enlish a language with a global status? English has a position of preminence because of
geographical-historical reasons and socio-cultural reasons.
