HISTORCIAL BACKGROUND (Chapter 1)

The birth of the English language dates back to the arrival of the three Germanic tribes who raided

Britain during the 5th century BCE.

These tribes were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, departed from a geographic area

corresponding to present-day Denmark and the northern Germany.

At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language, but they were pushed west and

north by the invaders.

(The Angles came from “Englaland” and their language was called “Englisc”, from which the world

“England” and “English” are derived.

ENTER THE ROMANS

The first serious attempt to invade part of England is recorded in 55 BCE, when Julius Caesar

decided to move with his army towards England. After meeting the initial resistance of the Celts,

the following year he succeeded in estabilishing Roman rule in the southeast.

In 43 CE the Emperor Claudius set about conquering Britain and brought all England under Roman

rule.

They never went as far as the regions of Wales and Scotland. Eventually they protected the

northern boundary by a stone wall stretching across England, Hadrian’s Wall, which allowed the

territories to be ruled by the Romans for over three hundred years.

Inevitably, Britain underwent a process of rentless Romanization that included the use of the

Latin language, but it did not replace the Celtic language as would occur in other provinces.

Its use by native Britons was probably confined to members of the upper classes and some

inhabitants of the cities and town.

OLD ENGLISH (450-1100 CE)

Historical circumstances:

1. Around the year 449 the invasions of Britain by certain Germanic tribes began.

2. In 597 Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine to England to begin the conversion of the English.

3. The Germanic tribes that conquered England were the Jutes, Angles and Saxons, respectively

moving from the north and the south pf the Danish penisula. We learned it from the “Ecclesistical

History of English People” around 730.

4. From 787 a second wave of Germanic invaders spread across Britain. This time they were of

Scandinavian origins and included the Danes or Norsemen

5. In 871 Alfred became king of Wassex and reconquered the city of London, and promoted the

translationof Latin works into English.

6. Between 700 and 750 the manuscript of the Old English epic Beowulf was written.

7. Between 1016 and 1042 Canute became king of England estabilishing a Danish dynasty in

Britain. After his death Edward the Confessor died became king of England.

9. In 1066 Edward died and was succeeded by Harold, last of Anglo-Saxon kings, who died at the

Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normady, was crowned king of England.

UNDER NORMAN RULE TOWARDS THE ADVENT OF MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100-1500)

Meaningful facts:

- In 1258 King Henry III issued the first English-language royal proclamation since the Conquest.

- In 1348 English replaces Latin as the language of education in most schools.

- In 1362 English replaces French as the language of law and is used in Parliament for the first

time.

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HISTORCIAL BACKGROUND (Chapter 1)

The birth of the English language dates back to the arrival of the three Germanic tribes who raided Britain during the 5th century BCE. These tribes were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, departed from a geographic area corresponding to present-day Denmark and the northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language, but they were pushed west and north by the invaders. (The Angles came from “Englaland” and their language was called “Englisc”, from which the world “England” and “English” are derived. ENTER THE ROMANS The first serious attempt to invade part of England is recorded in 55 BCE, when Julius Caesar decided to move with his army towards England. After meeting the initial resistance of the Celts, the following year he succeeded in estabilishing Roman rule in the southeast. In 43 CE the Emperor Claudius set about conquering Britain and brought all England under Roman rule. They never went as far as the regions of Wales and Scotland. Eventually they protected the northern boundary by a stone wall stretching across England, Hadrian’s Wall, which allowed the territories to be ruled by the Romans for over three hundred years. Inevitably, Britain underwent a process of rentless Romanization that included the use of the Latin language, but it did not replace the Celtic language as would occur in other provinces. Its use by native Britons was probably confined to members of the upper classes and some inhabitants of the cities and town. OLD ENGLISH (450-1100 CE) Historical circumstances:

Around the year 449 the invasions of Britain by certain Germanic tribes began.
In 597 Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine to England to begin the conversion of the English.
The Germanic tribes that conquered England were the Jutes, Angles and Saxons, respectively moving from the north and the south pf the Danish penisula. We learned it from the “Ecclesistical History of English People” around 730.
From 787 a second wave of Germanic invaders spread across Britain. This time they were of Scandinavian origins and included the Danes or Norsemen
In 871 Alfred became king of Wassex and reconquered the city of London, and promoted the translationof Latin works into English.
Between 700 and 750 the manuscript of the Old English epic Beowulf was written.
Between 1016 and 1042 Canute became king of England estabilishing a Danish dynasty in Britain. After his death Edward the Confessor died became king of England.
In 1066 Edward died and was succeeded by Harold, last of Anglo-Saxon kings, who died at the Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normady, was crowned king of England. UNDER NORMAN RULE TOWARDS THE ADVENT OF MIDDLE ENGLISH (1100-1500) Meaningful facts:

In 1258 King Henry III issued the first English-language royal proclamation since the Conquest.
In 1348 English replaces Latin as the language of education in most schools.
In 1362 English replaces French as the language of law and is used in Parliament for the first time.

Around 1388 Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales. The Norman Conquest changed the whole course of the English language. From then on, French became the language of the court and administration; Latin continued to be used by the court, the church, and scholars; whereas Old English was the language spoken among the common people. But shortly the English and the French became bitter rivals, a fact that helped English be rehabilitated again as the national language. All court were required to be conducted in English replacing French as the dominant language of legal matters. Toward the end of the century John Wycliffe terminated the first complete traslation of the Old Testament into the English language, and also the unknown poet author of the romance Sir Gewain and the Green Knight. The language that was spoken between 1150 and 1500 is commonly referred to as Middle English. MODERN ENGLISH Early Modern English (1500-1700) From the 16th^ century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language to print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published. Early Modern English was also a time of standardization: following centuries of dialectal diversity, the English language had regained most of the functions taken over by French after the Norman Conquest. Late Modern English (1700-Present) Late Modern English has more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

The sign for Saussure consists of two elements: signifier and signified, both of which are arbitrary. The absence of any link between the word and its referent in the real world is almost universal, except the onomatopoeic words. (D-O-G has no link to DOG, IT’S SOMETHING THE SOCIETY HAS ACCEPT). Likewise, Saussure stresses that the signified too is arbitrary, as each language divides up the world in his own way. A final important dichotomy for Saussure was that of the language and parole, meaning respectively the abstract language system and the concrete result of that system in speech. THE SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS They argued that languages were not only all structurally different, but that individuals’ fundamental perception of reality is shaped by the language they speak. Linguistics and culture influence each other, we could see a single word in two different ways according to culture. CHOMSKY’S THEORY OF GENERATIVE GRAMMAR In 1957 Noam Chomsky introduced a new way of looking at grammar and language (the birth of the generative grammar). According to him all languages have a similar deep structure in grammar. We all have mental mechanism that trigger our capacity to acquire a language. Chomsky believed that language learning was guided by an innate language acquisition process that is a result of human evolution.

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HISTORCIAL BACKGROUND (Chapter 1)