It has been rightly said by R.W. Emerson, “the English language is the

sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven.”

The Story Of English

More than 2000 years ago, when there was loose political demarcation in the British Isles, a small country called ‘Angles’ (modern England) attracted a lot of attention from its neighbors due to its exceedingly rich natural heritage, its pleasantly mild weather and its vast, beautiful meadows stretching across the horizon. Being an island, England was invaded many times, the invaders bringing their language and politics. 

Therefore, the strength of the English language today is a result of the weakness of ‘angle-land’.

Saxon Invasion The Saxon invaded the Celts of Britain in the middle of the 5th

century. The Anglo Saxons preferred their own Runic language, mixing it with Celtic.

Christian missionaries begin arriving in 597AD, led by St. Augustine, which integrated Latin and Biblical language into Celtic.

This way, Anglo-Saxon settlement ushered in what we call today ‘Old English’.

Norman InvasionsLed by William the Conqueror, the Normans invaded the Anglo-

Saxons in the year 1066 AD. French was established as the language of power and officialdom.

Because of this there are often two words for many concepts in English, one being of Anglo-Saxon origin, the other of Norman French origin. Examples are, kingly (Saxon) and royal (Norman), or buy/purchase, forgive/pardon.

In addition, With Latin as the language of the church and of education, England becomes a truly trilingual country.

As a result, almost 40 % of Modern English has Latin roots, and another 40 % generates from French.

Influence of foreign languages on English

Norse – 5 % French – 40 % Latin – 40 % Arabic, Spanish, Germanic – 10 %

Almost all of administrative, political and military terms such as lieutenant, government, Marshall, colonel, admiral, naval etc are derived from French language, while words relating to art and music have come from Italian.

Scientific words, medical terminology, and academic words come from Latin, as it was the official language of Roman Empire. If you were to look at the Latin language itself, even a person without classical training would be able figure out the meaning of most Latin words due to the fact that most Latin vocabulary has made its way into the English language in one form or another.

Spanish and Arabic words relating to warfare and tactics (example – guerilla warfare) also crept into this universal language.

Infact, the word ‘coffee’ comes from the Arabic word ‘kahwah’. Due to business and trading, Arabic also lent English words such as - alkali, algebra, alcohol and muslin.

Here are some examples of English word of French, Spanish and Arabic origin –

English - French/Spanish - Arabic - Assassasin Hasohishin Hashish Music Musica Mousique Carat Carato Qarat

Biblical Influence on English -

King James  Bible is the most common source of English phrases after Shakespeare. 

Some common Biblical phrases which have been imbibed by English language are – 

 “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”“A wolf in sheep’s clothing”“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”“As you sow, so shall you reap” “Can a leopard change its spots”“Flesh and Blood”“The apple of his eye” 

Once luxury items, books became more affordable. Over 20,000 titles appeared following the setting up of printing press by William Caxton.

The 'Great Vowel Shift'  which took place during the 15th century, represented a major development in pronounciation. Spelling also became more standardised and the pace of grammatical change slowed. 

Hence, we witness the emergence of ‘Modern English’.The following slide contains a page from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night” which was one of the first printed books.     

Arrival of Printing Press (1478)

Classification of English language –

Old English (450 AD -1100AD)Medieval English (1100 AD –

1500 AD)Modern English (1500 AD

onwards)

Old English  Under the influence of Latin civilization of the Roman church, the Anglo-Saxon language underwent the process of Re-Christianization, which gave birth to Old English.

 According to Bede (673-735 A.D) , who was the first great English historian, this language acquired an added importance under the influence of Saint Augustine. Later on, a great writer known as Beowulf became an eminent spokesman of this language by his poetry. 

During its development, this language also received a substantial body of religious language based on scriptural sources and the Bible. It, therefore had a good deal of scripture language, biblical elements as well as elements from Norse, Saxon, French. 

The following slide contains a page from Beowulf’s poetry. 

Medieval English Medieval English started from the 11th century after the conquest of England by the Normans.

 It was during this period that we had the poems written particularly by the people of English church. However, the most notable work during this period remains Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”. 

This language is full of inflection, with a different tone and intonation. But the language of this period also records a rich presence of poetry, scripture writing and late religious medieval writing projecting many successful poets and writers like Gower, Langland, Geoffery Gaimer, Lydgat, Chaucer, Mallory and Caxton.

The following slide contains an excerpt from Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”. 

Whoso shal telle a tale after a man,He moot reherce as ny as evere he

kanEverich a word, if it be in his

charge,Al speke he never so rudeliche and

large,Or ellis he moot tell his tae

untrewe,Or feyne thing, or fynde wordes

newe.

Modern English -

The Modern English era can be roughly divided into the following –

Renaissance (1450 -1650) Restoration (1660- 1688) Classical Era (1740 -

1800) Romanticism (1800 -

1840) Victorian Era (1840 –

1900)

Renaissance (1450 -1650)

Renaissance , usually defined as “revival of classical learning and Hellenism”, contributed immense and spectacular achievements in the field of art and literature. 

While Shakespeare took drama to its pinnacle with his comedies and tragedies, written in the vigorous musical rhythm of “Blank Verse”, and his universal vision of life and human existence; John Donne brought in the new concept of metaphysical elements in poetry, and Edmund Spencer revealed the mystery and enigma of renaissance life with his art of allegory and deeper meaning of life. 

Thus, with the advent of renaissance, English language acquired new dimensions in poetry with the richness of its symbol  imagery and got a new vocabulary in its dramas with its dramatic monologue and its power of expression; while the language was simultaneously enriched by new words of euphuism, repartee and wit.

Restoration (1660- 1688)

Restoration, that followed the arrival of King Charles the Second in England, actually brought in all the French fashion, code and conduct of life and French manners, which in consequence gave rise to what is known as Restoration drama. 

The Restoration plays are, in a real sense, a true reflection of French fashion and artificiality which affected the entire English life and society. As a result of which we have restoration comedies with characters who use language and expressions to exhibit their double dealing in life. Hence, wit and conceit, repartee, and double-meaning phrases dominated the English language during this period.

 An example of this may be found in Congreves ‘ play, “The Way of the world” where he says “to live in a woman’s heart is like living in a windmill”, reflecting the uncertainty of women’s nature. 

Classical Era (1740 -1800)

Great writers like Alexander Pope, Dryden, Swift and others vigorously reacted against the sentimental and emotional expression which dominated renaissance. To these poets and writers, nature and truth were the norms which they followed and with the dictum that “art is to follow truth and nature, and thereby eschew all that is fanciful, imaginative, emotional and all that is far from normal life”. But the whole attitude of these poets was most formal and factual. This concept logically turned the writers of the age to satire, irony, criticism and the device of anti-climax. 

Romanticism (1800 -1840)

Romantic period has been rightly defined as a reaction against the classical mode of life and literature. Rejecting the formal attitude of the classical poets towards life, the romantics turn back to nature in order to emphasize the importance of primary feelings of man, his natural emotions and imagination and his deep relation with nature,  along with the mysteries and supernatural elements which  define human life. 

Hence, romantic poetry has been defined as “wonder of renaissance” or “strangeness added to beauty”. It is in this sense that Wordsworth defines poetry as “an outburst of powerful feelings recollected with emotions”. 

In short, romantic poetry added a new language known as the romantic expression of the personal life of the poet with new terms like ‘melancholy, hope and despair, happiness and sorrow, appearance and reality’ all expressed with a wistful hope of a better future for mankind. As Shelly Cooper “if winter comes, can spring be far behind ?” 

Victorian Era (1840 – 1900)

In many respects, Victorian age was a continuation of the romantic vision of life. But, it was during that time that the vast progress of industrialism and the great expansion of British Empire filled the people with a new sense of progress and sheer materialism. 

Simultaneously, the advance of scientific theories challenging the old age Biblical beliefs created doubts and conflicts in the minds of the people. Hence, we have Charles Dickens exposing the maladies of industrialism in social life while, the great poet Tennyson expressing doubts and conflicts in his great poem “The Inmemorium”. 

Obviously, the Victorian age brought in new mode of expression with fresh language of expressing its doubts, conflicts, diffidence, disapproval  for materialism, as well as a sense of uncertainty and disillusionment at the vain pursuit of man towards unreal things as expressed by Tennyson, “we are the dreamers of dream, we are the makers of dream”.

Present Day English Throughout the ages, English has been  a vast canvas on which every country of the world has used its brush to add fresh colours which proves its universal vision of accepting influence from nook and corner of the world. Today, the language is spoken by billions and has been rightly called a universal language.