by some Germanic tribes who invaded England 1500 years ago
Spoken English has gone through a process of enlightenment, development and change until today.
has reached and is considered a global language today. English, this is historical
As a result of developments, it has spread through international communication, media and education, and
used in international relations, scientific, artistic or political meetings
has become a common language. The aim of this study is to examine how the English language changes from time to time.
by exemplifying its enlightenment and the process of becoming a world language today.
to present. The study examines language historians’ history of English as Ancient, Middle and Modern.
Based on their division of English into three main periods, English is divided into centuries.
It examines change and development accordingly. Key Words: English, Language Change, Development of Language, Universal Language,
Global Language, Old English, Middle English, Modern English.
Old English (700-1100)
Ancient Irish, Scots and Celts, called Celts in Britain
A language was spoken that was a mixture of Welsh. british territories
When they were invaded by the Germanic tribes, their language was also invaded.
The history of English dates back to A.D. In the middle of the 5th century, three Germanic tribes, Angle,
It is said to have begun with the Saxon and Jute invasion of Britain (Pyles). invaders
They bring with them their own language, which is a Germanic dialect. This
The dialect was called “Angleish” and later “English”, which is today’s English.
forms the base. The invaders bring their alphabet with them. HE
During that period the “runic” alphabet created by carving wood and stone was used.
However, since this alphabet was not used for writing, the legends and stories
No records were kept, but rather passed on by word of mouth to subsequent generations. This
Much of the information about Old English was therefore obtained later in the Anglo-Saxon period.
manuscripts written in Latin alphabet by monks at the end
(Manuscript) (The Latin alphabet replaced the old Germanic and runic alphabet.)
Today it is possible to understand Old English written in the runic alphabet.
It is not.
However, some Old English words do not have modern equivalents today.
It’s very close. Examples of these are prepositions such as under, to, for, from, with; that, and,
Some conjunctions like where, or; Some pronouns like I, we, their, your and many
Commonly used words and verbs can be listed. English grammar today
Its structure is close to that of Old English. Tense markers in verbs.
It’s almost the same. For example, Old English wes/were today
In English, it is the past tense of the verb be as was/were. Besides,
Modern English word order is similar in many ways to Old English.
as. The contribution of other languages to modern English without altering the main structure
occurred at the word level. English was introduced into three different languages during the Anglo-Saxon period.
Language has made significant contributions. The first of these is the language spoken by the Celts.
The Celts retreated before the Anglo-Saxons. But behind them
Many Celtic place names and geographical names such as Thames, Dover, Avon, Kent, York, etc.
They left the terms.
Another language that influences English is Latin. Roman empire
The priests who were sent to the British Isles during that period brought the main parts of the Bible here.
He introduced Latin, the language of one of his translations, and used Latin for many years.
the effect has occurred. After the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity
From Latin to English altar (altar), mass (rite), nun (priestess),
sanctuary (temple), disciple (disciple), angel (angel), bishop (bishop), abbot
There are many Christian symbols such as (abbot), martyr (martyr), vela (candle).
The word has passed. Also school, verse, paper,
Many words related to education, such as, come from Latin.
Another language that influenced the development of English is “Old Norse”1
spoken by the Danish invaders who settled in the north of England, called
It is an old Norse language. Approximately 600 species ending in –by in northern England
The city’s name comes from the Old Norse word byr, meaning city. Besides
odd (odd, odd), mate (friend, man), guess (prediction), turn on (turn on),
leg, let go, scold, lift, heaven,
like window, skin, happy, ugly, knife
Many words came from this language. The Vikings brought with them many ancients.
They bring Norwegian words: egg, cake, husband, skill.
(ability), anger, take, give, call, die
Words like (die), they (them), their (their), them (them)2
are some of them. The first English works written in Old English date back to the Middle Ages.
(the oldest text found is the Hymn of Cædmon
text). Oral tradition was very strong in ancient English culture and
Epic poems were very popular. Beowulf was passed down orally from generation to generation.
It is the most famous epic poem of antiquity and is very similar to the current Norwegian or Icelandic one.
show close similarities.
Middle English (1100-1500)
In the Middle Ages, it was a mixture of at least five different languages.
English, known as Middle English, becomes the official language of Great Britain. English is becoming an increasingly understandable common language for communication between people of different classes.
seems to transform. The means of transmission in schools between 1350 and 1380.
It becomes the language of civil courts. In 1362 Parliament spoke in English for the first time.
It opens with a speech. IV, who ascended the throne in 1399. Henry of the Norman invasion
He was the first English king to speak English as his native language. At the end of the 14th century
The London dialect emerges as a standard literary language and Geoffrey Chaucer
He published his immortal work, The Canterbury Tales, in London.
He writes in his own dialect.
Approximately 600 years later, with Beowulf, one of the examples of ancient English literature,
The Canterbury Tales (Canterbury) by the famous medieval English writer Chaucer
When comparing his work (Stories) in terms of language, Chaucer’s language
It is more understandable for the modern reader:
The words that have established themselves in current English are celebrate,
compatible, trust, destitute, inflate,
Words like exhausting (tiring). Towards the end of the Elizabethan era
Writers were more reserved and cautious when using foreign words. However
Many words that entered English earlier had already settled in the language.
Elizabethan period in literature, especially in theater.
You will witness important advances4
. William Shakespeare’s wife until then
He has attracted unprecedented attention as a poet and playwright. Shakespeare introduced many words into English that are still widely used today.
He added many idioms and expressions: laugh until I die,
Brave new world (brave new world), brevity is the soul of wit (verbalism)
doing doesn’t make you look smarter), we’ve seen better days
we have seen days), the milk of human kindness
are some (Priestley and Spear 210).
17th century
The most important development of the English language in the 17th century was
In terms of written language, language has acquired an immutable form.
It was imitated from Latin, preferred by writers during the Elizabethan period in the 17th century.
prose style full of exaggerated literary arts and words written by
It was abandoned in this period and replaced by a more purified and simplified language.
In the 17th century, the royal Stuart dynasty ruled England. The Stuarts always descended from Mary Queen of Scots, a queen of Scots-French origin.
They were very impressed. Therefore, in the 17th century, the French, English and
It has been very influential in literature. The group called Cavalier poets is a French group.
influenced by simplicity and simplicity in the use of words,
They wrote with structures and sentences. However, John Milton differed from French models.
He was not impressed and used words of classical Latin origin. This heavy style
It is a practice not only specific to Milton but also used by many religious people and scientists.
I was a model.
Milton is the last writer who consciously used words borrowed from Latin.
Today’s reader will discover that Milton is full of long, elaborate Latin phrases.
He gets lost in his works. The writers who came after Milton used an ornate and exaggerated style.
They preferred to use a clearer and more fluent language than English. This
One of the reasons affecting the new linguistic approach is the rapid exposure to scientific topics.
It is the development of a growing interest.
To obtain more information about the English language, you can consult official magazines or online magazines by searching on the Google search engine.
