language change - history of english Flashcards
1
Q
old english
A
- 5th century
- languages of britain were celtic
- english developed from speech of angles, jutes and saxons
- anglo-saxon and old norse were significant influence - vocab drawn from both
- english was largely phonetic, with little consistency in writing
2
Q
middle english
A
- 11th century
- french was verbal language of the court and administration (due to norman invasion), but latin was the written language (due to church)
- english became more prominent due to writers who used english to write rather than french
- dialectical differences remained around the country
3
Q
early modern english
A
- 15th century
- introduction of printing press contributed to establishment of standard english, SE dialect was used as the basis for this
- popularity of english spread due to writers and playwrights
4
Q
modern english
A
- 18th century
- english language had grown at incredible rate, words borrowed from latin, greek and others
- spread of british empire also influenced this
- grammarians began to propose correct ways of speaking and writing
5
Q
present english
A
- 20th century
- english has continued to develop with influence of media, technology and travel helping to establish english as a global language
