Origin and Role of English Language in Communication

Question 1

theories on the origin of language

Answer 1

• bow-wow theory
• ding-dong theory
• lala theory
• pooh pooh theory
• yo-he-ho theory
• mama theory
• ta-ta theory
• sing-song theory
• hey you1 theory
• eureka1 theory

Question 2

bow-wow theory

Answer 2

This theory states that language began when
our ancestors imitated the natural sounds
around them such as moo, meow, splash,
cuckoo and bang.

Question 3

ding-dong theory

Answer 3

This is the theory supported by Plato and
Pythagoras which states that speech
happened when we respond to the objects
in our environment and made harmony with
them.
- language began when humans started naming objects after a relevant sound that was already involved in their everyday life
- when struck ata

Question 4

lala theory

Answer 4

This emphasizes that language came to life from sounds associated with love, play and songs.

Question 5

The Pooh-Pooh Theory

Answer 5

Pooh-Pooh theory conveys that language began with interjections from spontaneous cries, surprise and other emotions.

Question 6

The Yo-He-Ho Theory

Answer 6

According to this theory, language developed from the grunts, groans and snorts caused by heavy physical labor.

Question 7

mama theory

Answer 7

Language began with the easiest syllables attached to the most significant objects

Question 8

the ta-ta theory

Answer 8

Sir Richard Paget, influenced by
Darwin, believed that body movement or gestures
preceded language. Language began as an
unconscious vocal imitation of these movements —
like the way a child’s mouth will move when they use
scissors, or one’s tongue sticks out when I try to play
the guitar..

Question 9

the sing song theory

Answer 9

Danish linguist Jesperson suggested
that language comes out of play, laughter, coo-ing,
courtship, emotional mutterings and the like. He even
suggests that, contrary to other theories, perhaps some of
our first words were actually long and musical, rather than
the short grunts many assume we started with.

Question 10

The hey you! theory.

Answer 10

A linguist by the name of Revesz
suggested that we have always needed interpersonal
contact, and that language began as sounds to signal both
identity (here I am!) and belonging (I’m with you!). We may
also cry out in fear, anger, or hurt (help me!). This is more
commonly called the contact theory.

Question 11

The hocus pocus theory.

Answer 11

By a blogger Adriana Castillo to
these is the idea that language may have had some roots
in a sort of magical or religious aspect of our ancestors’
lives. Perhaps we began by calling out to game animals
with magical sounds, which became their names.

Question 12

The eureka! theory.

Answer 12

And finally, perhaps language was consciously invented. Perhaps some ancestor had the
idea of assigning arbitrary sounds to mean certain things. Clearly, once the idea was had, it would catch on
like wildfire!

Question 13

biblical history of human language

Answer 13

1. god’s language
2. adam’s edenic language
   - Adam’s naming of the birds and animals in Paradise (Gen. 2.20)
   - positive; innate
   - theory - hebrew - first language
3. the descendants of the fall
   - showing the effects of the Fall, are the sins of Cain, the first murderer and city-builder, and of his descendants, especially Lamech the inventor of bigamy and his children, to whom
   we owe the arts of civilization
4. diverse tongues of babel
   - third and most notorious
   - confusion of tongues

Question 14

english language

Answer 14

The English language is an Indo-European language in the West Germanic language group. Modern English is widely considered
to be the lingua franca of the world.

Question 15

what happened in the 5th century in lined with english history

Answer 15

the invasion of Britain during the
5th century. Three Germanic
tribes, the Jutes, Saxons and Angles - the angles stayed in england
➢ Colonizing the Britons who then
have various dialect of Celtic
Language (nahati - went to Scotland, Ireland,
and Wales)

Question 16

engla-land means

Answer 16

the land of angles

Question 17

Periods of the English Language
Development prior to 21st Century

Answer 17

• old english
• early middle english
• late middle english
• early modern english
• late modern english

Question 18

old english

Answer 18

• 5th to 11th century

1. prehistoric/primitive - 5th to 7th century

• Anglo Saxon runes

2. early old english - 7th-10th century

• 1st writers recorded - Cynewulf and Aldhelm
  of the Anglo-Saxon Literature

3. late old english - 10th-11th century

• Norman/ norse Invasion of England propelled the evolution of the language

Question 19

Early Middle English

Answer 19

• 11th-14th century
• syntax and grammar - British government and its wealthy citizens Anglicised the language
• Norman and
  French influences
  remained the
  dominant
• Norse’s speech
  defects caused the loss of case endings and replacement of
  inflection markers

Question 20

Late Middle English

Answer 20

• 14th century
• Father of English Literature - Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey
  Chaucer who is also heralded as the greatest poet of that particular time. Wrote about character of northern dialects. english became an approved language because of him alongside french and latin
• chancery english standard - exclusive for the wealthy
• chancery clerks - working for the Chancery in London are fluent in both French and Latin and
  preparing official court documents they influence the language, contributed greatly

Question 21

early modern english

Answer 21

• 15th to mid 17th century
• commoners become learned
• english renaissance
• printing press
• catholic bible
• shakespeare and other playwrights
• the new world
• english civil war and censorship
• stuart monarchy

Question 22

english renaissance

Answer 22

-associated with the rebirth of societal and
cultural movements with the heighten
glory during
the Elizabethan Age.
-there are changes in
pronunciation,
vocabulary or
grammar
- literature, arts, philosophy, science

Question 23

printing press

Answer 23

• William Caxton’s innovation of an early printing press allowed Early Modern English to become mainstream,

-first standardizing the English
language through distribution of the “English Bible”.

• under Henry the VIII’s English commoners finally able to read the Bible leading to spread the dialect of the common folk.

-Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (the Death of Arthur was first bestseller about various tales surrounding the
legendary King Arthur and the Knights of
the Round Table,using his own words

Question 24

catholic bible

Answer 24

16th was the first
complete translation of the Catholic Bible it
didn’t make a markable
impact but it played an
important role in the continued
development of the English language,
worldwide.

Question 25

Shakespeare and other playwrights

Answer 25

17th century Shakespeare and
other emerging playwrights found their ideas could not be expressed through the current English language thus the
“adoption” of words or phrases
from other languages were
modified and added to the
English language also “coined” some words

Question 26

the new world

Answer 26

-during the early-17th century the first successful English colony
was established
- Jamestown, Virginia, saw/started the formation of
American English as a result of English conquerors adding native terms to the
English language.
-17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a continual stream of immigrants brought about by
forced (slave) and
voluntary (free) migration resulted in the formation of a variety of English dialects with West African, Native American, Spanish, and European influences.

Question 27

early modern english

Answer 27

• 15th to mid 17th century
• English Civil War and Censorship -
  Mid-17th century the Puritanism, a religious reform movement has taken off after the execution of Charles I. a decade of Austere lifestyle was promoted
• Stuart Monarchy - Charles II crowned and
  the Restoration period occurred gave rise to poetry, philosophical writing, and much more.
• literary classics, like those of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, were published,

Question 28

Late Modern English

Answer 28

• 18th to early 20th century

Industrial Revolution
-expansion of the English language due to advances and discoveries in science
-new words, phrases, and concepts using Greek and Latin roots e.g. bacteria, histology, nuclear, biology.

The Rise of the British Empire
- English language was a way for Brits to learn, engage, and hopefully, benefit from “overseas” influence by imparting their culture and traditions upon societies they deemed as backward, especially those in Africa and Asia.
-English language so had a large number of foreign words adopted e.g. shampoo, candy,
cot and many others originated in India!

Question 29

21st century english

Answer 29

The Rise of Digital Technology and Globalization

• continuously developing due to the many factors where freedom of speech and expression is more or less easy and reckless too to some but sacred to others
  exceedingly refined
• but the use of smartphone messaging have made a mockery of the English language
  -As seen with the current British royal family,
  speaking flawless English can come off as a little
  snobbish and condescending.