Origin of the English Language - Notes and MCQs

Origin of English Language- Notes and MCQs

 

Origin of English Language:

Ø English is West Germanic language that originated from Ingvaeonic languages (also known as North Sea Germanic, a subgrouping of West Germanic languages that consists of Old Frisian, Old English, and Old Saxon, and their descendants.)

Ø It belongs to Indo European Group.

Indo European group (IEG)

Ø Indo European Group (IEG) has eight groups with languages still alive today: Albanian, Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Celtic, Germanic, Hellenic, Indo-Iranian, and Italic; another nine subdivisions are now extinct.

Ø Proto Indo European is parent tongue which was spoken 5000 years ago by nomads of South East Europe.

Ø It is the largest family of language group.

Ø Over 3.4 billion people (42% of the global population) speak an Indo-European language as a first language

Ø Three Germanic groups are: East(gothic), North, West. (English is West Germanic.)

Note:

o  Telugu is Dravidian 

o  Hindi is Indo Aryan

o  Sanskrit is Indo Iranian (branch of the Indo-European languages).

o  English is West Germanic (Indo European).

Three Ages:

Remember the code:

CRASJV -N- WSI. 

Celts -Romans - Angles - Saxons- Jutes- Vikings- Norman- Wales - Scotland- Ireland.

 

I. Old English (up to 1066): 449BC-1100AD

Up to 43 AD: Celtic language

Ø Western Europe was inhabited by Celts, they are known as Galli (in France), Gaels (in Ireland), Celts (in England). 

Ø It is spelt as Selts or Kelts (a branch of IEG)

Ø Celtic Words: I, we, you, old, big, good, go, eat, sing, work, , man, woman, child, wife, father, mother, tooth, hand, feet, ear, eye, heart, head, sun, moon, star, heaven, earth, night, fish, sheep, mouse, hound (dog), cow, bee, tree, fire, wind, cloud, hill, snow, stone, water, house, ship, knight, king, queen, love, sword, shirt, skirt, be, strong

43 AD: Latin Influence

Ø Romans occupied Britain, brought their language: Latin. 

Ø under the Roman Rule British were converted to Christianity. i.e., Romanized. 

Ø they gave the name Britannia (Latin name), earlier name for them was Albion (white people).

 

5th Century AD: Anglo Saxon (old English) Influence 

Ø Angles (Hook men), Saxons (Sword Men) & Jutes (Commonly Anglo-Saxons) invaded from south of Denmark.

Ø They pushed Celts to West & North, i.e., Wales, Scotland & Ireland.

Ø Their land came to known as Angla land→ Engole Land→ England. 

Ø The 4 dialects:

o  Northumbrian, in North of Humber

o  Mercian, in Wales

o  West Saxon, in South of Thames

o  Kentish, in Kent

Ø The first epic, Beowulf, is written in Old English.

9th Century AD: Scandinavian Influence 

Ø Vikings (of Scandinavia), Danes (of Denmark) invaded

Ø They destroyed Northumbrian school & Literature.

Ø English Prose began under King Alfred (848-901)

 

Features of Old English:

Ø Old English has 3 genders: Masculine, Feminine, Neutral

Ø Great proportion of strong verbs in old English, but in Modern English they are weak verbs.

Ex: helpenà help

Ø Spelling and pronunciation are different

     Ex: wif—wife; cween—queen; ston—stone;

Ø Largely inflectional language.

     Ex: House—housen; shoe—shoen,

     In modern, house—houses (French effect)

Ø Old English is synthetic (inflections), Modern English is analytic (extensive use of prepositions)

Ø Letters (j, q, v) were never used even though the sounds were.

Ø 85% words are no longer in use in Middle English.

 

II. Middle English (up to 14th century). 1150CE to 1450CE

1066 AD: French Influence 

Ø  Norman Conquest: French invaded under the leadership of William, Duke of Normandy.

Ø  Normandy= North men (Northern France)

Ø  They brought their language Anglo Norman (old French) 

Ø  Normans are originally from Scandinavia, settled in France 

Ø  Anglo Saxon + Anglo Norman= Middle English

Ø  Lower class spoke English.

Ø  Upper Class Spoke French.

Ø  With the beginning of the Renaissance, Middle English emerged as Modern English. 

Ø  Shakespeare used this in Love's Labour’s Lost through Holofernes character. Holofernes is a schoolmaster who embodies the Renaissance ideal of the scholar who used Greek and Latin in everyday conversation.

Ø  Holofernes insisted that pronunciation should follow the spelling.

Ø  It can be taken as early example of ‘Great Vowel Shift’, which is the mismatch between English spelling and pronunciation we see today.

Features of Middle English:

Ø Old English inflections disappeared.

Ø  OE: "se cyning giefþ þam mann his sweord"

Ø  ME: "The king gives the man his sword"

Ø Pronunciation changed and new sounds f v s z -ing

Ø  OE: cniht (knight) → ME: knight (still knight)

Ø  OE: hlāf (loaf) → ME: lof (later loaf)

Ø All letters were pronounced in Middle English. There are no silent letters. In Chaucer’s time, final e became silent.

Ø Spellings modified due to French Effect

Ø Huge increase in usage of prefix and suffixes due to French effect

Ø Flow of French loan words into English.

Ø Gutenberg’s Printing press (1439) standardized the language.

Old English	Middle English	Change
u → ou	hūs → house	"u" replaced by "ou"
h → gh	niht → night	"h" replaced by "gh"
c → ch	cirice → church	"c" replaced by "ch"
sum → some	sum → some	Silent "e" added
cild → child	cild → child	"c" softened before "i"
cw → qu	cwēn → queen	"cw" changed to "qu"
sc → sh	sceap → sheep	"sc" changed to "sh"
gg → dg	brycg → bridge	"gg" replaced with "dg"
c → ck	boc → book	"c" changed to "ck"

 

III. Modern English (After 15th century)

1536 AD: Welsh 

Ø Wales joined during the reign of Henry VIII

Ø England became Kingdom of England & Wales".

 

1707 AD: Scott

Ø Scotland joined, during the reign of Queen Anne 

Ø It became ‘Kingdom of Great Britain'.

 

Jan, 1st, 1801AD: Irish

Ø Ireland joined by Act of Union 1800.

Ø It became "United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland"

Ø Eire or Southern Ireland left the union.

 

1922 AD: 

Ø Eire or Southern Ireland left the union.

 

Note:  

Are UK and Great Britain one and same?

Great Britain = England + Wales + Scotland.

UK=Great Britain +Northern Ireland

Bruce- is the national poem of Scotland - By John Barbour. 

Chanson De Roland - is the national epic poem of France

Important changes affected English in Modern Period

1. Modern & Middle English differs from each other in what is called "great vowel shift” (15th–18th century):

Ø This term was coined by Otto Jespersen (Danish Linguist); and he is the first linguist to study it. 

Ø Transition from Middle English to Modern English.

Ø The main difference between the pronunciation of Middle English and Modern English is in the value of the long vowels.

Ø Before GVS, Middle English in Southern England had seven long vowels, /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː/. The vowels occurred in, for example, the words mite, meet, meat, mate, boat, boot, and bout, respectively.

Ø After GVS, the long vowels of Middle English began changing in pronunciation as follows:

o   Diphthongisation – The two close vowels, /iː uː/, became diphthongs (vowel breaking).

Word	Diphthong pronunciation
	Late Middle English before the GVS	Modern English after the GVS
day	[æɪ]	[eɪ]
they
boy	[ɔɪ]	[ɔɪ]
point	[ʊɪ]
law	[ɑʊ]	[ɔː]
knew	[eʊ]	[juː]
dew	[ɛʊ]
know	[ɔʊ]	[oʊ]

o   Vowel raising – The other five, /eː ɛː aː ɔː oː/, underwent an increase in tongue height (raising). Mid vowels like /eː/ and /oː/ became higher vowels /iː/ and /uː/

o   Vowel Fronting: The words with vowels in Middle English were pronounced from the back of the mouth, now these words gave rise to new words, which are pronounced from the front of the mouth in Modern English

Word	Vowel pronunciation
	Late Middle English before the GVS	Modern English after the GVS
bite, wife, life	[iː]	[aɪ]
Meet, feet	[eː]	[iː]
meat	[ɛː]
mate, name	[aː]	[eɪ]
out, house, mouse	[uː]	[aʊ]
Boot, goose	[oː]	[uː]
Boat, stone	[ɔː]	[oʊ]

Spelling-Pronunciation Mismatch: English retained Middle English spelling, but pronunciation shifted. (recall_ Holofernes in Shakespeare in Love’s Labor’s Lost). Sounds like k, g, and w were dropped in pronunciation (became silent consonants)

 

Word	Middle Eng	Modern English
knight	/knixt/	/naɪt/
write	/wrɪtən/	/raɪt/
gnaw	/gnaw/	/nɔː/

 

2. Next major change is due to Renaissance of classical learning- Latin and Greek:

Ø The term ‘Renaissance’ means rebirth in French.

Ø Renaissance started first in Florence, Italy

Ø In 1564, the Italian Renaissance was over but the English Renaissance had hardly begun.

Ø The age of Shakespeare was the era of Renaissance in England. It was an important movement that illuminated the whole English literature

Ø In Renaissance, many new words were added from Greek and Latin.

Ø Classical learning was focused.

3. Standardization of Language:

Ø Printing Press (1476)

o   The Gutenberg’s movable type press in Germany (1440) and William Caxton’s  first print press in England (1476) helped  to standardize spelling and grammar.

o   Before this, words were spelled differently depending on the writer (e.g., knight was spelled as knyghte, knyght, knicht).

Ø Dictionaries and Grammar Books:

o   Robert Cowdrey's first dictionary Table Alphabetical (1604)

o   The most influential dictionary of English- i.e., Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary (1755) standardized many English spellings.

o   Robert Lowth’s Grammar Book (1762) established formal grammar rules.

Ø King James Bible (1611) paved the way for stabilizing the English language to a large extent It was written by scholars in modern English for the benefit of common people.

4. Another major change is due to Industrial Revolution, Colonialism and wars:

Ø Industrial revolution, expansion of British Empire (Colonialism) led to the language borrowing words from several languages.

Ø Major factor that led to the growth of English language in 20th century is the two world wars.

Ø English became the operative language for allied forces and several words of military operation became part of the common vocabulary

Ø Ex: Camouflage, Jeep, Spearhead, Cold War, Charge, Ambush.

5. Simplification of Grammar

English grammar became simpler over time.

Ø Loss of Inflections (Case Endings Disappeared). Ex: cyningà King; mann à man

Ø Loss of "Thou" and "Thee". Ex: In Middle English: Thou art kind → (Singular); You are kind → (Plural). But In Modern English: You are kind (both singular & plural).

6. Globalization and Localization of English:

Ø English is now the dominant language in business, science, and diplomacy.

Ø Besides the globalization, we can also see the localization of English as seen in Br.E, Ame.E, Aus.E, Can.E, Ind.Eng & Caribbean

Ø In this connection it is necessary to note that it has been the cause of death of many minor languages, So, some linguists called it as "Bulldozer"

7. Influence of Mass Media (20th–21st Century)

Ø Modern technology, the internet, and social media have changed English.

MCQs - Origin of the English Language

1. Which of the following languages had the greatest influence on Old English? 

A. Latin 

B. French 

C. Norse 

D. Germanic 

 

2. English belongs to which language family?

A. Dravidian

B. Sino-Tibetan

C. Indo-European

D. Afro-Asiatic

 

3. Which of the following languages belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European?

A. Telugu

B. Sanskrit

C. French

D. Mandarin

 

4. To which language Telugu language belongs?

A. Dravidian

B. Indo-Iranian

C. Indo-Aryan

D. Celtic

 

5. What was the original Latin name given to Britain by the Romans?

A. Albion

B. Anglia

C. Germania

D. Caledonia

 

6. The earliest inhabitants of Britain spoke which language?

A. Latin

B. Old Norse

C. Celtic

D. Anglo-Saxon

 

7. What is the correct classification of the Hindi language?

A. Dravidian

B. Indo-Iranian

C. Indo-Aryan

D. Celtic

 

8. The term ‘Britannia’ was given to Britain by which group?

A. Celts

B. Normans

C. Romans

D. Vikings

 

9. Old English developed from the languages of which group of people? 

A. Vikings and Celts 

B. Anglo-Saxons and Jutes 

C. Romans and Normans 

D. Slavs and Franks 

 

10. Which of the following is an example of an Old English text? 

A. Beowulf 

B. The Canterbury Tales 

C. Macbeth 

D. Paradise Lost 

 

11. Which writing system was primarily used in Old English before the Latin alphabet? 

A. Cyrillic script 

B. Runes (Futhark) 

C. Greek script 

D. Gothic script 

 

12. Which king is credited with starting English prose?

A. William the Conqueror

B. Alfred the Great

C. Henry VIII

D. Richard the Lionheart

 

13. Which group invaded Britain in the 5th century and contributed to the development of Old English?

A. Normans

B. Celts

C. Anglo-Saxons

D. Franks

 

14. Which of the following is NOT an Old English dialect?

A. Northumbrian

B. Kentish

C. Mercian

D. Anglo-Norman

 

15. The Vikings and Danes invaded England in which century?

A. 7th century

B. 8th century

C. 9th century

D. 11th century

 

16. The Norman Conquest of England happened in which year?

A. 476 AD

B. 800 AD

C. 1066 AD

D. 1215 AD

 

17. The term ‘Normandy’ means:

A. Land of the Celts

B. Land of the Germans

C. Land of the North Men

D. Land of the Anglo-Saxons

 

18. Who led the Norman invasion of England in 1066?

A. King Alfred

B. William, Duke of Normandy

C. Julius Caesar

D. Harold Godwinson

 

19. What language did the Normans bring to England?

A. Old Norse

B. Anglo-Norman (Old French)

C. Latin

D. German

 

20. What was the primary language spoken by the upper class after the Norman Conquest?

A. English

B. French

C. Latin

D. Old Norse

 

21. What event greatly influenced the transition from Old English to Middle English? 

A. The Norman Conquest of 1066 

B. The Industrial Revolution 

C. The Great Vowel Shift 

D. The invention of printing press 

 

22. Who is the most famous writer of Middle English? 

A. Geoffrey Chaucer 

B. William Shakespeare 

C. John Milton 

D. Alexander Pope 

  

23. What is the title of Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous work, written in Middle English? 

A. The Canterbury Tales 

B. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 

C. The Faerie Queene 

D. Utopia 

  

24. What major linguistic change marked the transition from Middle English to Early Modern English? 

A. The Norman Conquest 

B. The Great Vowel Shift 

C. The introduction of Old Norse words 

D. The decline of Latin influence 

 

25. Which invention helped spread and standardize Modern English? 

A. The steam engine 

B. The printing press 

C. The telegraph 

D. The telephone 

 

26. The first printing press in England was introduced by whom?

A. Geoffrey Chaucer

B. William Shakespeare

C. William Caxton

D. Samuel Johnson

 

27. The King James Bible (1611) played a crucial role in:

A. Translating Latin texts into English

B. Stabilizing the English language

C. Introducing Old English poetry

D. Ending Norman influence

 

28. Which influential dictionary helped standardize Modern English spelling?

A. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED.

B. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary (1755)

C. Webster’s Dictionary

D. The Table Alphabetical

 

29. Which of the following are correct?

A. Great Britain and UK are same

B. UK = Great Britain + Northern Ireland

C. UK = England + Wales

D. Great Britain = UK + Ireland

 

30. The Great Vowel Shift mainly affected which part of English?

A. Vocabulary

B. Grammar

C. Pronunciation

D. Sentence structure

 

31. Who first studied and coined the term "Great Vowel Shift"?

A. William Shakespeare

B. Otto Jespersen

C. Noam Chomsky

D. Geoffrey Chaucer

 

32. What major global event contributed to the expansion of English vocabulary in the 20th century?

A. The Renaissance

B. The Norman Conquest

C. The two World Wars

D. The American Revolution

 

33. Which of the following words entered English vocabulary due to military influence?

A. Jeep

B. Camouflage

C. Spearhead

D. All of the above

 

34. Which of the following is an example of diphthongization in the Great Vowel Shift?

A. house /huːs/ → /haʊs/

B. feet /feːt/ → /fiːt/

C. goose /goːs/ → /guːs/

D. home /hoːm/ → /hoʊm/

 

35. Which factor/s helped English to borrow words from multiple languages in the Modern Period?

A. The Norman Conquest

B. The Industrial Revolution and Colonialism

C. The Renaissance

D. The Viking Invasions

36. Grimm’s Law primarily deals with changes in:

A. Vowels

B. Consonants

C. Syntax

D. Semantics

 

37. According to Grimm’s Law, the Proto-Indo-European p evolved into:

A. f

B. t

C. h

D. b

 

38. Which example illustrates Grimm’s Law?

A. Pedestal → father

B. Cord → heart

C. Both a and b

D. None of the above

 

39. The shift bh → b in Grimm’s Law represents:

A. Voiceless stops to fricatives

B. Voiced aspirated stops to voiced stops

C. Vowel lengthening

D. Nasalization

 

40. Which pair aligns with Grimm’s Law?

A. Tres → three

B. Decade → ten

C. Both a and b

D. None

 

Answers: Origin of the English Language
1: d	2: c	3: b	4: A	5: a	6: c	7: C	8: C	9: b	10: a
11: b	12: b	13: c	14: d	15: c	16: c	17: C	18: B	19: b	20: b
21: a	22: a	23: a	24: b	25: b	26: c	27: b	28: b	29: b	30: c
31: b	32: c	33: d	34: a	35: B	36 :B	37 :A	38 :C	39: B	40: C