In some inscriptions the runes were found arranged in a fixed order making a sort of alphabet. After the first six letters this alphabet is called futhark .
The runic alphabet is a specifically Germanic alphabet, not to be found in languages of other groups. The letters are angular; straight lines are preferred, curved lines avoided; this is due to the fact that runic inscriptions were cut in hard material: stone, bone or wood. The shapes of some letters resemble those of Greek or Latin, others have not been traced to any known alphabet, and the order of the runes in the alphabet is certainly original. To this day the origin of the runes is a matter of conjecture.
The number of runes in different OG languages varied. As compared to continental, the number of runes in England was larger: new runes were added as new sounds appeared in English (from 28 to 33 runes in Britain against 16 or 24 on the continent).
Neither on the mainland nor in Britain were the runes ever used for everyday writing or for putting down poetry and prose works. Their main function was to make short inscriptions on objects, often to bestow on them some special power or magic.
§ 103. The two best known runic inscriptions in England are the earliest extant OE written records. One of them is an inscription on a box called the "Franks Casket", the other is a short text on a stone cross in Dumfriesshire near the village of Ruthwell known as the "Ruthwell Cross". Both records are in the Northumbrian dialect.
The Franks Casket was discovered in the early years of the 19th c. in France, and was presented to the British Museum by a British archeologist. A. W. Franks, The Casket is a small box made of whale bone; its four sides are carved: there are pictures in the centre and runic inscriptions around. The longest among them, in alliterative verse, tells the story of the whale bone, of which the Casket is made.
The Ruthwell Cross is a 15ft tall stone cross inscribed and ornamented on all sides. The principal inscription has been reconstructed into a passage from an OE religious poem, THE DREAM OF THE ROOD, which was also found in another version in a later manuscript.
Many runic inscriptions have been preserved on weapons, coins, amulets, tombstones, rings, various cross fragments. Some runic insertions occur in OE manuscripts written in Latin characters. The total number of runic inscriptions in OE is about forty; the last of them belong to the end of the OE period.
7.
8.
Periods in the History of the English Language
Henry Sweet and his division of the history of English. Each of the periods is marked by a set of specific features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and may be also defined in these terms. Henry Sweet classified them as the Period of Full Endings, which means that any vowel may be found in an unstressed ending (e.g. OE sunu), the Period of Levelled Endings, which means that vowels of unstressed endings were leveled under a neutral vowel [ə] represented in spelling by the letter e (e.g. OE sunu – ME sune), and the period of Lost Endings (e.g. NE sun).
2. Historical periodization as offered by B. Khaimovich
According to B. Khaimovich, the history of the English language is divided into three periods: Old English, Middle English, and New English. As landmarks separating the three periods, he uses very important events, which had a great influence on the history of English:
The Anglo-Saxon invasion of the 5th century is taken as the beginning of the Old English period.
The Norman Conquest of the 11th century is regarded as the beginning of the Middle English period.
The introduction of printing in the 15th century is the beginning of the New English period.
3. T. Rastorguyeva’s periodization of the English language
According to T. Rastorguyeva, the history of English is divided into the seven periods:
I Early OE (also: Pre-written OE) c. 450 – c. 700
II OE (also: Written OE) c. 700 – 1066
III Early ME 1066 – c. 1350
IV ME (also: Classical ME) c. 1350 – 1475
V Early NE 1476 – c. 1660
VI Normalization Period c. 1660 – c. 1800
(also: Age of Correctness, Neo-Classical period)
VII Late NE, or Mod E c. 1800 . . . . . .
(including Present-day English) since 1945 . . . .
4. The division of the history of English as suggested by V. Arakin
Arakin’s periodization is a traditional one because it is based on the extra linguistic, which means that periodization connotes the character of the society speaking the language. So, he divided the history of English into the following periods:
the Ancient English Period dated between the first centuries AD and the 7th – 8th c. This is the period of the languages of the Old English tribes;
the Old English Period dated between the 7th and 11th c. This is the period of the language of the establishing English nationality. The end of this period is marked by the Norman Conquest of England;
the Middle English Period dated from the beginning of the 12th c. to the 15th c. This is the period of the language of the established English nationality transforming gradually into the nation. The end of this period is marked by the Wars of Roses (1455-1485);
the New English Period dated from the end of the 15th c. to present. It is subdivided into two periods: a) the Early New English Period – the period of establishing standards of the national language; and b) the Late New English Period – the period of thе established standards of the national language.
5. The periods of the development of English as offered by A. Markman and E. Steinberg. The American linguists A. Markman and E. Steinberg also admit that it is not possible to precisely divide the history of the English language into periods. In their periodization they use the dates of written documents. As it is impossible to determine the exact date of the earliest Old English texts, the beginning of the Old English is recognized as 450 AD, when the Germanic tribes landed on the island. The year of the last chapter of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1154, is regarded as the end of the Old English Period. The end of the Middle English Period coincides with the death of the famous writer Thomas Malory – 1471, which is also the time of the introduction of printing in England and Caxton’s activities. The Early New English Period (1500 – 1700) is the period of England’s two prominent poets – William Shakespeare and John Milton. The year of 1700, which is the year of John Dryden’s death, is recognized as the end of the Early New English Period.
6. David Burnley’s periodization of the history of English
According to David Burnley, the history of English is divided into:
Old English (700 – 1100)
Early Middle English (1100 – 1300)
Later Middle English (1300 – 1500)
Early Modern English (1500 – 1800)
Modern English (1800 – 1920)
9.
The English language we now know would not have been the same if it was not for the events that happened in 1066. In 1066, the Duke of Normandy, William sailed across the British Channel. He challenged King Harold of England in the struggle for the English throne. After winning the battle of Hastings William was crowned king of England and the Norman Kingdom was established. Norman-French became the language of the English court. At the beginning French was spoken only by the Normans but soon through intermarriage, English men learnt French. Some 10,000 French words were taken into English language during the Middle English period and about 75% of them are still in use.
One of the most obvious changes that occurred after the Norman conquest was that of the language: the Anglo-Norman. When William the Conqueror was crowned as king of England, Anglo-Norman became the language of the court, the administration, and culture. English was demoted to more common and unprestigious usages. Anglo Norman was instated as the language of the ruling classes, and it would be so until about three centuries later. But not only the upper classes used French, merchants who travelled to and from the channel, and those who wanted to belong to these groups, or have a relationship with them, had to learn the language.
These events marked the beginning of Middle English, and had an incredible effect in the way English is spoken nowadays. Before the Norman conquest, Latin had been a minor influence on English, but at this stage, some 30000 words entered the English language, that is, about one third of the total vocabulary. But vocabulary was not the only thing that changed in the English language. While Old English had been an extremely inflected language, it now had lost most of its inflections.
The influence of the Normans can be illustrated by looking at two words, beef and cow. Beef, commonly eaten by the aristocracy, derives from the Anglo-Norman, while the Anglo-Saxon commoners, who tended the cattle, retained the Germanic cow. Many legal terms, such as indict, jury, and verdict have Anglo-Norman roots because the Normans ran the courts. This split, where words commonly used by the aristocracy have Romantic roots and words frequently used by the Anglo-Saxon commoners have Germanic roots, can be seen in many instances.
In vocabulary, about 10000 words entered the English language at this stage, and more than a third of today’s PdE (Present-day English) words are related to those Anglo-Norman ME (Middle English) words.
English pronunciation also changed. The fricative sounds [f], [s], [Ɵ] (as in thin), and [ʃ] (shin), French influence helped to distinguish their voiced counterparts [v], [z], [] (the), and [ƺ] (mirage), and also contributed the diphthong [oi] (boy).
Grammar was also influenced by this phenomenon especially in the word order. While Old English (and PdE in most of the occasions) had an Adj + N order, some expressions like secretary general, changed into the French word order, that is, N + Adj.
English has also added some words and idioms that are purely French, and that are used nowadays.
Since French-speaking Normans took control over the church and the court of London. A largest number of words borrowed by the government, spiritual and ecclesiastical (religious) services. As example – state, royal (roial), exile (exil), rebel, noble, peer, prince, princess, justice, army (armee), navy (navie), enemy (enemi), battle, soldier, spy (verb), combat (verb) and more. French words also borrowed in English art, culture, and fashion as music, poet (poete), prose, romance, pen, paper, grammar, noun, gender, pain, blue, diamond, dance (verb), melody, image, beauty, remedy, poison, joy, poor, nice, etc. Many of the above words are different from modern French in use or pronunciation or spelling.
10.
Main historical events of Middle English: written records in Middle English
In early middle English the differences between the regional dialects grew. In the 11th c. feudalism was already well established. In addition to economic, geographical and social conditions, dialectal differences in early middle English were accentuated by some historical events, such as :Scandinavian invasion and the Norman conquest
1. Scandinavian invasion: these invasion of England are dated in the old English period, their affect on the language is particularly apparent in middle English. Eventually the Scandinavians were absorbed into the local population both ethnically and linguistically. The increased regional differences of English in the 11th and 12th c. must partly be attributed to the Scandinavian influence. Due to the contacts and mixture with old Scand and northern dialects had acquired lasting and sometimes indelible Scandinavian features. A large admixture from the north east whereas contemporary texts from other regions are practically devoid Scandinavian borrowings.
2. the Norman conquest : in 1066, upon Edward’s death ,the elders of England proclaimed Harold Godwin king of England . As soon as the news reached William of Normandy , he mustered a big army by promise of land and with the support of the Pope, landed in Britain. in the battle of Hasting ,fought in October 1066,Harold was killed and English defeated. This date is commonly known the date of the Norman conquest. Norman conquest was the greatest single event in the history of the English language. The Norman conquerors had originally come from Scandinavia. They spoke the northern dialect of French, which differed in some points from Central, Parisian French. new words coming from French couldn’t be adopted simultaneously by all the speakers of English, they were first used in some varieties of the language.
Written records of middle English
*Early middle English:
-Poema Morale (Moral Ode) – 12th -13th
-Ormulum- a poem composed by the monk Orm) -1200
-Ancrene piwle (The rule of Ancrorites) – 13th
-Havelock the dane – 13th
-King Horn – a love story
-The London Proclamation – 1258.
Authors are unknown
*Late middle English :
-Polychronicon – 1387 by P.Hidgen
-Bible – 1384 by John Wyclif
-The vision concerning piers and plowman –William Langland
-Vox Clamontis(the voice of the crying in the Wilderness) – John Gower
-The Bruce -1373-1378 by John Barbour
-The Canterbury Tales – Geoffrey Chaucher
-King’s Quhair – by King James of Scotland
-Pearl
-Partience
-Cleannes
-Sir Gawaine and the Green knight
11.
12
16
Borrowings from Celtic
§ 234. There are very few Celtic loan-words in the OE vocabulary, for there must have been little intermixture between the Germanic settlers and the Celtic in Britain. Though in some parts of the island the Celts population was not exterminated during the WG invasion, linguistic evidence of Celtic influence is meager. Obviously there was little that the newcomers could learn from the subjugated Celts. Abundant borrowing from Celtic is to be found only in place-names. The OE kingdoms Kent, Deira and Bernicia derive their names from the names of Celtic tribes. The name of York, the Downs and perhaps London have been traced to Celtic sources (Celtic dūn meant 'hill'). Various Celtic designations of 'river' and 'water' were understood by the Germanic invaders as proper names: Ouse, Exe, Esk, Usk, Avon, Evan go back to Celtic amhuin 'river', uisge 'water'; Thames, Stour, Dover also come from Celtic. Some elements frequently occurring in Celtic place-names can help to identify them: -comb 'deep valley' in Batcombe, Duncombe, Winchcombe; -torr 'high rock' in Torr, Torcross; -llan 'church' in Llandaff, Llanelly; -pill 'creek' in Pylle, Huntspill. Many place-names with Celtic elements are hybrids; the Celtic component, combined with a Latin or a Germanic component, make a compound place-name; e.g.
Celtic plus Latin |
Celtic plus Germanic |
an-chester |
York-shire |
Win-chester |
Corn-wall1 |
Glou-cester |
Salis-bury |
Wor-cester |
Lich-field |
Devon-port |
Devon-shire |
Lan-caster |
Canter-bury |
§ 235. Outside of place-names Celtic borrowings in OE were very few: no more than a dozen. Examples of common nouns are: OE binn (NE bin 'crib'), cradol (NE cradle), bratt 'cloak', dun (NE dun Mark coloured'), dūn 'hill', crass (NE cross), probably through Celtic from the L crux. A few words must have entered OE from Celtic due to the activities of Irish missionaries in spreading Christianity, e.g. OE ancor 'hermit', drӯ 'magician', cursian (NE curse). In later ages some of the Celtic borrowings have died out or have survived only in dialects, e.g. loch dial, 'lake', coomb dial. 'vallev'.
13.
Formation of English nation language: the London dialect
The history of the LONDON DIALECT reveals the sources of the literary language in Late ME and also the main source and basis of the Literary Standard, both in its written and spoken forms.
The history of London extends back to the Roman period. Even in OE times London was by far the biggest town in Britain, although the capital of Wessex- the main OE kingdom – was Winchester. The capital was transferred to London a few years before the Norman conquest.
The early ME records made in London – beginning with the PROCLAMATION of 1258 – show that the dialect of London was fundamentally East Saxon; in terms of the ME division. It belonged to the South-western dialect group. Later records indicate that the speech of London was becoming more mixed, with East Midland features gradually prevailing over the Southern features. The most likely explanation for the change of the dialect type and for the mixed character of London English lies in the history of the London population.
In the 12-13th c. the inhabitants of London came from the south-western districts. In the middle of the 14th c. London was practically depopulated during the “Black Death”(1348) and later outbreaks of bubonic plague. It has been estimated that about one third of the population of Britain died in the epidemics. In 1337 lndon had over 35000 inhabitants.
Most of the new arrivals came from the east midlands, Norfolk, Suffolk. As a result the speech of Londoners was brought; much closer to the east Midland dialect. The official and literary papers produced in London in the late 14th c. display obvious east Midland features. The London dialect became more Anglian than Saxon in character.
This mixed dialect of London, which had extended to the 2 universities (in Oxford and Cambridge) ousted French from official spheres and from the sphere of writing.
14.
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to be buried in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.
While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten year-old son Lewis, Chaucer also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best known today for The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer was a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.
The fourteenth century was a time of much political, religious, and industrial discontent in England. All this was reflected in the literature of the time. The people of England became one people, and the English tongue came into common use. In 1362 English was made the language of the law courts, and in 1386 English displaced French in the schools.
Sir John Mandeville (1300?-1371?) was an English prose-writer of the fourteenth century. He has been called the "Father of English Prose." He was a physician; but, in the year 1322, he set out on a journey to the East. He was away from home for more than thirty years. He probably wrote his travels first in Latin, next in French, and then turned them into English. The book is a kind of guide-book to the Holy Land; but the writer himself went much farther east, and reached China, in fact.
Mandeville's Travels was much admired, read, and copied; indeed, hundreds of manuscript copies of his book were made. There are nineteen still in the British Museum.
John Wyclif (1327-1384) was the most influential prose writer of the fourteenth century. His fame rests upon his complete translation of the Bible. This work was finished in 1383, just one year before his death. However, the translation was not done by himself alone, but a number of men worked on it under his supervision. Though often copied in manuscript, it was not printed for several centuries. Wyclif's New Testament was printed in 1731, and the Old Testament not until the year 1850. But the words and the style of his translation, which was read and re-read by hundreds of thoughtful men, were of real and permanent service in fixing the form of the English language.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400) was the "Father of English Poetry," and the greatest narrative poet of England. He was the man who made a distinct advance in literature. With him the old alliterative poetry died. In most of his poems he used the heroic couplet, which is a verse having five accents with the lines rhyming in pairs; for example,
Befell∣that, in∣that sea∣son on∣a day,∣