Origin and development of germanic languages

Germanic languages constitute one of the 12 groups of the Indo-European linguistic family. When we distinguish the group of Germanic languages we base on historical and genealogical classification of languages and take into consideration their origin from a common linguistic ancestor.

All the Germanic languages are related through their common origin and the joint development at the early stages of their history. This common language is called Proto-Germanic or Common, Primitive, Proto-Teutonic. It split from related Indo-European languages between the 15^th and 10^th centuries BC. It belonged to the Western division of the Indo-European speech community. Germanic tribes mixed with other European tribes who spoke other unknown languages and so some Germanic roots are not Indo-European.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE GERMANIC LANGUAGES

The classifications of Old Germanic dialects and modern languages do not coincide. Some of the old languages gave origin to a number of modern languages, some intermixed and others disappeared.

OLD GERMANIC LANGUAGES

Old Germanic dialects are classified into three groups according to the territories they occupied in Europe. That’s why they are divided into North Germanic, East Germanic and West Germanic sub-groups. The languages that belonged to the East Germanic group are dead now.

OLD GERMANIC DIALECTS
North Germanic	West Germanic	East Germanic
Swedish Danish Norwegian Icelandic Faroese	Anglian Frisian Jutish Saxon Franconian High German Bavarian English	Gothic Vandalic Burgundian Lombardic

The Franconian dialect gave origin to the Dutch and Flemish languages; the Dutch language developed into the Dutch language and Afrikaans.

Modern germanic languages

Modern Germanic languages are spoken in a great number of countries. The English language is the most widely spread one among them. In some countries it is the national language, in others it is used as the official language. The Germanic languages can be classified in the following way:

NORTHERN SUB-GROUP	WESTERN SUB-GROUP
Norwegian Icelandic Faroese Danish Swedish	English German Dutch Flemish Afrikaans Yiddish Frisian

ЛЕКЦИЯ 2

PRE-ENGLISH BRITAIN

When we speak about the pre-historic Britain we mean the period before the English language began to develop and before the Germanic tribes settled on the British Isles. First Britain was peopled by the Iberian or Megalithic men in 3000 and 2000 BC. The Iberian people moved along the coast from the Iberian Peninsula and settled in Cornwall, Ireland and along the coast of Wales and Scotland. Probably Britain was a part of the continent or situated very close to it. They represented the New Stone Age and their main occupation was agriculture.

Soon after 2000 BC in the epoch of Bronze Age a new race of Alpine people entered Britain from the South-East and East. The newcomers spread along the eastern coast through modern East Anglia and up the Thames valley. Tin, copper and lead were mined on the territory of modern Cornwall and Wales and exported at that time. However they occupied a small part of Britain. The mountain areas were thinly populated and much of the lowland area covered with thick forests was untouched. Prehistoric people kept to the dry chalk uplands because they were the best they could occupy with the tools they had at their disposal.

Soon after 700 BC the first wave of Celts entered Britain coming from the upper Rhineland. The first Celts in Britain were Gaels [geilz].

Two centuries later they were followed by Brythons. They used iron and so they drove their kinsmen out of the South and East into modern Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the hilly Pennine and Devon areas.

A third wave of invaders was Belgae [belgi:] from Northern Gaul. They arrived about 100 BC and occupied the South-East of the country. The Belgae kept up close relation with Gaul where they had come from and a regular trade developed, the earliest native coined money appeared. It was due to close relation of Britain with Gaul that Caesar learned about it. When he conquered Gaul he heard tales of the island rich in pearls and corn. However Caesar’s invasion was dictated by strategic rather than economic motives. The British Celts supported their Gaulish kinsmen in their resistance to Julius Caesar.

Roman conquest

Caesar’s first invasion was made in the summer of 55 BC with two legions and a body of cavalry, making a total of about 10 000 men. The operation wasn’t successful and in the following year an army of about 25 000 landed on the island. They crossed the Thames and stormed the capital (Cassivellaunus) and then Caesar departed. The real conquest of Britain began about 90 years later in 43 AD [ænou ′ dominai] under Emperor Claudius. The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years. During the period of Roman occupation much had changed. Trade with European countries grew, many towns were built. Roman Britain was divided into two parts (map –): the civil district and the military district. The latter included the territory of modern Wales and territories to the North of York and to the West of Chester. The Roman Wall or the Hadrian [′heidrien] Wall separated Roman Britain from unconquered areas. There were military camps in the military district and the native population was hostile and little affected by the Romans. They frequently revolted and kept to their tribal organization. The whole area was poor and hilly and there was nothing to attract the conquerors.

In the civil district the situation was different. Towns grew up along the Roman roads. Some of them – Verulamium (St. Albans), York, Lincoln, Colchester, Gloucester had civic self-government and the inhabitants had rights of Roman citizenship. London at that time became one of the most important trading centers in Northern Europe. The Celtic upper classes were completely romanized and became Roman landowners and officials.

In the 4^th century AD a series of migrations brought Germanic tribes to the borders of the Roman Empire. At first these Germanic tribes were allowed to enter the Empire and they even served in the Roman army. Later they became a real threat to the Roman Empire as they often attacked the outlying provinces and set up independent kingdoms. Britain as the most remote colony was among the first to fall away. The troops stationed in Britain were needed at home and so they departed, called by Emperor Constantine. Meanwhile the Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine moving westward, entered Gaul and cut Britain off the Roman world.

Consequences of the Roman Conquest

The effect of the Roman rule was not lasting. The Romanized Celts had to defend themselves against their unconquered kinsmen. No help came from Rome in their fight against Celtic tribes living in the North – picts. The king of Britons Wyrtgeorn appealed to two Germanic chiefs – Hengest and Horsa – to help him in the war. The first Germanic teams came to Britain and settled in Kent. They were Jutes. Later the raids of the Germans were replaced by migration. The Germanic invasion was described by Bede (a scholar and writer, 673-735) in the book “History ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum”. According to him the first wave started in 449. It consisted of Jutes (coming from Jutland, Rhineland or the South of Gaul). Their origin is not known exactly. They were culturally higher than Angles and Saxons who followed (map – p.15). They occupied Kent, Surrey and the Isle of Wight.

Anglo-Saxon tribes came from the coast around the mouth of the Elbe and the South of modern Denmark. These tribes were close in speech and customs. Their social organization was tribal. By the end of the 5^th century the North-East coast and much of the Midlands were occupied by the Angles. The Saxons entered the country by the river Wash and disembarked somewhere near modern Cambridge. They moved south-west into the East Midlands and the Thames valley. Britons who didn’t surrender were killed, enslaved and driven into the west and north. They remained in three mountainous regions – Devon, Cornwall (West Wales), Wales proper and Cumberland (Strathclyde).

After the invasion of Anglo-Saxon tribes and Juts to Britain these tribes are called English. They settled down into a number of small kingdoms whose boundaries changed constantly during never ending wars. The names of some of these kingdoms survive in the names of the modern shires. In the North, Northumbria stretched north from the river Humber to the river Forth. East Anglia covered modern Norfolk, Suffolk and part of Cambridge shire. Essex, Kent and Sussex correspond roughly to the modern counties. Wessex lay south of the Thames. Mercia occupied most of the Midland shires.

Though there was a fall in population after the invasion, the evidence of language shows that the Britons were not completely wiped out. Early English laws provided for their living alongside their conquerors and much intermarriage took place. The Celtic languages survived: Gaelic – as Irish in Ireland, Scotch-Gaelic in the Highlands and the Manx language on the Isle of Man. Welsh is spoken in Wales, and Cornish was spoken in Cornwall until the end of the 18^th century.

ENGLISH KINGDOMS

The English had settled down into a number of small kingdoms whose boundaries changed constantly during never ending wars. Some of these kingdoms survive in the names of modern English shires; others vanished so utterly that we hardly know their names. In the North Northumbria stretched from the North to the Humber. East Anglia covered Norfolk, Suffolk and part of Cambridge shire. Essex, Kent and Sussex correspond roughly to the modern counties. Wessex lay south of the Thames. Mercia occupied most of the Midland shires.

The relation of the English to the conquered native population has been a subject for dispute among historians. There was a catastrophic fall in the total population. English settlements stretched along the rivers and British rural population was slaughtered or they migrated north and west. Towns built during the Roman occupation were destroyed and only London was a partial exception. The evidence of language shows that the invaders were not a minority. In England Celtic words and place names are few except in the West. But there is equally no reason to suppose that the Celts were completely wiped out even in the East. Early English laws provided for Welshmen living alongside their conquerors. And in Suffolk today, the shepherd calling to his sheep still uses the Welsh word for “Come here”. The English wedded women and much intermarriage must have taken place from the start. The further West we go the greater becomes the proportion of Britons in the population. The Britons who survived were probably of the lower class and villagers. They were the least romanized and between them and the English the narrowest cultural gap existed.

The story of the invasion was told by Bede (673-735) who wrote the first History of England- “Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum”.

ЛЕКЦИЯ 3

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHONETIC SYSTEM OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE