Geographical expansion of English in the 17th – 20th centuries and its effect on the language

Up to the 17^th century the English language was spoken by the people who lived only on the British Isles (at that time of William the Conqueror there were about 2 million people), but even there in the far-away mountainous parts of the country the people preserved their own Celtic dialects very long into the New English period. Thus in Cornwall the local dialect, Cornish died out in the 18^th century. In Wales there arose a tendency to revive the local Celtic language. In 1893 the Welsh University was founded, and in 1961 the number of those speaking Welsh amounted to 650 thousand. In Ireland through centuries a struggle against English was fought. It reached its climax in 1916 with the Irish rebellion. In 1922 the Irish Free State was formed and in 1949 the new state – Eire – left the Commonwealth of Nations. Now Eire occupies the whole but the northern part of Ireland, which is a part of Britain. The number of people rose from 300 thousand to over 600 thousand, but the majority speak English.

The penetration of the English language to other parts of the globe mainly began in the 16^th century together with the expansion of British colonialism. The 16^th century was an age of great adventurers, and England’s progress in the discovery and colonialized field was tremendous. The first Virginian colony was founded; Drake circumnavigated the globe; the East India Company was established and English seamen left their mark in many parts of the world. In 1620 the famous ship The Mayflower reached North America in the region which is now the state of Massachusetts. This marked the beginning of English in the New World.

The 18^th century witnessed the coming of English to India where nowadays the language is widely spread, although its sphere is limited to large cities and a certain social layer, and in today’s India English is a state language together with the native languages of Hindi and Urdu.

In the 18^th century England conquered Canada. During the 19^th century the colonization of Australia took place. In the 20^th century English penetrated into South Africa.

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Now about 300 million people speak English as their native language in various parts of the globe, and many times that – as a second language. To foretell the future of any language, English among them, is of course impossible, but the mere fact of its wide diffusion throughout the world is a guarantee that it will continue to change and develop.

Cultural Development in the 14th Century

In the long run, the Norman kings did much to centralize power and unite England into a state, preparing the ground for the decay of feudalism, bourgeois development and the beginning of the nation. The unifying English language, the growth and influence of the bourgeois, religious “heresies” undermining the catholic church, this bulwark of feudalism - all these were signs of the time. The appearance of the House of Commons (1343) heralded future developments.

There were big changes in the material life of the population. Life was safer and more comfortable for the rich than it was in the early Norman period when the wealthy families had to live in the dark of the fortress-homes, with little light, less convenience. Now palaces and castles were built with spacious halls illuminated by wide windows lots of light pouring in.

The farms and cottages of the poor people were buit of logs or planks, the floors were usually bare earth and the roof made of thatch: the walls might be made of mud and timber.

There was progress in letters as well. John Wycliffe translated the Bible from Latin into English creating actually the beginning of English prose.

The development of the national language was greatly promoted by the works and creative activities of Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) an outstanding poet, “father of English literature”. His works paved the way for English Renaissance literature. His realistic approach his optimism and folk-spirit made that everfresh masterpiece of his “Canterbury Tales” immortal. It depicts the England of the 14 th century. It is the source not only of lively satisfaction but of authentic information as well. Influenced by Italian Renaissance literature, particularly by Boccaccio, Chaucer rises above his Italian teacher in lifelikeness.

Son of the ordinary tradesman, Chaucer rose to high court positions, traveled on diplomatic business, but died in poverty. When Henry IV came to the throne, his father, Duke of Lancaster who replaced the last Plantagenet on the throne of England used to be Chaucer’s patron, the aging poet sent him a poem entitled “Complaint to My Empty Purse”. The king took the hint and increased Chaucer’s small pension, but it was too late-the great poet did not use the money to enjoy.