In the last lesson we looked at the various writing systems that have been developed to represent spoken language. We learned that some systems are alphabetic, connecting a written symbol to each phoneme or sound in a language. Other systems may be syllabic, connecting one symbol to a syllable of speech, and yet others may be logographic, connecting one written symbol to one whole word, and there are other systems in addition to these. We noted that the system used in English is an alphabetic one, and that English uses the alphabet that was developed by the Romans for the Latin language. This suggests that there is a connection between English and Latin.
Might there be other connections between English and other languages?
If so, how are the languages related to each other?
Since Latin has largely disappeared to be replaced by newer languages, was there anything before the current version of English?
Or has English always been the same as it is now?
These questions belong to the field of historical linguistics, or the study of language change over time. In this lesson we will look at how English is related to other langauges, both current and past, and we will see how it has changed to become the form we know today.
Activity: Exploring the Origins of the English Language
If your native language is English, you can probably read English quite well. In fact, you've been doing it on this page already, right? Well, then the poem below shouldn't be any problem for for you, should it? Try reading it out loud.
You might be wondering if this is really English, and the answer is "Yes, indeed, it is." Since others have reported troubles in the past, maybe the problem is in the writing.
Here's a revision using a different, more commonly used font:
Is it still a bit difficult to read? Perhaps it will help to have someone else read it to you. Click on Play to hear it.
What? You're still having trouble making sense out of it? I suppose that could be why Old English, or Anglo-Saxon as it is also called, is studied as a foreign language, even by native speakers of English. Old English is actually English; it's just, well, Old!
Here is a translation of the poem Caedmon's Hymn into modern English. You should be able to follow it much better here.
In fact, if you compare the modern English version to the Old English version, you might be able to see some similarities. You might notice that Old English "Nu" has become Modern English "now." We can see more comparisons in the chart below:
Historical Linguistics
The activity we just engaged in represents an exercise in historical linguistics, or the study of language change over time. We have just used one of the ways we know of language change, the first of two major ways:
Documents from different points in time show changes.
The existence of different dialects shows that languages have changed to create subvarieties different from each other.
We know that languages change because we have records of some of the changes. The comparison of Caedmon's Hymn to Modern English shows us how the English language has changed over time, and those changes are considerable. Caedmon's Hymn is written in the language referred to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. Old English is the first version of written English that we have records of. There are three historical periods of English. The list below identifies the periods, the range of their predominance, and major writers or works from the period.
Old English (450 - 1100) - Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Middle English (1100 -1500) - Chaucer The Canterbury Tales, Langland Piers Ploughman
Modern English (1500 - present) - Shakespeare, Jonathan
Swift, Benjamin Franklin, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway
American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.
