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The history of the English Language

The history of the English Language

English is a Germanic language corresponding to the family of Indo-

European languages. Truly, the original inhabitants of the British Isles did not speak English but Celtic languages. English arises from the influence of several surrounding villages. First of all, the Romans were settled in the British Isles for 400 years. These inhabitants has yet begun to shape the original language. However, the first traces of English was introduced by tribes of Anglo-Saxons, Frisians and other inhabitants coming from the regions that today form Germany and Scandinavia. This Anglo-Saxon invasion took place just after the fall of the Roman Empire in Britannia. The Germanic language spoken by Anglo-Saxon invaders displaced the original language whereas the Celtic languages remained in the regions of Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. Afterwards, English was influenced by the wave of Viking invaders arriving to the Isles. The spoken dialects were part of Old English.

The period of Old English ended with the Normand Conquest (1066) since the new invaders, the Normands, introduced the language spoken by them, French. For England it meant a radical change not only in the linguistic aspect but also in the government form and social order since many words of law and court coming from French were introduced. For around 300 years after the Conquest, the Normand kings and its court spoke only in the Romanic language that in England was called "Old Normand" whereas villagers continued speaking English. The truth is that English keeps since then and to these days many words from French. To this mix, we could also add Latin, which served as ecclesiastic language. A great number or words entered into English as doublets from Latin and Germanic language.

As it can be seen, English is the sum of many key points in history and it keeps traces of that historical influence nowadays.

 
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