History of the English language

1. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons,
Scandinavians, Normans

2. THE CELTS

3. CELTS
The Celts had been in Great Britain from the 5th
century BC

4. Greek Writers described the Celts as a tall race, with weak
bodies, white skin and blond hair. A people that liked war.
They painted their faces and body and decorated their hair.
The Romans called them “Pictus”.

5. Stonehenge
We can still see some Stone Monuments from the
Celts across the countryside of Great Britain.

6. Some celebrations have Celtic origins. Halloween is typically
linked to the Celtic festival of SAMHAIN, which comes from
the Old Irish for SUMMER´S END. The Spanish counterpart is
the celebration of TODOS LOS SANTOS.

7. Celtic words in English:
basket, bin, clock, slogan, whiskey,
clan, pet, trousers, penguin,

8. THE ROMANS

9. The Romans came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago and changed
the country. Even today, evidence of the Romans being there, can
be seen in the ruins of Roman buildings, forts, roads, and baths.

10. Hadrian´s Wall: The Romans built a wall that separated Scotland
from England. The wall kept the Britons from the attacks of the
Scottish (Pictus), as the Romans were never able to conquer the
northen territories.

11. HADRIAN´S WALL

12. Portchester Castle
The Romans had to built forts on the East Coast to
protect themselves from Germanic tribes that
were beginning to invade Britain.

13. The Celts never spoke the language of the Romans,
which was Latin, but adopted a few words, such as:
Caester  Castro (fortificación)  Manchester
Torr  Tower
Port  Port
Wïc  village

14. The germanic invation:
Jutes
Saxons
Angles

15. The Roman empire ended when the Germanic Tribes (Anglos,
Jutes and Saxons) invaded Britannia (Great Britain), during the
V century.

16. There seems to have been no large "invasion“, but
the tribes, notably the Jutes, Angles and Saxons,
quickly established control over modern-day
England.

17. Anglo-Saxon
helmet

18. Alfred the Great,
who was an Anglo-
Saxon king,
defended the
British from the
Vicking attacks.

19. The language of these
Germanic invaders (Angles,
Jutes and Saxons) was adopted
by the population who
previously spoke Celtic.

20. VIKING
INVASIONS

21. In A.D. 789, the Vikings began raiding and
plundering Britain with fire and sword

22. The Vikings burnt, destroyed, and
killed during their raids. They
destroyed most monasteries.

23. King Cnut, that was also the king of Norway, Denmark
parts of Sweden and England died and was succeeded
by the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor.
Viking ship

24. Words of Scandinavian origin:
Verbs: was, are, take, get…
Nouns: bag, ball, birth, window,
viking, troll , sky, kid, knife…
Adjectives: happy, flat…

25. THE NORMANS

26. Normandy was a Duchy in France

27. The duke of Normandy, William,
invaded England and became King
William the Conqueror

28. He established a kingdom where the people at
the court spoke French and the population
spoke English

29. The Norman on the left is thinking: "Vous
êtes des barbares" ("You barbarians").

30. By the 13th century (Norman
occupation), England had a trilingual
composition:
1. French was the literary language
and the language of the court.
2. Latin was the language of the
church and legal documents.
3. English was the language among
common people

31. French – Latin -- English

32. At the end of the 13th century took place the
reestablishment of ENGLISH, but with numerous
French words. The Canterbury Tales was the first
novel written in English.

33. French words in English:
Noble, dame, servant, messenger,
prison, cathedral, virgin, punishment,
archer, army battle, enemy, button,
bacon, beef, biscuit, art, rhyme,
romance, poet, drama, and many
many more…………………………….

34. So, we can say English is made of:
1. Celtic words
2. Latin words
3. Germanic words
4. Scandinavian words
5. French words

35. The end