history of the english language: old english essay
Dahlia Hertz
9/28/2009
Old English
Test #2 Essay
Old English Foreign Influences
Old English is a product of many foreign additions and substitutions. As a result of this mix the current English language, a distant relative of the West Germanic languages, is fluid and very rarely predictable in its phonology and pronunciation. There are three major contributors to the Old English language, and four dialects that result from them.
The four dialects of Old English are Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon, and Kentish. Each developed with different foreign influences, and therefore have a few differences, although they are minimal and are mostly pronunciation based. The three major influences are Celtic, Latin and Scandinavian. During the period known as the Middle or Dark Ages (roughly from pre-450 to the 9th century), Old English went through many changes and overlapped in terms of the timeline between the three major influences. As such, we will talk about the three in stages so there will be overlapping reminiscent of the fluid influences.
The first major influence is Celtic. The Celtic peoples were conquered by the Anglo-Saxons before 450 after the Germanic occupation. While considered a major influence on Old English, the Celtic influence of the language was small compared to the other two. The most common language borrowing from Celtic was in the preservation of places names and geographic features. The historical climate is an important factor in the minimal influence of the language. During this time Christianity was gaining momentum
and its culture was becoming much more dominant. Therefore, the Celtic culture was submerged (meaning it was not a dominant culture against that of the Romans and Christian religion). This submersion was a result of the intense Christianization during this time period, through the 8th and 9th century’s.
Latin influence is much more prominent and takes place in a more extensive and complex manner. The dominance of the Romans in 450 C.E and onwards is a big factor on the influence that Latin had on Old English. The first category of Latin dominance is known as the Zero Period, or the Continental Borrowing stage, and took place between pre-450 C.E and 450 C.E. Of this period, roughly sixty words were borrowed. These mainly consisted of trade words and especially those words describing war, domestic life, and foods.
The second group is the Latin borrowed through Celtic transition, during
their occupation. This period is known as the first period and took place post 450. Only about five words are known to have been adapted during this period and they are all place names.
The last Period, known as the second period took place in two phases and was brought about by the effort the Christian Church took in Christianizing Britain. This period took place from 600 C.E and onwards and marks the official beginning of English borrowing. In all, about four hundred and fifty words were enfolded into the language
during these two phases. The first phase, in reflection of the movement toward Christian
dominance, added religious, church, domestic life, plants, and education words. The second phase may be viewed as a result of the invasion of the Danes at the beginning of the 8th century that resulted in the decline of the Church and learning. The second phase took place in the 10th century, after the Benedictine Reform, which lead to a revival of learning and Christianity. Words borrowed during this phase are along the same lines as the first phase, but added more plant names, medical words, and animal names to the religious terms that were borrowed.
The third influence on Old English is that of the Scandinavians. While the Scandinavian invasion began around the 8th century, the major influences on the language didn’t actually begin until the mid-9th century when the Scandinavians began to settle in England. This marks the beginning of the Scandinavian influence on Old English. Interestingly, the difference between the Anglo-Saxons (meaning those living in England
during this time period) and the Scandinavians were minimal. As a result, the major influence on Old English can be seen in amalgamation and Scandinavian place names that utilize the Scandinavian endings of -by, -thorpe, -toft, and -thwaite. Other indications of the similarities between the Anglos and the Scandinavians are seen in pronouns, prepositions, and adverbs. Another significant indication of Scandinavian influence is the substitution of the pronouns they, their, and them for that of hie, hiera, and him. As well as the present plural are of the verb to be (which is comparable to the West Saxon word syndon).
The result of all these different influences is marked by the fluidity of Modern
English and the intense borrowing that is seen. Among the words that are native to English are an assortment of French, German, and even some current evolutions of Latin. In a broader sense, however, the foreign influences of language are essential to the evolution of the language itself. Compare, for example the largely stagnant Danish language, which has had very little change over the years, and as a result Old Norse is so similar to the current language of Denmark, it can be read with little trouble by natives of the language. English, on the other hand, has changed in so many ways that if one were to try to read Old English today it would be like reading a foreign language. This difference is largely because the foreign influences (starting from Celtic, Latin, and Scandinavian) have taken English on many different paths. An example is the case system and sentence structure of current English versus Old English. In Old English the case was an integral part in sentence comprehension and word order was largely irrelevant, however in current English the word order is the major factor in sentence comprehension. This change can be seen in the formation and substitution of function words and prepositions in Modern English. For example, in modern English the sentence ‘the dog ate a bone‘, could be seen as ‘dog the bone ate’ in Old English, but would mean the same thing because the ending of ‘dog’ would be an ‘an’ indicating the dog is the subject, and the subject interacts with the object (or the bone).
Therefore, the borrowings of different aspects of language in English has allowed for the more drastic change between Old and Modern English, than might’ve not been seen, had history taken a different path. It is largely luck, or the lack thereof that has changed English so drastically. The foreign armies and conquerors could have just as well bypassed England in favor of Denmark, perhaps, and our language might’ve followed the Danish formula and changed very little between 450 C.E and the present. The fact that it has changed so drastically is a compliment to the enduring quality that has resulted from the mixture of languages. English may be called a more sturdy example of language simply because the influences are varied and not confined to one nation or culture. While those who speak Danish would be hard pressed to understand German, those in America can understand their brothers in England, despite the ocean and minute differences in vocabulary.