Key Issue 2 – Why is English Related to Other Languages?

The Indo-European Language Family

The Germanic Branch

Origin of English in England• A.D. 450 Germanic tribes invaded England (Angles, Saxons, Jutes from

Denmark and Germany)– Forced Celtic tribes into remote fringes (Wales, Scotland, and Cornwall)– England comes from Angles’ land– Angles spoke language called englisc– “Old English” – Old English Reading

• A.D. 1066 – Norman Conquest (French)– French and English mingled for 300 years– Syncretism - formed new language; Middle English

• Canterbury Tales (14th Century) – Middle English (teacher rap)• Shakespeare (16th Century) – Early Modern English “Original Pronunciation”

• Modern “Proper” English (British Received Pronunciation – BRP)– derived from Southern English dialect in late 18th century – AFTER colonization of America– Americans don’t speak “proper” English

• “The History of English” - combined

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Pre-Germanic Celts (500 B.C.E.)

• My Fair Lady / Pygmalion

• “If you use proper English you’re regarded as a freak; why can’t the English learn to speak?”

Learning to speak “English”The Embassy Ball

Dialects of English

• Dialect – regional variation in vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation caused by geographic isolation

• Standard Language – widely recognized as most acceptable of multiple dialects– British Received Pronunciation (BRP) – upper-class London Britons– Noah Webster’s American Speller (1806)– American Heritage Dictionary (1980s)– “21 Accents”– Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=History+of+the+English+language&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=oC5WBszov96EHM&tbnid=-aenPuju09RkoM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehistoryofenglish.com%2Fissues_global.html&ei=C7ouUefzHY7Y9ATLq4BQ&bvm=bv.42965579,d.eWU&psig=AFQjCNHYTrrocHO2lK2mRxnxWhOHb2rXBQ&ust=1362101332771523

Differences Between British and American English

• Geographic Isolation– Vocabulary –new objects and experiences

• Physical features – mountains, forests, rivers• New animals – moose, chipmunk, racoon• American Indian words – canoe, moccasin• New inventions / technology

– Elevator / lift, umbrella / bumbershoot, flashlight / torch, toilet / loo, trunk / boot, line / cue

– Spelling – nationalism and desire to create national identity• Noah Webster’s American Dictionary

– Pronunciation – geographic isolation w/ little spoken interaction• A and R• Accented syllables• Changed more in England than in US

• Hugh Laurie; Ben Affleck; Robin Williams

Dialects in the United States• Evolved from different dialects of original settlers– New England – English Puritans from SE England – well-educated

families– Southeastern – SE England also, but lower social class –

indentured servants, prisoners, commoners– Mid-Atlantic – most diverse

• Quakers from North England• Scots and Irish• German, Dutch, and Swedish

– http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

– Isogloss list -

• “Code-Switching” – NPR Race, Ethnicity, and Culture– Six Moments of Code-Switching in Popular Culture– Five Reasons Why People Code-Switch

Diffusion of folk housing styles

North Carolina Dialects

• Eastern NC – settled by uneducated, working class English and Irish men; indentured servants – Southern dialect– Manteo – 50 yr. old female - video– Oak City – 74 yr. old male

• Piedmont and Western NC – settled by lower and middle class Scots-Irish families; came South from NJ and PA along – Shelby – 70 yr. old female– Boone – 42 yr. old female

Gullah

• Bin-Yah• Charleston – Gullah• Origins of African American English - Gullah