The History of English

Proto Indo European is the linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of all Indo-European languages, including Old English. PIE is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from 4500 BC to 2500 BC and all Celtic, Germanic, Hellenic, Indo-Iranian and Romance languages are descended from it. This is why many of the words used in Old English bear resemble words in other languages. For example, the PIE word for 2 is 'duwo'. The 'd' softens to a 't' in Old Germanic to become 'twai', so in Old English we get twa, which became the modern English two, the modern Swedish två, the modern German zwei and the modern Icelandic tveir.

Cædmon's Hymn is considered to be the oldest surviving non-runic record of Old English poetry. Its composition is estimated to between 658 and 680, with it surviving copies being recorded in the early part of the 8th century. It is attested in 19 verified manuscript witness, all of which are copies of the Historia Ecclesiastica. The hymn is a short eulogistic verse, attributed to Cædmon, an illiterate cow-herd employed by the monastery of Whitby.

Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes Uard metudæs maecti end his modgidanc uerc Uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihwaes eci dryctin or astelidæ he arist scop aelda barnum heben til hrofe haleg scepen tha middungeard moncynnæs Uard eci Dryctin æfter tīadæ firum foldu Frea allmectig

Now we must honour the guardian of heaven, the might of the architect, and his purpose, the work of the father of glory as he, the eternal lord, established the beginning of wonders; he first created for the children of men heaven as a roof, the holy creator Then the guardian of mankind, the eternal lord, afterwards appointed the middle earth, the lands for men, the Lord almighty.

The Vikings began to raid England in the late 8th century, and eventually the Great Heathen Army arrived to conquor and settle. Much like the Angles, Jutes and Saxons that came before them, they brought their language - Old Norse - with them. This Scandinavian influence is still evident in many of placenames, especially in the North-East of England, with towns like Wetherby - Sheep's town and Scunthorpe - Skuma's homestead. However, another effect the Vikings had was related to existing dialects of English. The four main dialects were Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish and West Saxon. The Northumbrian dialect, which was spoken as far north as Edinburgh, survives as the Scots language spoken in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. Modern English derives mostly from the Anglian dialect, however, it is the West Saxon dialect of Old English which is commonly taught. This is because, under the rule of King Alfred, Wessex survived mostly intact, while others did not. As a result, a great many surviving texts, including the vitally important Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and famous Beowulf, are written in the West Saxon dialect of Old English.

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 heralded the most significant change for Old English, as it was the beginning of the Norman conquest of England. With William the Conquorers victory, the ruling elite became dominated by Old Norman speakers, and though English continued to be used by the common people, Norman French was the language of the elite. As a result, French grammar and loan words began to slowly creep into vernacular usage. This is why in Modern English we use 'cow' derived from the Old English 'cu', for the animal, but call its meat 'beef' from the French 'bœuf'.

Middle English is the name given to the distinctly different form of English which emerged due to the intermingling of Norman and Old English. Over the 300 years following the conquest, English lost its eth (ð) and thorn (þ), as these did not exist in Norman. Grammar distinctions were lost as many noun and adjective endings were simplified to just '-e'. With a few notable exceptions such as 'oxen' and 'children', plural endings were simplified to '-s', and grammatical gender was discarded. However, Norman eventually began to decline in popularity, and vernacular English literature began to reappear after 1200. The Provisions of Oxford, released in 1258, was the first English government document to be published in the English language after the Norman Conquest.

Spelling in Middle English was not standardised and often reflected the pronunciation of the word more closely than modern English spelling. This is due to the Great Vowel Shift which took place during the 15th century. Through this vowel shift, all Middle English long vowels and some consonant sounds changed their pronunciation, with some letters becoming 'silent'. The language was further transformed by the spread of a standardized London-based dialect in government and administration and by the standardizing effect of printing. This standardisation and phonetic shift marked the transition from Middle English to Early Modern English.

þe rurales, þat þey myghte semyn þe more worschipfull and honorable and þe redliere comyn to þe famyliarite of þe worthy and þe grete, leftyn hure modre tounge and labouryd to kunne spekyn Frenssh: and thus by processe of tyme barbariʒid thei in bothyn and spokyn neythyr good Frenssh nor good Englyssh.