History of the English

Language
WS 2005/6

Topics
Linguistic changes: grammar and lexicon
Social and political events that influenced the
development of the English language
English varieties
Mechanisms of language change

Course script
Digitale Bibliothek Thringen
Search: Diessel History of the English
Language

What you will learn:

Why the English spelling is so odd
Why English does not have case marking
Why English developed a rigid word order
Why there are regular and irregular verbs forms
Why many English words are similar to words in German
Why many English words are similar to words in French
Why questions require the use of do
Why English has become a world language

Requirements
Short exam for student who started last year.

5%

10%

5%

20%

60%

Readings
Barber, Charles. 2000. The English Language. A Historical
Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Baugh, A.C. and T. Cable. 2002. A History of the English
Language. London: Routledge. [fifth edition]
Jucker, Andreas H. 2004. History of English and English Historical
Linguistics. Stuttgart: Klett.
Millward, C.M. 1996. A Biography of the English Language.
Boston: Heinle. [second edition]
The Cambridge History of the English Language. Vol. I-V. 1992.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Readings
Aitchison, J. Language Change. Progress or Decay. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Trask, R.L. 1996. Historical Linguistics. London: Arnold.
McMahon, A.M.S. 1995. Understanding Language Change.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hock, H.H. 1991. Principles of Historical Linguistics. Berlin:
Mouton de Gruyter.
Croft, W. 2000. Explaining Language Change. An Evolutionary
Approach. Harlow: Longman.

Time periods
450-1100

Old English

1100-1500

Middle English

1500-1800

Early Modern English

1800-present

Present Day English

Germanic
Germanic

West Germanic

North Germanic

East Germanic

English

Swedish

Gothic

Frisian

Danish

Vandal

German

Norwegian

Burgundian

Yiddish

Icelandic

Dutch
Afrikaans

English
sun
house
cat
apple
father
hand
go
see
hear
run
dream

German
Sonne
Haus
Katze
Apfel
Vater
Hand
gehen
sehen
hren
rennen
trumen

Swedish
sol
hus
kat
pple
fader
hand
gar
sar
hra
rnnar
drmar

English loan words in German

English
computer
email
internet
jeans
event
laptop
cool
mountain bike
absolutely

German
Computer
Email
Internet
Jeans
Event
Laptop
cool
Mountain Bike
absolut

Loan words in English

take
give
they
paper
story
force
wall
street
school
kindergarten

Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse
French
French
French
Latin
Latin
Latin
German

English-German sound correspondences

English
time
tongue
ten
tame
tent
to
two
twins

German
Zeit
Zunge
zehn
zahm
Zelt
zu
zwei
Zwillinge

English-German sound correspondences

that
there
through
thirsty
think

das
da
durch
durstig
denken

English-German sound correspondences

pan
path
pole
pepper
pipe
plant

Pfanne
Pfad
Pfahl
Pfeffer
Pfeife
Pflanze

English-German sound correspondences

hate
eat
let

hassen
essen
lassen

grip
deep
sleep

greifen
tief
schafen

IE reconstructed word forms

*pe:s*ed*ghebh*aug*wed-

foot
eat
give
increase
water

English-German sound correspondences

cheese
child
chin
cheery
church
king

Kse
Kind
Kinn
Kirsche
Kirche
Knig

Loan words from French

crime
prison
letter
justice
contract
music
demand
pronounce
propose
responsible

crime
prison
lettre
justice
contrat
musique
demander
prononcer
proposer
responsable

Cognates: English-French
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten

un, une
deux
trois
quatre
cinq
six
sept
huit
neuf
dix

Romance
French
Italian
Spain
Portuguese
Romanian

Catalan
Galician
Sardinian
Provencal
Rhomansh

Sound correspondences in Romance

Hundred
Sky
Stag
Wax

Italian

Sardinian Romansh French

TEnto
Telo
TErvo
Tera

kEntu
kElu
kErbu
kEra

tsjEnt
tsil
tsErf
tsairaE

sa
sjEl
sER
siR

Spanish
Tjen
Tjelo
Tjerbo
Tera

Indo-European
Germanic
Romance
Slavic
Baltic
Celtic

Greek
Iranian
Indian
Albanian
Armenian

Balto-Slavic
Balto-Slavic
Baltic

Slavic

Latvian
Lithuanian

East Slavic

West Slavic

South Slavic

Russian

Polish

Serbo-Croatian

Russian

Czech

Slovene

Belarusian

Slovak

Bulgarian

Sorbian

Macedonian

Old Prussian

Cases in Indo-European
NOM
VOC
ACC
GEN
ABL
DAT
LOC
INST

IE

Sanskrit German English Lithuanian

*wlk+os
**wlk+e
**wlk+om
**wlk+osy
o
**wlk+od
**wlk+oi
**wlk+ei
**wlk+o

vrkas
vrka
vrkam
vrkasy
a
vrkad
vrkaya
vrke
vrka

der

he

den
des

him
his

dem

vilkas
vilke
vilka
vilko
vilkui
vilke
vilku

Celtic
Celtic

Gaelic

Irish

Scottish

Welsh

Manx Cornish

Breton

Sanskrit

700

English

500
400

Armenian
Gothic

0
200

Latin

400

Classical Sanskrit

800

Greek

1000

Old Persian

1200

Hittite

1500

Vedic Sanskrit

3000

Proto Indo-European

Second Germanic sound shift

time
tongue
ten

Zeit
Zunge
zehn

that
there
through

das
da
durch

pan
path
pole

Pfanne
Pfad
Pfahl

hat
eat
let
grip
deep
sleep

hassen
essen
lassen
greifen
tief
schlafen

Numerals in Indo-European and non-IndoEuropean languages

English

Gothic

Latin

Greek

Sanskrit

Chinese

Japanese

one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten

ains
twai

unus
duo
tres
quattuor
quinque
sex
septem
octo
novembe
decem

heis
duo
treis
tettares
pente
heks
hepta
okto
ennea
deka

ekas
dva
trayas
catvaras
panca
sat
sapta
asta
nava
dasa

i
erh
san
su
wu
liu
chi
pa
chiu
shih

hitotsu
futatsu
mittsu
yottsu
itsutsu
muttsu
nanatsu
yattsu
kokonotsu
to

Trija
fidwor
fimf
saihs
sibun
ahtau
niun
taihun

Sound correspondences in IE
English

Latin

Greek

Irish

fish
father
foot
for

piscis
pater
ped
pro

ikhthys
pater
pod
para

iasg
athair
troigh
do

six
seven
sweet
salt

sex
septem
suavis
sal

hexa
hepta
hedys
hal

se
seacht
millis
salann

new
night
nine

novus
noct
novem

neos
nykt
(en)nea

nua
(in)nocht
naoi

Sound correspondences across unrelated

languages

news
time
book
service
beggar

Arabic

Urdu

Turkish

Swahili

Malay

xabar
waqt
kitab
xidmat
faqir

xabar
vaqt
kitab
xidmatgari
faqir

haber
vakit
kitap
hizmet
fakir

habari
wkati
kitabu
huduma
fakiri

khabar
waktu
kitab
khidmat
fakir

Sir William Jones

Sound correspondences between Sanskrit,

Latin and Greek
Sanskrit

Latin

Greek

asmi
asi
asti
smas
stha
santi

sum
es
est
sumus
estis
sunt

eini
ei
esti
esmen
este
eisi

August Schleicher

Latin

Old English

Gothic

/p/ /f/

pedum
piscis

fot
fisc

fotus
fiskis

/t/ //

tres
tu

three [Tri]
thou [TaU]

thrir
thuU

/k/ /x/h/

cordem
centum

heart
hundred

hairto
hund

turba crowd

thorp village

/d/ /t/

edo
decem

eat
ten

itan
taihun

/g/ /k/

ager
genus

acre
kin

akrs
kuni

IE

Old English

Gothic

*bhero
*dhura
*ghostis

beran
duru
gasts

bara
dar
giest

/b/ /p/

/bh/ /b/
/dh/ /d/
/dh/ /d/

Grimms law

*p t k

f T x/h

*b d g

ptk

*bh dh gh

bdg

Exceptions to Grimms law

[p t k]

[f T x]
Sanskrit
vrtate
varrta
vavrtim
vavrta:n

[b d g]
Old English
weorTan
wearT
wurdon
worden

Verners law
[p t k]

[f T x] / [stressed syllable] __
[b d g] / [unstressed syllable] __

Neogrammarian Hypothesis
Every sound change takes place according to
laws that admit no exceptions.
[Karl Brugmann]

Evidence for the IE homeland

Common words for:

No common words for:

cold

ocean

winter

palm

snow

elephant

honey

camel

wolf
beech
pine

Amerind hypothesis
Eskimo
Na Dene
Amerind

Number of speakers
Mandarin

907

English

456

Hindi

383

Spanish

362

Russian

293

Arabic

208

Bengali

189

Portuguese

177

Indonesian

148

Japanese

126

French

123

German

119

Nostratic
Indo-European
Altaic
Uralic
Afro-Asiatic
Kartvelian