A History of the English Language by Albert C. Baugh

Languages become important because of events that shape the balance of power among nations. The Importance of a Language 1 A scientific approach to linguistic study combined with a consideration of history reminds us that no language acquires importance because of what are assumed to be purely internal advantages. Old English stān has become our stone cū has become cow. A slow but steady alteration, especially in the vowel sounds, has characterized English throughout its history.

Less familiar but no less real is the change of pronunciation. Much of the vocabulary of Old English has been lost, and the development of new words to meet new conditions is one of the most familiar phenomena of our language (Nice in Shakespeare’s day meant foolish). When a language ceases to change, we call it a dead language. Growth and Decay English, like all other languages, is subject to that constant growth and decay that characterize all forms of life.

References in scholarly and popular works to “Indian English,” “West African English,” and other regional varieties point to the fact that the political and cultural history of the English language is no simply the history of the British Isles and of North America but a truly international history of quite divergent societies, which have caused the language to change and become enriched as it responds to their own special needs. Influences at Work on Language The political and social events that have in the course of English history so profoundly affected the English people in their national life have generally had a recognizable effect on their language (The Roman Christianizing of Britain in 597, The Scandinavian invasions, The Norman Conquests). These forces shape the language in every aspect, most obviously in the number and spread of its speakers, and in what is called “the sociology of language,” but also in the meanings of words, in the accents of the spoken language, and even in the structures of the grammar The history of a language is intimately bound up with the history of the peoples who speak it. Political, economic, and social forces influence a language. Scarica A History of the English Language By Albert C.Baugh and Thomas Cable e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Filologia Germanica solo su Docsity! A History of the English Language By Albert C.Baugh and Thomas Cable English Present and Future The History of the English Language as a Cultural Subject A liberally educated person should know something of the structure of his or her language, its position in the world and its relation to other tongues, The diversity of cultures that find expression in it is a reminder that the history of English is a story of cultures in contact during the past 1,500 years.

A History of the English Language by Albert C. Baugh