Concetti Chiave
- English is a Germanic language influenced by Latin, Anglo-Saxon, and French, forming its modern structure.
- The initial alphabet in Britain was runic, later replaced by the Latin alphabet due to Christian missionaries.
- English vocabulary includes contributions from Latin (e.g., cheese), Celtic (e.g., Avon), Scandinavian (e.g., sky), and French (e.g., beef).
- Traditional Germanic plural forms remain in words like "children" and "feet," while others adapted to the "S" ending.
- Middle English emerged in the 14th century, evolving into modern English around the 16th century, continuing to change today.
What are the origins of the English language?
English is the second most spoken language in the world. It is a Germanic language from the Indo-European family. The three languages that contribute to create the modern English are Latin, Anglo-Saxon and French mixing together.
The first alphabet used in Britain was the runic alphabet of the Scandinavian language. Later was introduced the Latin alphabet by the Christian missionaries.
- Latin words: street, cheese, wine, candle, angel, bishop, martyr, kettle, kitchen…
- Celtic words: name of places and rivers, for example Avon (in Celtic language it means “river”), Kent, Devon…
- Scandinavian words: sky, husband, leg, window, ugly, cake, give…
- French: the English underclass cooked for the Norman upper-class so some name of food is from the French language, for example beef, venison…
Evolution of the English Plural
The words that have maintained the Germanic form of making plurals are: child --> children, man --> men, foot --> feet, ox --> oxen… The other words exchanged EN in S (housen--> houses) and the TH of the 3rd person in S.
The middle English born in the 14th century when London dialects emerged as standard language.
The modern English born around the 16th century and is still changing.
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