Since the Anglo-Saxons set foot on this island, the development of English has not been as smooth as expected. In fact, with the passage of time, English is facing an increasingly severe test. Today, let's take a look at three cultural invasions in English development and the changes of English vocabulary in this process.
Part 1: Introduction to Christianity
In 597 AD, a priest named Augustine came to England from Rome to preach. He brought not only Roman masonry, but also Christian culture and belief.
Before Augustine, most Anglo-Saxons used straight Nordic runes carved on boards and stones to record, which was very inconvenient to write and carry. For the development of English, Latin, the official language of Christianity, has brought good news to English. Curved Latin letters can be dipped in ink and written on paper and sheepskin, which is convenient for writing and carrying.
The alphabet system of English comes from Latin alphabet, and English has been written since then, which indirectly created the first English poem Beowulf in English history. In addition, a large number of Latin words have flooded into English, most of which are related to religion.
The second part: Viking invasion in one hundred years.
Vikings, also known as Vikings, in old English, "Vikings" are people in the Gulf, and "wicing" stands for pirates.
At first, the vikings only robbed monasteries along the coast of western Europe. After that, vikings spread all over the interior of western Europe, and of course, Britain was also doomed.
The vikings were brave and good at fighting, and soon they occupied most of the land in England like a whirlwind. The language of this region is usually the language of the victorious country. Will English be replaced by Viking Norse?
The answer is no, but fortunately, in that stormy era, a king with great talent and great strategy put an end to this invasion-Alfred the Great, the only king in Britain who was dubbed "the Great", was also the savior and great defender of English.
After the Battle of Eddington, Alfred the Great signed a peace agreement with the Vikings, and since then, the Vikings have never launched a large-scale attack on their territory. Alfred the Great not only preserved English, but also vigorously promoted English education.
With the arrival of the Vikings, English was strongly influenced by Cournot. During this period, old English absorbed a lot of old Scandinavian language and stored it in its own wine cellar. The biggest influence is to simplify the inflectional changes of the suffix. Let's look at the traces of ancient northern Europe.
/sk/ sound is a typical Cournot sound:
Characteristic geographical naming:
The unique naming method of ancient Norwegians-Son;
Old Norwegian still in use today:
The third part Norman conquest
1066, the French Duke of Normandy invaded the British Island, and finally succeeded in controlling the whole of Britain and became William I (William became a popular name). A new king and a new language will rule the world.
He cleaned the English courts and churches, all important positions were held by the French, and all high-level communication was in French, so William I himself could not speak English.
In the words of a scholar, the French invasion had a greater impact on English than any other event in English history. Since then, French has had a great influence on English, constantly refining people's life experience.
According to statistics, there are about 654.38 million French words still in use. Fortunately, the common language of the British underclass is still English, which is why English can stand the test of living in France and overlook England with a brand-new attitude.
A large number of French words are integrated into English words.
The semantic scope of Old English has narrowed and its meaning has been refined.
In the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, a medieval English poet, you can find 18 French words out of less than 150 words, which shows how widely French was used at that time. The vocabulary listed today is just the tip of the iceberg, and interested friends can learn more about it.
Under the "shock and baptism" of three cultural invasions, English has taken on a new look, absorbing different languages with a broader mind and meeting future challenges with the latest attitude!