Indo-European Language Family

The Indo-European Language Family

• The Indo-European language family stretches from northern India to western Europe, with almost half of the global population speaking an Indo-European language, including English.
• English is an Indo-European language, specifically part of the Germanic branch, along with languages like German, Dutch, and Swedish.

The Origins of English

• In the 5th century, the Romans withdrew from England, allowing Germanic tribes from Denmark and northern Germany to settle and eventually replace the Celtic and Romano-British cultures.
• The Germanic peoples developed a common cultural identity as Anglo-Saxons, and their language, Old English, emerged.

Old English

• Old English is the earliest form of the English language, spoken by the Anglo-Saxons in their many kingdoms.
• Old English is largely incomprehensible to modern English speakers, with only half of our most commonly used words coming from this Anglo-Saxon tongue.
• Examples of Old English words still in use today include "water," "child," "ear," "talk," and "the."

The Viking Invasions and Old Norse

• The Viking invasions of the 8th century brought Old Norse, the ancestor of modern Scandinavian languages, to England.
• Old Norse influenced English vocabulary, adding words like "sky," "bag," "law," "hit," and "they" to the language.

Middle English and the Norman Conquest

• The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought Norman French to England, which eventually merged with Old English to form Middle English.
• Middle English emerged around 100 years after the Norman Conquest, blending Old English and Norman French.
• This merger introduced 30% of modern English words, mostly from French, particularly in the spheres of law, religion, and science.
• The French connection also led to the presence of many synonyms in English, as seen in dictionaries.