History Of English Language Timeline Lecture 2 PDF

History of the English Language Lecture 2 Prof. W. M. Cruzada Before English (Prehistory – c.500AD) ü Indo-European ü Spread of Indo- European Languages ü Germanic ü The Celts ü The Romans  Indo-European The English lan...

History of the English Language Lecture 2 Prof. W. M. Cruzada Before English (Prehistory – c.500AD) ü Indo-European ü Spread of Indo- European Languages ü Germanic ü The Celts ü The Romans  Indo-European The English language, and indeed most European languages, traces its original roots back to a Neolithic (late Stone Age) people known as the Indo- Europeans or Proto- Indo-Europeans, who lived in Eastern Europe Indo-European migrations and Central Asia from some time after 5000 BC (different hypotheses suggest various different dates anywhere between the 7th and the 3rd millennium BC).  Indo-European It is unknown what the original Indo- European language was like, as no writings exist from that time (the very earliest examples of writing can be traced to Sumeria in around 3000 BC), so our knowledge of it is necessarily based on conjecture, hypothesis and reconstruction.  Indo-European Using the “comparative method”, though, modern linguists have been able to partially reconstruct the original language from common elements in its daughter languages. It is thought by many scholars that modern Lithuanian may be the closest to (i.e. the least changed from) the ancient Indo-European language, and it is thought to retain many features of Proto-Indo-European now lost in other Indo-European languages.  Indo-European According to Violatti (2014), The Indo- European languages are a family of related languages that today are widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, and also Western and Southern Asia. Just as languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian are all descended from Latin, Indo- European languages are believed to derive from a hypothetical language known as Proto- Indo-European, which is no longer spoken.  Indo-European Indo-European is just one of the language families, or proto-languages, from which the world's modern languages are descended, and there are many other families including Sino-Tibetan, North Caucasian, Afro-Asiatic, Altaic, Niger-Congo, Dravidian, Uralic, Amerindian, etc.  Indo-European It is highly probable that the earliest speakers of this language originally lived around Ukraine and neighbouring regions in the Caucasus and Southern Russia, then spread to most of the rest of Europe and later down into India. The earliest possible end of Proto-Indo-European linguistic unity is believed to be around 3400 BCE.  Indo-European However, it is by far the largest family, accounting for the languages of almost half of the modern world’s population, including those of most of Europe, North and South America, Australasia, the Iranian plateau and much of South Asia. Within Europe, only Basque, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Turkish, and a few of the smaller Russian languages are not descended from the Indo-European family.  Indo-European Since the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language did not develop a writing system, we have no physical evidence of it. The science of linguistics has been trying to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European language using several methods and, although an accurate reconstruction of it seems impossible, we have today a general picture of what Proto-Indo- European speakers had in common, both linguistically and culturally. In addition to the use of comparative methods, there are studies based on the comparison of myths, laws, and social institutions. Spread of Indo-European Languages Sometime between 3500 BC and 2500 BC, the Indo-Europeans began to fan out across Europe and Asia, in search of new pastures and hunting grounds, and their languages developed - and diverged - in isolation. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages By around 1000 BC, the original Indo-European language had split into a dozen or more major language groups or families, the main groups being: Anatolian Indo-Iranian Greek Armenian Italic Tocharian Celtic Balto-Slavic Germanic Albanian The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Anatolian This branch of languages was predominant in the Asian portion of Turkey and some areas in northern Syria. The most famous of these languages is Hittite. In 1906 CE, a large amount of Hittite finds were made on the site of Hattusas, the capital of the Hittite Kingdom, where about 10,000 cuneiform tablets and various other fragments were found in the remains of a royal archive. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Anatolian These texts date back to the mid to late second millennium BCE. Luvian, Palaic, Lycian, and Lydian are other examples of families belonging to this group. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Anatolian All languages of this branch are currently extinct. This branch has the oldest surviving evidence of an Indo- European language, dated about 1800 BCE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages In addition, several more groups have since died out completely, and yet others may have existed which have not even left a trace. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian This branch includes two sub-branches: Indic and Iranian. Today these languages are predominant in India, Pakistan, Iran, and its vicinity and also in areas from the Black Sea to western China. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian Sanskrit, which belongs to the Indic sub-branch, is the best known among the early languages of this branch; its oldest variety, Vedic Sanskrit, is preserved in the Vedas, a collection of hymns and other religious texts of ancient India. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian Indic speakers entered into the Indian subcontinent, coming from central Asia around 1500 BCE: In the Rig-Veda, the hymn 1.131 speaks about a legendary journey that may be considered a distant memory of this migration. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian Avestan is a language that forms part of the Iranian group. Old Avestan (sometimes called Gathic Avestan) is the oldest preserved language of the Iranian sub-branch, the “sister” of Sanskrit, which is the language used in the early Zoroastrian religious texts. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian Another important language of the Iranian sub- branch is Old Persian, which is the language found in the royal inscriptions of the Achaemenid dynasty, starting in the late 6th century BCE. The earliest datable evidence of this branch dates back to about 1300 BCE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Indo-Iranian Today, many Indic languages are spoken in India and Pakistan, such as Hindi-Urdu, Punjabi, and Bengali. Iranian languages such as Farsi (modern Persian), Pashto, and Kurdish are spoken in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek Rather than a branch of languages, Greek is a group of dialects: During more than 3000 years of written history, Greek dialects never evolved into mutually incomprehensible languages. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek Greek was predominant in the southern end of the Balkans, the Peloponnese peninsula, and the Aegean Sea and its vicinity. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek The earliest surviving written evidence of a Greek language is Mycenaean, the dialect of the Mycenaean civilization, mainly found on clay tablets and ceramic vessels on the isle of Crete. Mycenaean did not have an alphabetic written system, rather it had a syllabic script known as the Linear B script. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek The earliest surviving written evidence of a Greek language is Mycenaean, the dialect of the Mycenaean civilization, mainly found on clay tablets and ceramic vessels on the isle of Crete. Mycenaean did not have an alphabetic written system, rather it had a syllabic script known as the Linear B script. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek The first alphabetic inscriptions have been dated back to the early 8th century BCE, which is probably the time when the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, reached their present form. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek There were many Greek dialects in ancient times, but because of Athens cultural supremacy in the 5th century BCE, it was the Athens dialect, called Attic, the one that became the standard literary language during the Classical period (480- 323 BCE). The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Greek Therefore, the most famous Greek poetry and prose written in Classical times were written in Attic: Aristophanes, Aristotle, Euripides, and Plato are just a few examples of authors who wrote in Attic. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic This branch was predominant in the Italian peninsula. The Italic people were not natives of Italy; they entered Italy crossing the Alps around 1000 BCE and gradually moved southward. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Latin, the most famous language in this group, was originally a relatively small local language spoken by pastoral tribes living in small agricultural settlements in the centre of the Italian peninsula. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic The first inscriptions in Latin appeared in the 7th century BCE and by the 6th century BCE it had spread significantly. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Rome was responsible for the growth of Latin in ancient times. Classical Latin is the form of Latin used by the most famous works of Roman authors like Ovid, Cicero, Seneca, Pliny, and Marcus Aurelius. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Other languages of this branch are: Faliscan, Sabellic, Umbrian, South Picene, and Oscan, all of them extinct. Today Romance languages are the only surviving descendants of the Italic branch. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic This branch contains two sub-branches: Continental Celtic and Insular Celtic. By about 600 BCE, Celtic-speaking tribes had spread from what today are southern Germany, Austria, and Western Czech Republic in almost all directions, to France, Belgium, The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Spain, and the British Isles, then by 400 BCE, they also moved southward into northern Italy and southeast into the Balkans and even beyond. During the early 1st century BCE, Celtic-speaking tribes dominated a very significant portion of Europe. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic On 50 BCE, Julius Caesar conquered Gaul (ancient France) and Britain was also conquered about a century later by the emperor Claudius. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic As a result, this large Celtic-speaking area was absorbed by Rome, Latin became the dominant language, and the Continental Celtic languages eventually died out. The chief Continental language was Gaulish. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Insular Celtic developed in the British Isles after Celtic-speaking tribes entered around the 6th century BCE. In Ireland, Insular Celtic flourished, aided by the geographical isolation which kept Ireland relatively safe from the Roman and Anglo- Saxon invasion. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic The only Celtic languages still spoken today (Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton) all come from Insular Celtic. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic The Germanic branch is divided in three sub- branches: East Germanic, currently extinct; North Germanic, containing Old Norse, the ancestor of all modern Scandinavian languages; and West Germanic, containing Old English, Old Saxon, and Old High German. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic The earliest evidence of Germanic-speaking people dates back to first half of the 1st millennium BCE, and they lived in an area stretching from southern Scandinavia to the coast of the North Baltic Sea. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic During prehistoric times, the Germanic speaking tribes came into contact with Finnic speakers in the north and also with Balto-Slavic tribes in the east. As a result of this interaction, the Germanic language borrowed several terms from Finnish and Balto- Slavic. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Several varieties of Old Norse were spoken by most Vikings. Native Nordic pre-Christian Germanic mythology and folklore has been also preserved in Old Norse, in a dialect named Old Icelandic. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Italic Dutch, English, Frisian, and Yiddish are some examples of modern survivors of the West Germanic sub-branch, while Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish are survivors of the North Germanic branch. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Armenian The origins of the Armenian-speaking people is a topic still unresolved. It is probable that the Armenians and the Phrygians belonged to the same migratory wave that entered Anatolia, coming from the Balkans around the late 2nd millennium BCE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Armenian The Armenians settled in an area around Lake Van, currently Turkey; this region belonged to the state of Urartu during the early 1st millennium BCE. In the 8th century BCE, Urartu came under Assyrian control and in the 7th century BCE, the Armenians took over the region. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Armenian The Medes absorbed the region soon after and Armenia became a vassal state. During the time of the Achaemenid Empire, the region turned into a Persian satrap. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Armenian The Persian domination had a strong linguistic impact on Armenian, which mislead many scholars in the past to believe that Armenian actually belonged to the Iranian group. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian The history of the Tocharian-speaking people is still surrounded by mystery. We know that they lived in the Taklamakan Desert, located in western China. Most of the Tocharian texts left are translations from well-known Buddhist works, and all of these texts have been dated between the 6th and the 8th centuries CE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian None of these texts speak about the Tocharians themselves. Two different languages belong to this branch: Tocharian A and Tocharian B. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian Remains of the Tocharian A language have only been found in places where Tocharian B documents have also been found, which would suggest that Tocharian A was already extinct, kept alive only as a religious or poetic language, while Tocharian B was the living language used for administrative purposes. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian Many well-preserved mummies with Caucasoid features such as tall stature, red, blonde, and brown hair, have been discovered in the Taklamakan Desert, dating between 1800 BCE to 200 CE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian The weaving style and patterns of their clothes is similar to the Hallstatt culture in central Europe. Physical analysis and genetic evidence have revealed resemblances with the inhabitants of western Eurasia. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Tocharian This branch is completely extinct. Among all ancient Indo- European languages, Tocharian was spoken farthest to the east. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic This branch contains two sub-branches: Baltic and Slavic. During the late Bronze Age, the Balts' territory may have stretched from around western Poland all the way across to the Ural Mountains. Afterwards, the Balts occupied a small region along the Baltic Sea. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic Those in the northern part of the territory occupied by the Balts were in close contact with Finnic tribes, whose language was not part of the Indo- European language family: Finnic speakers borrowed a considerable amount of Baltic words, The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic which suggests that the Balts had an important cultural prestige in that area. Under the pressure of Gothic and Slavic migrations, the territory of the Balts was reduced towards the 5th century CE. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic Archaeological evidence shows that from 1500 BCE, either the Slavs or their ancestors occupied an area stretching from near the western Polish borders towards the Dnieper River in Belarus. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic During the 6th century CE, the Slav- speaking tribes expanded their territory, migrating into Greece and the Balkans: this is when they are mentioned for the first time, in Byzantine records referring to this large migration. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic Either some or all of the Slavs were once located further to the east, in or around Iranian territory, since many Iranian words were borrowed into pre- Slavic at an early stage. Later on, as they moved westward, they came into contact with German tribes and again borrowed several additional terms. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Balto-Slavic Only two Baltic languages survive today: Latvian and Lithuanian. A large number of Slavic languages survive today, such as Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak, Russian, and many others. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Albanian Albanian is the last branch of Indo-European languages to appear in written form. There are two hypotheses on the origin of Albanian. The first one says that Albanian is a modern descendant of Illyrian, a language which was widely spoken in the region during classical times. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Albanian Since we know very little about Illyrian, this assertion can be neither denied nor confirmed from a linguistic standpoint. From a historical and geographical perspective, however, this assertion makes sense. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Albanian Another hypotheses says that Albanian is a descendant of Thracian, another lost language that was spoken farther east than Illyrian. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Albanian Today Albanian is spoken in Albania as the official language, in several other areas in of the former Yugoslavia and also in small enclaves in southern Italy, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Albanian Today Albanian is spoken in Albania as the official language, in several other areas in of the former Yugoslavia and also in small enclaves in southern Italy, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages These broad language groups in turn divided over time into scores of new languages, from Swedish to Portuguese to Hindi to Latin to Frisian. So, it is astounding but true that languages as diverse as Gaelic, Greek, Farsi and Sinhalese all ultimately derive from the same origin. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Unaffiliated Languages All languages in this group are either extinct or they are a former stage of a modern language. Examples of this groups are Phrygian, Thracian, Ancient Macedonian (not to be confused with Macedonian, a language currently spoken in the Republic of Macedonia, part of the Slavic branch), Illyrian, Venetic, Messapic, and Lusitanian. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages The common ancestry of these diverse languages can sometimes be seen quite clearly in the existence of cognates (similar words in different languages), and the recognition of this common ancestry of Indo-European languages is usually attributed to the amateur Sir William Jones linguist Sir William Jones in 1786. Spread of Indo-European Languages Examples are: Ø father in English, vater in German, pater in Latin and Greek, fadir in Old Norse and pitr in ancient Vedic Sanskrit. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Examples are: Ø brother in English, broeer in Dutch brüder in German, braithair in Gaelic, bróðr in Old Norse and bhratar in Sanskrit. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Examples are: Ø three in English, tres in Latin, tris in Greek, drei in German, drie in Dutch, trí in Sanskrit The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Ø is in English, is in Dutch, est in Latin, esti in Greek, ist in othic, asti in Sanskrit. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Ø me in English, mich or mir in German mij in Dutch, mik or mis in Gothic, me in Latin, eme in Greek, mam in Sanskrit. The Indo-European language family tree Spread of Indo-European Languages Ø mouse in English, maus in German, muis in Dutch, mus in Latin, mus in Sanskrit. The Indo-European language family tree  Germanic The most interesting branch of Indo- European is Germanic (although the Hellenic- Greek branch and Italic-Latin branch, which gave rise to the Romance languages, also became important later). The Germanic, or Proto-Germanic, language group can be traced back to the region between the Elbe river in modern Germany and southern Sweden some 3,000 years ago.  Germanic Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm pointed out that, over time, certain consonants in the Germanic family of languages have shifted somewhat from the Indo- European base. Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Thus, Germanic words like the English foot, West Frisian foet, Danish fod, Swedish fot, etc, are in fact related to the Latin ped, Lithuanian peda, Sanskrit pada, etc, due to the shifting of the “p” to “f” and the “d” to “t”. Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Several other consonants have also shifted (“d” to “t”, “k” to “h”, “t” to “th”, etc), disguising to some extent the common ancestry of many of the daughter languages of Indo-European. Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic This process explains many apparent root differences in English words of Germanic and Latinate origin (e.g. father and paternal, ten and decimal, horn and cornucopia, three Distribution of Germanic languages and triple, etc).  Germanic The early Germanic languages themselves borrowed some words from the aboriginal (non-Indo- European) tribes which preceded them, particularly words for the natural environment (e.g. sea, land, stran d, seal, herring); Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic for new social practices (e.g. wife, bride, groom); and for farming or animal husbandry practices (e.g. oats, mare, ram, lamb, sheep, kid, bitch, hound, dung). Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic The Germanic group itself also split over time as the people migrated into other parts of continental Europe: Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Ø North Germanic, which evolved into Old Norse and then into the various Scandinavian languages, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic (but not Finnish or Estonian, which are Uralic and not Indo-European languages); Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Ø East Germanic, spoken by peoples who migrated back to E and SE Europe, and whose three component language branches, Burgundian, Vandalic and Gothic (a language spoken throughout much of eastern, central and western Europe early in the first millennium AD), all died out over time; and Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Ø West Germanic, the ancestor of Old High German, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old Low Franconian and others which in turn gave rise to modern German, Dutch, Flemish, Low German, Frisian, Yiddish and, ultimately, English. Distribution of Germanic languages  Germanic Thus, it can be said that English belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Distribution of Germanic languages  The Celts Little or nothing is known about the original hunter-gatherer inhabitants of the British Isles before they were cut off from the rest of Europe by the English Channel (around 5000- 6000 BC). Indeed, little is know of the so-called Beaker People and others who moved into the British Isles from Europe around 2500 BC, and were probably responsible for monuments like Stonehenge around this time.  The Celts The earliest inhabitants of Britain about which anything is known are the Celts (the name from the Greek keltoi meaning “barbarian”), Distribution of Celtic peoples also known as Britons, who probably started to move into the area sometime after 800 BC.  The Celts By around 300 BC, the Celts had become the most widespread branch of Indo- Europeans in Iron Age Europe, inhabiting much of modern-day Distribution of Celtic peoples Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and also Britain.  The Celts Parts of Scotland were also inhabited from an early time by the Picts, whose Pictish language was completely separate from Celtic and probably Distribution of Celtic peoples not an Indo- European language at all.  The Celts The Pictish language and culture was completely wiped out during the Viking raids of the 9th Century AD, and Distribution of Celtic peoples the remaining Picts merged with the Scots.  Further waves of The Celts Celtic immigration into Britain, particularly between 500 BC and 400 BC but continuing at least until the Roman occupation, greatly increased the Distribution of Celtic peoples Celtic population in Britain, and established a vibrant Celtic culture throughout the land.  The Celts But the Celts themselves were later marginalized and displaced and Celtic was not the basis for what is now the Distribution of Celtic peoples English language.  Despite their The Celts dominance in Britain at an early formative stage of its development, the Celts have actually had very little impact on the English language, leaving only a few little-used words such as brock (an old word Distribution of Celtic peoples for a badger), and a handful of geographical terms like coombe (a word for a valley) and crag and tor (both words for a rocky peak).  The Celts Having said that, many British place names have Celtic origins, including Kent, York, London, Dover, Thames, Avon, Trent, Distribution of Celtic peoples Severn, Cornwall and many more.  The Celts There is some speculation that Celtic had some influence over the grammatical development of English, though, such as the use of the Distribution of Celtic peoples continuous tense (e.g. “is walking” rather than “walks”), which is not used in other Germanic languages.  The Celts The Celtic language survives today only in the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland, the Welsh of Wales, and the Breton Distribution of Celtic peoples language of Brittany.  The Romans The Romans first entered Britain in 55 BC under Julius Caesar, although they did not begin a permanent occupation until 43 AD, when Emperor Claudius sent a much better prepared force to subjugate the fierce British Celts. Despite a series of uprisings by the natives (including that of Queen Boudicca, or Boadicea in 61 AD), Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years, and there was a substantial amount of interbreeding between the two peoples, although the Romans never succeeded in penetrating into the mountainous regions of Wales and Scotland.  The Romans Although this first invasion had a profound effect on the culture, religion, geography, architecture and social behaviour of Britain, the linguistic legacy of the Romans’ time in Britain was, like that of the Celts, The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan surprisingly limited.  The Romans § win (wine) § butere (butter) § caese (cheese) § piper(pepper) § candel (candle) § cetel (kettle) § disc (dish) § cycene(kitchen) § ancor (anchor) The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan This legacy takes the form of less than 200 “loanwords” coined by Roman merchants and soldiers, such as  The Romans § belt (belt) § sacc (sack) § catte (cat) § plante (plant) § rosa (rose) § cest (chest) § pund (pound) § munt(mountain) § straet (street) § wic (village) § mil (mile) § port (harbour) The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan § weall (wall), etc.  The Romans Latin did not replace the Celtic language in Britain as it had done in Gaul, and the use of Latin by native The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan Britons during the period of Roman rule was probably confined to members of the upper classes and the inhabitants of the cities and towns.  The Romans The Romans, under attack at home from Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals, abandoned Britain to the Celts in 410 AD, completing their withdrawal by 436 AD. The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan  The Romans Within a remarkably short time after this withdrawal, the Roman influence on Britain, in The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan language as in many other walks of life, was all but lost, as Britain settled in to the so-called Dark Ages. References: The Scientific American for Indo-European Migrations and Indo-European Language Family Tree Wikipedia for the Maps: Distribution of Germanic Languages Distribution of the Celtic Peoples The Roman Empire at its height under Emperor Trajan Mastin, L. (2011). History of the English Language. Violatti, C. (2014, May 05). Indo-European Languages. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Indo- European_Languages/