routes may have impacted the creation of words. For example, Columbus ‘transited’ across the ocean to find the new world. Once he and his men found land and encountered Native Americans they saw ‘distinctive’ characteristics that held the two groups apart. In order for there to be peace there needed to be a ‘convention’ to create an agreement contract which detailed the ‘appropriate’ and suitable behaviors towards one another. Overall, the etymological age and origin of these 20 words is very revealing. There were more words that had evolved from Latin roots than expected. They reinforced topics we have discussed in class, such as the French influence over and the English language. Finally, by taking into account the historical background it makes sense as to why these words entered into the English language when they…
It is rather unsure to conclude that her name was indeed “Marie de France.” Nevertheless, it has been acknowledged that her first name was Marie and that she was from France. In addition to the author’s background, this woman was very well educated, comprehended three different languages containing English, Latin, and her native French. Marie de France discusses king in her short stories but, very vaguely, while conjectures have predicted that this ruler might have possibly been Henry II. There…
When people follow their own rules, they will suffer consequences. To show that this is true, we will examine Paris Trout, the main character in a novel called “Paris Trout” by Pete Dexter who follow his own rules and suffer consequences. After this is completed, we will examine the four people in our society who follow their own rules and suffer consequences. Paris Trout is a well respected white citizen living in Cotton Point, Georgia with his beautiful wife, Hanna Trout a…
Middle English refers to the varieties of the English language spoken after the Norman Conquest (1066) and until the late 15th century. The Middle English period was marked by momentous changes in the English language, changes more extensive and fundamental than those that have taken place at any time before or since. Some of them were the result of the Norman Conquest and the condition that followed in the wake of that event. Others were the constitution of the tendencies that had begun to…
would sound without any foreign influence. English was and is a Germanic based language, but has over its lifetime bred with non-Germanic languages to create Modern English. “Pure” English is what English would sound like without the foreign influence, which includes any non-Germanic tongue, and purists pursue this for a variety of reasons. Regardless of why purists study “pure” English, the influence and change of English is best studied by looking into its changes over time and identifying…
Small log houses, home to Anglo-Saxon peasants, speaking in ‘Old English’, scattered the English countryside forming individual towns, each ruled by a different lord under the feudal system. The feudal system, a form of government and social structure where lords controlled patches of lands and the peasants working them, offering them protection and land for labour, constructed a strict social hierarchy and caused individuals to recognize solely as part of their fiefs. This description of…
Works English, commonly referred to as the language of opportunity, is widely regarded to be a system of communication characterized by potential for unity. A language to ease the conversation of trade, to draft scripts of Hollywood movies, to write recipes in, and more or less, a language that belongs to the people. However, before English officially became accessible to anyone who wished to employ it, English “belong[ed] to the Anglo-Frisian group within the Western branch of the Germanic…
The influence of the Norman culture, especially its literary aspect is immense. The debts of the vernacular literature of France penetrated very little into the English soil as the French were no apostles of culture. However, the Norman Conquest forced English into a subservient position from which it only gradually re-emerged as a language simplified in structure and its spelling, vocabulary and literary expression were strongly influenced by the arrival of the French language and culture. It…
foreign words in the English language and use of only English native words from Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Norse routes. One of the largest influences is Latin, and specifically French. Thus to understand The English language and to get a better understanding of English purism, it is necessary to analyze and identify major French influences on English. The major historical event that can be best concluded as to why French influence English so much, aside from proximity, is the Norman Conquest of…
During this time period, language was much different than it is today and it has gone through many changes over time. The main languages used during the Middle Ages were Middle English, Latin, and Anglo-Norman. People used different languages for different purposes such as writing and printing and most of them spoke more than one language. Some people with second languages had a degree of literacy. The evolution of languages throughout the Middle Ages gave strong foundations for modern…