History of English language
18. Feb. 2025
English is the Indo-European family members. And it belongs to this family group.
Therefore it is related to other languages spoken in Europe and Western Asia from Island to
India.
Indo-European family languages
• Hellenic: old and modern Greek
• Romance (Italic): Latin, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian
• Germanic: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic
• Celtic: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton
• Slavic:
o East Slavic: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
o West Slavic: Polish, Czech, Slovak
o South Slavic: Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian
• Indo-Iranian:
o Indo-Aryan: Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati
o Iranian: Persian (Farsi), Pashto, Kurdish, Balochi
• Baltic: Latvian, Lithuanian
• Albanian: Albanian
• Armenian: Armenian
Whose first language is English?
1. The United States
2. The United Kingdom
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. Canada
English language is approximately 1400 years old.
The period of England History
England in the period of Ancient history
Invasions:
1. Pre-Celtic
↓
2. Celtic Invasion
↓
3. Romans Invasion
↓
4. Anglo-Saxon Invasion
↓
5. The influence of Invasion by Germanic tribe on English language
Anglo-Saxon dialects
What makes Scottish, Welsh, English, and North Irish different from each other?
About 3000 years ago, British Islands were inhabited by the Celts, who originally came
from continental Europe.
And during 1000 years, there were many invasions.
The Romans came from Italy in AD 43 and, calling the country Britannia, gave it its name
Britain.
When we talk about period, we mean the time before the 7th century BC.
Pre-Celtic people in Britain had previously built civilization, of which best-known
monuments were located in southern England.
Silbury Hill, which is the largest man-made burial mound in Europe and in the world.
The famous circle of big stones Stonehenge on Salisbury was built 5000 years ago,
between 5000 and 4500 years ago, probably a temple.
We do not know its exact function. The function of Stonehenge is a matter of debate.
However, it was a third astronomical clock that was used to pass seasons.
As far as historical research could establish, the first inhabitants of the British Isles were
nomadic hunters.
Those new comers must have been Mediterranean people.
Their burial places were in islands, in coastal regions of Wales and Scotland, and found
to be long barrows. Most man-made hills or huge amounts of hard-like stone slabs
were covering them.
There is much debate among academics about when Celts arrived in Britain and when
Celtic influence started dominating.
Although the most commonly accepted time is the 6th century, by the time the Roman
Empire had started spreading its words to the shores of Britain.
And several Celtic tribes had been established on the island.
These tribes each established their own small kingdoms or chiefdoms, fighting each
other to increase the size of domains.
They had their kings, queens, chiefs, and a former formed culture.
The Celts were probably one of the first people to leave a lasting legacy in Britain.
Celtic election of tribes – they were generally known by the name of those tribes.
Their society was opposite to collective nations or empires.
The native language is Welsh, and Welsh is a Celtic language.
And it is known widely spoken across the world.
20 Feb. 2025
Class 2. History of English
Who are the Celts?
The term generally refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall, and Britain.
We can also call them Celtic Nations.
Why did the Celts move to Britain?
Celtic people actually didn’t move from European continents in mass.
But as a true equipped with iron weapons, they brought iron and colonized the British
Isles.
Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the 1st century, the Romans launched...
(text cut off at the bottom).
a military campaign against the Celts, killing them and destroying their culture.
Which country has the most Celts?
Southern and Northern America, Australia, Africa, and Europe.
More than 120 million people are living in those countries.
So, Celts reached Ireland in around 50 BC, establishing cultural traditions that are still
alive today.
Celtic culture was trembled by Germanic tribes and was also founded by Brother
Wolfred in 1887 at a meeting Saint Marries Church held in Celtic district of Glouglow,
Scotland.
Celts were also known for their metalwork, including jewelry, weapons, and other
decorative items.
Early sources place Celts in Western Europe, also occupying land near the Danube
River.
Their home territories have often been traced to Central and Eastern France, extending
across Southern Germany to the Czech Republic.
After 400 years BC, Celts moved from Central Europe to Northern Italy and Eastern
Europe.
It’s believed that Celts arrived at the shores of Britain around 1000 BC and lived there
during the Iron Age, Roman Era, and Post-Roman Era.
Today, Wales is seen as a Celtic nation.
The native language of Wales is Welsh, and it is a Celtic language, which is widely
spoken across the world.
The Celts were in Europe and Asia
Celts were in the European tribes from Europe and Asia in Pre-Roman times.
The name... (text cut off at the bottom).
Celts come from the Greek word KETOI, which means barbarians.
So, the Celtic who settled in England were split into many different clans, each ruled by a
leader who didn’t inherit the title but was chosen among the men sharing a blood
relationship within the clan.
Leaders had to be strong warriors and good administrators to work with other clans and
conduct trade.
The members of the clan supported each other, and that's one of the major reasons
why Celts never developed an empire.
They were an advanced society that produced iron weapons, weaved their clothes, and
were experienced farmers and hunters.
They lived in hill forts surrounded by strong walls.
Women also could fight as well as men, and Queen Boudicca was, in fact, one of the
famous Celtic warriors who led against the Romans when they invaded Britain.
21 Feb. 2025
The Romance Invasion
The Romance came from Italy in 43 AD and, in calling the country Britannia, gave Britain
its name.
At the time of the Romans' first expedition, it was Julius Caesar's expedition.
When 10,000 strong Roman army was repulsed by the help of the channel storm, the
Belgic tribe chief Cunolein united... (text cut off at the bottom).
The Celtic tribes of southern Britain united under his rule and called himself king of
Britain.
A title which was impressed on the coins that he struck in his capital,
CAMULODUNUM.
It was his kingdom who united Roman traders to come and settle in Britain.
Some historians attribute the origin of London to his reign, and archaeologists state that
Wooden London Bridge was built at that time.
At that period, London was called Londinium, and at that period, the Romans started
bringing slaves.
The Romans introduced a lot of elements of their civilization.
• They built villas with doors with arches which were adorned by the central
heating.
• They also constructed granaries with engineered ventilation systems.
By 367 AD, the United Celtic North with Scots and Saxons landed in the east, and they
were called barbarians.
By the beginning of the 5th century, the Romans were forced to withdraw from
England.
• Many of them went to Wales and Cornwall.
In the middle of the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar landed in the British Isles.
• On 26th of August, 55 BC, some 20,000 men and 500 cavalry landed between
Dover and Deal.
• Caesar carefully noted the fight and determined to return the following year.
• On 6th of July, 54 BC, a large army landed in the same area.
• The Romans occupied England and Wales.
• They preferred to settle down in England as it was more suitable for humans.
Settlements compared with mountains (Wales) and wildlife (Scotland).
But their invasion is not peaceful.
Queen Boudica led the revolt and destroyed 3 towns, including Londinium.
• Finally, she took poison and was defeated by the Romans.
The Romans tried to defend themselves against Celtic tribes by building forts such as
Carlion.
