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Language evolution

Language changes over time as society, culture, and technology change.

Old English

The earliest recorded form of English spoken in England from around 450-1150.

Anglo-Saxons

Germanic tribes who migrated to Britain and brought the early form of English.

Germanic language family

A group of related languages including English, German, Dutch, and Danish.

Modern English

The form of English used today, developing after the 1500s.

Language change

The process by which pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and meaning shift over time.

Borrowing

The process of taking words from another language.

Word origins

The historical source or language a word comes from.

Etymology

The study of the origins and development of words.

Norman Conquest

The invasion of England in 1066 by William of Normandy that greatly influenced English vocabulary.

William the Conqueror

The Norman ruler who became king of England after the Norman Conquest.

Triglossia

A situation where three languages are used in society for different purposes.

How did triglossia in work in medieval England?

Latin for religion and scholarship, French for government and English for everyday speech.

Latin

The language used by the Church and scholars in medieval England.

French

The language of the ruling class in England after the Norman Conquest.

Loanwords

Words borrowed from another language.

Examples of French loanwords

government, justice, parliament, court.

Language contact

When different languages interact and influence each other.

Great Vowel Shift

A major change in English vowel pronunciation between roughly 1400 and 1700

Pronunciation change

When the sounds of words change over time.

Long vowels

Vowel sounds that were significantly affected during the Great Vowel Shift.

Renaissance

A historical period of renewed interest in science, literature, and classical knowledge.

Latin influence

The use of Latin words to describe scientific and academic concepts.

Greek influence

Greek roots used to create words in science, medicine, and philosophy.

Inkhorn terms

Borrowed words from Latin or Greek criticised during the Renaissance.

Inkhorn Debate

The argument about whether English should borrow many classical words.

Prescriptivism

The belief that language should follow strict rules about correct grammar and usage.

Prescriptive rules

Rules telling people how language should be used.

Descriptivism

The study of how language is actually used by speakers.

Descriptive linguistics

Recording and analysing real language use without judging it.

Standard English

A widely accepted form of English used in formal contexts.

Non-standard English

Variations of English that differ from the standard variety.

Spoken language

Informal communication that often drives language change.

Filler words

Words used in speech to pause or organise thoughts (e.g., um, like).

Slang

Informal words or expressions used by particular groups.

Lexical innovation

The creation of new words or forms.

Neologism

A newly created word or expression.

Digital communication

Communication using technology such as texting, messaging, and social media.

Text abbreviations

Shortened words used in digital communication (e.g., lol, brb).

Internet slang

Informal language used online.

Acronym

An abbreviation pronounced as a word (e.g., NASA).

Initialism

An abbreviation pronounced letter by letter (e.g., FBI).

Abbreviation

A shortened form of a word or phrase.

Emoji

Images used in digital communication to express emotion or meaning.

English varieties

Different forms of English spoken in different regions.

Dialect

A variety of language with its own pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Accent

The way words are pronounced in a particular region or group.

Old English grammar

Early English used many grammatical endings to show tense, number, and case.

Inflections

Word endings that change meaning or grammatical function.

Word order

The arrangement of words in a sentence.

Flexible word order

Old English sentences could change order because meaning was shown through endings.

Loss of inflections

Over time English lost many grammatical endings, making word order more important.

Middle English

The stage of English spoken roughly between 1150 and 1500.

Middle English vocabulary

A mixture of Old English words and many new French borrowings.

Germanic vocabulary

Everyday English words with Germanic origins.

Examples of Germanic words

house, water, bread, mother.

poop

piss

Examples of Latin vocabulary

Examples of Greek vocabulary

biology, psychology, democracy.

Semantic narrowing

When a word's meaning becomes more specific.

Language prestige

The social status associated with a language or dialect.

Standardisation

The process of developing a standard form of language.

Dictionaries

Books that record words, meanings, and spelling.

Informal language

Casual language used in everyday conversation.

Formal language

More structured language used in professional or academic contexts.

Multimodal communication

Communication that uses text, images, and symbols together.

Lingua franca

A common language used between speakers of different native languages.

Prefix

A group of letters added to the beginning of a word.

Suffix

A group of letters added to the end of a word.

Code-switching

Switching between language varieties depending on context.

Printing press influence

Printing helped standardise spelling and grammar.