The English language goes back over 1,500 years, and this course will offer a close look at the long and often surprising history of the language. Our survey will consider both "little mysteries" of everyday language (such as why the word two is spelled with a w) and also complex historical puzzles (such as why English is now spoken in so many different ways around the world). To understand these and other characteristics of English, we will consider the role of powerful individuals such as William the Conqueror but also the contributions of ordinary people, who in the long run have had the greatest impact on why the language is the way it is today.

The earliest stage of the history of English is usually considered to have begun with the arrival in Britain of migrants speaking a language that had strong resemblances to Dutch, German, and some of the languages of Scandinavia.

The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain appears to have touched off a bloody ethnic clash between the newcomers and the native Britons, most of whom did not speak English. King Arthur, whose grave is believed by many to lie in Glastonbury Abbey, has been the most enduring symbol of those early struggles. Ironically, some people nowadays think of Arthur as an "English" king, and several kings of England exploited the Arthurian legends for their own political aims--even though Arthur first became known as a determined enemy of the English-speaking newcomers. Nevertheless, the appropriation of Arthur in English culture also shows shows an important ethnic transformation: eventurally the English became British. One concern in 774 will be to look at the linguistic and cultural circumstances in the partial ethnic fusion that took place. For example, we will consider what the Sutton Hoo treasure can say about the changes.

While the history of English goes back about fifteen centuries, the ancestors of Anglo-Saxons spoke languages which can be viewed as ancestral. The Germanic languages constitute an important part of the "family tree" on which English is located, and there will be some comparisons of English with German and other "sister languages" (to use a long-established term in historical linguistics).

The Germanic languages themselves form part of a much larger tree known today as the Indo-European language family. Our look at the prehistory of English will consider, among other matters, some of the similarities with languages as far away as India and Afghanistan. In fact, the name of Herat, a renowned Afghan city, shows an intriguing link with the ancient Indo-Europeans. While it is well known that English is now a language whose reach stretches around the world, also significant is a less widely known fact: namely, that about half of the people on our planet now speak an Indo-European language.

Even though English is classified as a Germanic language, most its vocabulary comes from sources other than Germanic.

Some the non-Germanic vocabulary of English goes back to prehistory, but the largest influx of words came after the Norman conquest of England. For about three centuries after 1066, French speakers controlled the affairs of England, and everyday words such as prince and Parliament reflect the French element. Despite the strong influence of French (and also Latin), the English language never died out. Ever since the Middle Ages, the tradition of linguistic borrowing has remained strong as English speakers have come into contact with many people around the world.

To read about the spread of English beyond its medieval homeland, press here.