English is a Germanic language that originated from ingvaeonic languages brought to Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Germanic migrants from what is now known as northwest Germany. This acted as the foundation for the formation of what now known today as Old English. Many words in English such as “strong” and “water” are rooted from Old English. Initially the Germanic settlers spoke a vast number of languages but however as the time passed, a single language known as “Anglo-Saxon” was spoken among many migrants. It displaced many indigenous people who spoke “Brittonic Celtic” in the areas of what today known as “Kingdom of England”. Old English was written using a runic script known as “Futhorc”, however later it was replaced by a version of the Latin alphabet introduced by a group of Irish missionaries during 8th century.
After the Norman conquest in 1066, Old English was replaced by Anglo-Norman or in other words Anglo-Norman French as the language used by the upper classes of the society. In the history of English this is stated as “marking the Old English” as Anglo-Norman language was heavily influenced during this period. This time period is famously known as the middle English. For centuries after the conquest, the Norman kings, nobles and high-ranking officers spoke Anglo-Norman. The lower ranks of the society were bilingual in Anglo- Norman while old English remained to be the common language of the people. During this time both Anglo-Norman and later in the period Anglo-French was influenced in Middle English.
Until 14th century Anglo-Norman and Anglo-French were the languages used in the courts and the Governments. During this time around 10,000 French words were added to Middle English. Mainly these terms were associated with government, law, military, food and fashion. After 1200 many forms of English literature works began to reappear during the change of political climate. “Provisions of Oxford” was the first government English document published in English language after “Norman conquest”. However, during 1362, an act known as “The pleading in English Act” made English the only language which court proceeding could be held. During the middle English period, The English language was changed enormously in vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. During 15th century Middle English was replaced by Early Modern English. While spelling convections remained constant many extensive sound changes were made to English language.
The language was further transformed by the spread of standardized use of the language in government activities, administrative affairs and in the use of printing, the language acquired many self-conscious terms such “accent”. During this time native English letters died out. During the time of William Shakespeare, English language became clearly recognizable as the “Modern English language”. In 1604, the first Proper English dictionary known as “A Table Alphabetical” was created. During this time many Greek and Latin words were borrowed for the use of English. In the 17th century most of these Latin words were used with the original inflections, however with the time these words gradually disappeared.
As many words were many words from other languages the chances of making a mispronunciation became high. In 1755 the first full-featured English dictionary known as “The Dictionary of the English Language” was published by Samuel Johnson. The dictionary focused on both English spelling as well as word usage. Grammar texts done by Lowth, Murray, Priestly and many other people were other attempts to prescribe standard usage of English even further. The main difference between Early Modern English and Modern English in other words “present-day English” are in vocabulary. Many words in the present-day English are formed by the “Industrial Revolution” and with the emergence of new technologies.
This era is known as “Modern English”. After the formation of a proper stable language many different variations of English were made. Mainly these different variations were made from the way that people pronounced certain words and sometimes from the words that people use. For a example British expression for trash would be “Rubbish”. In the present day there are 09 different variations of English such as American English, British English, Australian English, Canadian English, Indian English, Philopena English, Ugandan English, New Zealand English and South African English. However the standard one from all of the above variations is British English. As Britain was the first place which the English Language was originated from. However no matter the variation, English is considered as a dead language through out the whole world. In the present-day English is considered as a dead language. The term dead language can be defined as a language that has stopped developing day by day. Sinhala is a language that is alive. Every year, the language gets developed, many new parts are added to the language and removed from the language. However, English hasn’t been developed since modern era. However, looking at the history of English, It is hard to be certain whether English is a dead language or not.
