INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

History of the English

Language
-Indo-European Language Family Tree
-World Englishes

World Englishes

Question
Why history of
language?

Question: Why history of language?

A fascinating study in its own right
Satisfies the deep-rooted sense of curiosity
about our linguistic heritage, creating
awareness of our linguistic roots.
Promotes a sense of identity and continuity
Enables us to find coherence of the
fluctuations and conflicts of present-day
English language use
A valuable perspective for the contemporary
study of the language

History Of English Before England

Four Major Language Familiies
SINO-TIBETAN
e.g. Mandarin Chinese
FINNO-UGRIC
e.g. Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian, etc.
HAMIDO-SEMITIC
e.g. Arabic and Hebrew
INDO-EUROPEAN
e.g. Romance, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Indo-Iranian, and Celtic

History of the English Language

The earliest known residents of the British Isles
were the Celts, who spoke Celtic languagesa
separate branch of theIndo-European language
family tree.
Over the centuries the British Isles were
invaded and conquered by various peoples,
who brought their languages and customs with
them as they settled in their new lives. There is
now very little Celtic influence left in English.
The earliest time when we can say that English
was spoken was in the 5th century CE
(Common Eraa politically correct term used
to replace AD (Anno Domini).

The Indo-European Family of

Languages

Indo-European language families in Europe

The Indo-European Family of

Languages
One language family that includes languages spoken
across Europe and into Asia, including English.
The development of English from Old English (4491100) to Middle English (1100-1500) to Early Modern
English (1500-1800) to Present-Day English.
The stages of English can be identified by syntactic,
morphological, phonological, and lexical differences,
as well as by differences in spelling.
English changes, hence the rise of the idea of
correct English and prescriptive grammar in
eighteenth-century England.

The Indo-European Family of

Languages
Many languages can be traced back to one
common ancestor/mother language called
Proto-Indo-European
English is a member of this family and part of
the subfamily of Germanic languages.
The comparative method of linguistics is used.

(Sir William Jones, 1786)

 The comparative method- technique of

linguistic analysis that compares lists of
related words in a selection of languages to
find cognates
Cognates- words (with the same meaning)
descended from a common ancestor
Regular sound correspondences (predictable
sound changes across languages that show
how they are related)

Indo-European Numbers
ENGLISH: SPANISH:

GERMAN: FRENCH: PERSIAN:

one

uno

eins

un

yek

two

dos

zwei

deux

do

three

tres

drei

trois

seh

four

quatro

fier

quatre

chahar

five

cinqo

funf

cinque

panj
(FRH [2011]
535)

Sanskri
t

Proto-Indo-European Word Roots

-The Comparative Method
Greek

Latin

Gothic

pita

Pater

Pater

Fadar

Pater

padam

Poda

Pedem

Fotu

Ped

bhratar Phrater

Frater

Brothor

Bhrater-

bharam Phero
i

Fero

Baira

Bher-

jivah

Wiwos

Qius

Gwei-

Senex

Sinista

Sen-

wir

wair

Wiro-

Sanah
virah

henee

English

PIE
Roots
(ProtoIndo
Europea
n)

Meaning

The Comparative Method

Sanskri
t

Greek

Latin

Gothic

English

PIE
Roots
(ProtoIndo
Europea
n)

Meaning

pita

Pater

Pater

Fadar

Father

Pater

Father

padam

Poda

Pedem

Fotu

Foot

Ped

Foot

bhratar Phrater

Frater

Brothor

Brother

Bhrater-

Brother

bharam Phero
i

Fero

Baira

Bear

Bher-

Carry

jivah

Wiwos

Qius

Quick

Gwei-

Live

Senex

Sinista

Senile

Sen-

Old

wir

wair

were

Wiro-

man

Sanah
virah

henee

The Indo-European Family of Languages

The most widely studies language family in the
world, reasons being:
many of the most important languages of the world are IndoEuropean (mother tongue, official or co-official, important in
academic, technical, business and world organisations).
Examples:English,Spanish,French,German,Russian
Languages that are essential in multinational contexts or
with large numbers of speakers.
Examples: Portuguese,Hindi,German,Bengali.
Some of the great classical languages of religion, culture and
philosophy . Examples:
Latin,Greek,Persian,Sanskrit,Pali.
Languages that are scattered around the world as their
speakers are part of diasporas
Examples:Greek,Yiddish,Polish,Armenian,Romany,Ku
rdish,
Italian,Punjabi,Gujarat

Characteristics
Tend to be inflected (verbs and nouns have
different endings depending on their part in
a sentence)
The Indo-European languages stretch from
the Americas through Europe to North
India.
Divided into twelve branches, ten of which
contain existing languages
Two extinct languages are Latin and Greekno native speakers

The Branches
The Celtic Branch
The Germanic
Branch
The Latin Branch
The Slavic Branch
The Baltic Branch
The Hellenic
Branch

The Illyric Branch

The Anatolian
Branch
The Thracian
Branch
The Iranian Branch
The Indic Branch
The Tokharian
Branch

The Celtic Branch

now the smallest branch
the languages originated in Central Europe and
once dominated Western Europe (around 400BC).
The people migrated across to the British Isles
over 2000 years ago. Later, when the Germanic
speaking Anglo Saxons arrived, the Celtic speakers
were pushed into Wales (Welsh), Ireland (Irish
Gaelic) and Scotland (Scottish Gaelic).
One group of Celts moved back to France. Their
language becameBretonspoken in the Brittany
region of France. Breton is closer to Welsh than to
French.

The Celtic Branch

Other Celtic languages have became extinct.
These includeCornish(Cornwall in England now
being
revived),Gaulish(France),Cumbrian(Cumbr
ia),
Manx(Isle of Man - another language
being
revived),Pictish(Scotland)
andGalatian(spoken in Anatolia by the
Galatians.
Welsh has the word orderVerb-SubjectObjectin a sentence. Irish has the third oldest
literature in Europe (after Greek and Latin).

The Germanic Branch

These languages originate fromOld
NorseandSaxon.
The
vast
majority of the Celtic and Germanic
languages use the Latin Alphabet.
They includeEnglish, the second
most spoken language in the world,
the most widespread, the language
of technology, and the language with
the largest vocabulary.

The Germanic Branch

German has a system of fourcasesand
threegendersfor its nouns.
An example in English would be the
forms:lady,lady's,ladiesandladies'. The
genders are masculine, feminine and neuter.
German has three dialects spoken in northern
Germany, southern Germany and Austria, and
a very different form spoken in Switzerland.
English has lost gender and case. Only a few
words form their plurals like German
(ox,oxenandchild,children). Most now
add ans, having been influenced by Norman
French.

The Latin Branch

Also
called
theItalicorRomance
Languages.
Latin is one of the most important classical
languages. Its alphabet (derived from the
Greek alphabet) is used by many languages
of the world.
Latin had three genders and at least six
cases for its nouns and aSubject-ObjectVerbsentence structure. Most modern
Romance languages have only two genders,
no
cases
and
aSubject-VerbObjectstructure.

The Slavic Branch

These languages are confined to Eastern
Europe.
The Slavic languages are famed for their
consonant clusters and large number of cases
for nouns (up to seven). Many of the
languages
have
threenumbersfor
verbs:singular,dualandplural.
Macedonian has three definite articles
indicating
distance;
all
are
suffixes:VOL(ox),VOLOT(the
ox),VOLOV(the ox here),VOLON(the ox
there).

The Baltic Branch

Three Baltic states but only two Baltic
Languages.
Lithuanianis one of the oldest of the
Indo-European languages. Its study is
important in determining the origins and
evolution of the family. Lithuanian
andLatvianboth use the Latin script and
have
tones.
Lithuanian
has
three
numbers: singular, dual and plural.
Prussianis an extinct language from this
branch

The Hellenic Branch

The only extant language in this branch
isModern Greek.
Greek is one of the oldest Indo-European
languages.Mycenaeandates
from
1300BC. The Ancient Greek ofHomerwas
written from around 700BC. The major
forms were Doric(Sparta),Ionic(Cos),
Aeolic(Lesbos), and Attic(Athens). The
latter is Classical Greek.
Greek has three genders and four cases for
nouns but no form of the verb infinitive.

The IIIyric Branch

Another single language branch
There are two dialects that have
been diverging for 1000 years. They
are
mostly
mutually
intelligible.Gegis spoken in the
north
of
Albania
and
Kosovo
(Kosova).Toskis spoken in southern
Albania and north west Greece.

The Anatolian Branch

This branch includes the language of
theHittitecivilisation which once
ruled central Anatolia.
All languages in this branch are
extinct.
Hittite is the earliest Indo-European
language known in Europe. It has two
noun
genders,
animate
and
inanimate. It has post-positions.

The Thracian Branch

This branch is represented by a
single modern language,Armenian.
It has its own script.

The Iranian Branch

These languages are descended
fromAncient Persian, the literary
language of the Persian Empire and
one of the great classical languages.
The main language of this branch
isFarsi(also
calledIranian,DariandPersian),
the main language of Iran and much
of Afghanistan.

The Indic Branch

This branch has the most languages. Most
are found in North India. They are derived
fromSanskrit(the classical language of
Hinduism dating from 1000BC).
This gave rise to Pali (the language of
Buddhism), Ardhamagadhi (the language of
Jainism) and the ancestors of the modern
North Indian languages.
Modern
North
Indian
languages,HindiandUrduare very similar

The Indic Branch

Hindi

In India most of the states have their own

language

Bengali
Sinhale
se
The fascinating point about India is that the
south Indian languages (likeTamil) are not
Indo-European. In other words, Hindi is
related to English, Greek and French but is
totally unrelated to Tamil.

The Tokharian Branch

TurfanianandKucheanare
recently identified extinct languages
once spoken in north west China.

IndoEuropean
Family
Tree

World Englishes and

Varieties
of English

History Of English In England

499-1066 : Old English
1066-1500 : Middle English
1500-Today : Modern English
499
: Saxons invade Britain
6th Century : Religious Literature
8th Century : Beowulf
1066
: Norman Conquest
1387
: Canterbury Tales
1476
: Caxtons Printing Press
1500
: Great Vowel Shift
1564
: Birth of Shakespeare
(Fromkin Rodman Hyams [2007] 462)

GREAT ENGLISH VOWEL SHIFT

(Fromkin Rodman Hyams [2011] 493-494)

OLD ENGLISH: The Lords Prayer

Fder ure,
ou e eart on heofonum,
si in name gehalgod.
Tobecume in rice.
Gewure in willa on eoran swa swa on heofenum.
Urne gedghwamlican hlaf syle us to dg.
And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfa urum
gyltendum.
And ne geld u us on costnunge,
ac alys us of yfele.
Solice.
(Roberts [2009]: 76)

MIDDLE ENGLISH, from Chaucers

Canterbury Tales
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droght of March hath perced to the
roote
When April with its sweet showers
The drought of March has pierced to the
root.
(Fromkin Rodman Hyams [2011] 489, 496)

EARLY MODERN ENGLISH:

Shakespeares Hamlet

A man may fish with the worm that

hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish
that hath fed of that worm.
(Fromkin Rodman Hyams [2007] 462)

Timeline of the History of the

English Language

How many people speak

1500 4 million English?
1600
1700
1800
1900
Today

6 million
8.5 million
20-40 million
116-123 million
(first language) ~ 375 million
(second language) ~ 375 million
(foreign language) ~ 750 million
Total around 1.5 billion (of the 6 billion in the world,
about 1 in 4)
(source: British Council Website - now down!)

Who speaks English today?

English as a Native Language (ENL)
- Language of those born and raised in one of the
countries where English is historically the first
language to be spoken (i.e. mainly the UK, USA,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand)
- ~ 350 million speakers
English as a Second Language (ESL)
- Language spoken in a large number of territories
which were once colonised by the English (e.g.,
India, Nigeria, Singapore)
- ~ 350 million speakers

 English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

- Language of those for whom it serves no
purposes within their own countries
- Historically, EFL was learned to use the
language with its native speakers in the US and
UK
- ~ 1 billion speakers with reasonable
competence

World Englishes
We can no longer
simply view English as
a worldwide lingua
franca;
rather,
as
many
non-native
varieties of English
become standardised.
(Kachru, 1992)
Braj B. Kachru
(University of Illinois)

Braj B. Kachru
University of Illinois

World Englishes
What is/are World English(es)?

The expression "world Englishes" is

capable of a range of meanings and
interpretations. (p. 240, Bolton, 2006):
an umbrella label referring to a wide range
of differing approaches to the description
and analysis of English(es) worldwide.
the "new Englishes" found in the
Caribbean and in West African and East
African societiesand toAsian Englishes

Why use the term

Englishes?
The term
symbolises:
Functional & formal
variations
Divergent
sociolinguistic
context
Ranges and varieties
of English in
Creativity
Various type of
acculturisation in
parts of the Western

Emphasises WEness, and not the

dichotomy
between us and
them (the native
and non-native
speakers)

Government desire for

standardization of English in
Singapore:
The Anti-Singlish Campaign

Use of English between two speakers,

neither of whom speak English as a
native language

How English is Used Globally

English is used to make something

look more fashionable,
modern, expensive
Example:
A is for Ambrella
The very best stationery
for people who get excited
when they see English
all over everything

Examples

Examples

Kachrus Circles
Theory

Many varieties
of English are
found across
the globe.
Kachru (1992)
has classified
these varieties
as those used
in the inner
circle, the
outer circle,
and the
expanding
circle.

The Expanding Circle

China, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Korea,
Nepal, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,
Russia, Zimbabwe

The Outer Circle

Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya,
Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, Zambia

The Inner Circle

USA, UK,
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand

Kachrus Concentric Circles of English

Inner Circle
Represents the traditional bases of English
Dominated by the mother-tongue
varieties of the language

Outer Circle
English has been institutionalised as an
additional language

Expanding Circle
Includes the rest of the world where
English is used as the primary foreign
language.

Using Kachrus Circle Theory

Studies suggest that there were (in 2001) an estimated
375 million users of English in Inner-Circle societies,
375 million in Outer-Circle (ESL) societies, and
750-1,000 million in the Expanding (EFL) Circle
(McArthur, 2001)
The vast majority of teachers of English as a second
and foreign language in the world today are nonnative teachers working in a wide range of settings
in Outer-Circle and Expanding-Circle societies. (p.
261, Bolton, 2006).
Non-native English speaking teachers = NNESTs

A Historical Overview of
Kachrus Circles

The spread of Englishes

from the United Kingdom to countries where native

English speakers have settled down in large numbers
(Kachrus Inner Circle countries, 1992): Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United
States as a first language for many
as a second language (Kachrus Outer Circle, 1992):
Examples - Hong Kong, India, Singapore
or a foreign language (Kachrus Expanding Circle, 1992):
Examples - Germany, Hungary, Poland, China, and Japan

Reasons for the spread (Kandiah, 1998):

colonisation; global village

t:
p
e
c
n
o
ish orld
l
C
g
W ?
s d En
r
a
u
r
y
e
th
a
h
b
r
d
A
Mc Stan there ose? W
h
r ld o u ld
o
W
c
W
h?
d
s
i
n
l
a
ng
d
l
E
u
Sho ndard
Sta

59

Rebecca L. Oxford (c)

2008

MacArthurs circle of English

There is nothing in the center.

Reasons:
There is NO universal English language, nor a World Standard
English (WSE).
People construct English as suits their purposes in a given
context at a given time.
Functionality and pragmatics are more relevant than WSE.

English as a Double-edged
Sword
Even though the majority of ESL & EFL
teachers in the world are NNESTs, some
institutions fight to get NESTs (e.g., some Korea
universities)

Ambivalence about non-native varieties in

Outer Circle
Center still
industry

controls

English

textbooks
professional journals (changing somewhat)
the concept of who the experts are

language

Legitimacy
However, in some ESL contexts,
such as India, locally produced
materials in English may be given
preference over Center-produced
materials, and locally trained
teachers are seen as legitimate
English language teacher

Why Teach World

Englishes?

Provides a challenging opportunity to

relate three academic areas - language,

literature and methodology.

The approach to World Englishes is cross-

cultural and cross-linguistic

The sources involve diverse cultures,
languages and literatures in contact with
English
One has to have interdisciplinary
perspectives focusing on the linguistic face
of World Englishes.

Conclusion
1. A paradigm shift in research,
teaching, and application of
sociolinguistic realities to the
functions of English.
2. A shift from frameworks and
theories which are essentially
appropriate only to monolingual
countries.

Kachru
believes that
for proper
conceptualisati
on and study of
World
Englishes, two
types of shifts
are needed:

It is essential to recognise that World Englishes

represent certain linguistic, cultural, and
pragmatic realities and pluralism, and that
pluralism is now an integral part of World
Englishes and literatures written in Englishes.

66

Rebecca L. Oxford (c)

2008

The Story of English

Rebecca L. Oxford (c) 2008

67

http://www.pbs.org/speak/
Go there for essays related
to the series

Rebecca L. Oxford (c) 2008

68

n
o
i
n at
a
C is ty
d ti
r
a en
d
n id me
a
st nd co d?
a be ce
n
a
l
Who
a
b

W
h
wh at
at is a
is n
a er
di ro
ffe r,
re an
nc d
e?

is a native
speaker?
And is that important?

What things can non-native English-speaking

teachers (NNESTs) do better? What things can
native English-speaking teacher (NESTs)
do
Rebecca L. Oxford (c)
69
2008
better?

E-language as an example of
the morphing of English
Lol, gtg, lylas, brb, waz, nm, ctn,
tmi, luvya, bf, bff, gf, ttfn, cul8R,
ttyl.

From Prensky, M. (2001).

Digital game-based learning.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rebecca L. Oxford (c) 2008

70

A Translation
Lol
Laugh out loud
Gtg Got to go
Lylas Love you like a
sister
Brb
Be right back
waz Whats up?
Nm
Nothing much
Ctn
Cant talk now

Ctn
Cant talk now
Tmi Too much
information
Luvya Love ya
Bf
Boyfriend
Bff Best friend
Gf
Girlfriend

And as we close . . .
Ttfn
Tata for now
Cul8r See you later
Ttyl
Talk
to(c)you
Rebecca
L. Oxford
2008 later

71

Issues Related to World Englishes

1. How are different world Englishes (socially)
perceived?
2. How recognisable are different world
Englishes? What factors influence this
recognition?
3. How is English used in the world? How should
it be used? (in part, code-switching and
language policy)
4. How do world Englishes differ from each other
or how are they similar (pidgins and creoles)?

Pidgins & Creoles

Language varieties developed by speakers in
contact who share no common language.
Definition pidgin
A pidgin is a language with no native speakers: it
is no ones first language but is a contact
language.
(Wardhaugh 2006: 613)

Definition creole
In contrast to a pidgin, a creole is often defined
as a pidgin that has become the first language of
a new generation of speakers.
(Wardhaugh 2006: 613)

Pidgins
- Stigmatisation as inferior, bad languages
- European expansion into Africa and Asia
during colonial period
- Contact languages between dominant
European language speakers and speakers
of mutually unintelligible indigenous African
and American languages
- Fulfils restricted communicative needs
between people who do not share a common
language
- Little need for grammatical redundancy

 Creole
Languages developed from pidgins
First language of some members of a
speech community
Used for a wide range of functions

Examples
. Jamaican Creole (also called patois)
. Krio (Sierra Leone, Africa)
. Gullah (South Carolina & Georgia)

Tutorial Tasks:
Discuss the origins and development of the
English language and the future of World
Englishes.
Singapore is currently promoting the antiSinglish campaign nationwide. In your opinion,
what are the reasons for the move?
Diversion from Standard English (Queens
English) brings more advantages than
disadvantages. Discuss.
If I can get by with Pidgin English, why bother
with the Queens English?. Discuss.