Symposion Lectures - Symposion alpha

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This lecture traces the evolution of the English language by focusing on political and cultural events in Europe (and, particularly, in the British Isles) from 500 BC to the present. The talk covers basic facts about the Indo-European family of languages; the Celtic migrations at the dawn of history; the insinuation of Roman culture during the late Republic and early Empire; the invasions of Germanic speakers from Denmark which brought Old English to Britain; the Viking invasions; the Norman invasion which initiated the evolution to Middle English; and cultural circumstances which affected the language in the Middle Ages. We discuss Grimm's Law and other linguistic features characteristic of Germanic languages.

In addition to the general historical and linguistic commentary, we discuss Julius Caesar, the Emperor Claudius, Boudicca, Artemesia of Caria, Tomyris, Tacitus, Constantine I, Charles II of France, Hrolf the Walker, Harold II, William the Conqueror, King John of England, and Geoffrey Chaucer.

Below are the visual aids discussed in Symposion a.

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INDO-EUROPEAN COGNATES

*English*	*Sanskrit*	*Avestan*	*Greek*	*Latin*	*Gothic*
father	pita		patêr	pater	fadar
foot	padam		poda	pedem	fotu
brother	bhratar		phrater	frater	broþar
bear = I carry	bharami	barami	phero	fero	baira
quick = living	jivah	jivo		vivus	qius
were(wolf) = man	virah	viro		vir	wair

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THE EVOLUTION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER (OUR FATHER)

Old English

Fæder ure þuþe eart on heofonum

si þin nama gehalgod tobecume þin rice gewurþe þin willa on eorðan swa swa on

heofonum

urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice.

(c. 1000)

NOTE: þ and ð = th

Middle English

Oure fadir þat art in heuenes halwid be þi name;
þi reume or kyngdom come to be. Be þi wille don in herþe as it is dounin heuene.
yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred.
And foryeue to us oure dettis þat is oure synnys as we foryeuen to oure dettouris þat is to

men þat han synned in us.

And lede us not into temptacion but delyuere us from euyl.

(1384)

Elizabethan/Early Modern English

Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen.
Giue us this day our daily bread.
And forgiue us our debts as we forgiue our debters.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliuer us from euill. Amen.

(1611)

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A CHRONOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

55 BC	Roman invasion of Britain under Julius Caesar
43 AD	Roman invasion and occupation under Emperor Claudius. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain
436	Roman withdrawal from Britain complete
449	Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain begins
450-480	Earliest Old English inscriptions date from this period
597	St. Augustine arrives in Britain. Beginning of Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
731	The Venerable Bede publishes The Ecclesiastical History of the English People in Latin
793	Viking raids and settlements begin
865	The Danes occupy Northumbria
871	Alfred becomes king of Wessex. He has Latin works translated into English and begins practice of English prose. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is begun
911	Charles II of France grants Normandy to the Viking chief Hrolf the Ganger. The beginning of Norman French
c.1000	The oldest surviving manuscript of Beowulf dates from this period
1066	The Norman conquest
c.1150	The oldest surviving manuscripts in Middle English date from this period
1204	King John loses the province of Normandy to France
1348	English replaces Latin as the medium of instruction in schools, other than Oxford and Cambridge which retain Latin
1349-50	The Black Death kills one third of the British population
1362	The Statute of Pleading replaces French with English as the language of law. Records continue to be kept in Latin. English is used in Parliament for the first time
1384	Wyclif publishes his English translation of the Bible
c.1388	Chaucer begins The Canterbury Tales
c.1400	The Great Vowel Shift begins
1476	William Caxton establishes the first English printing press
1525	William Tyndale translates the New Testament
1549	First version of The Book of Common Prayer
1564	Shakespeare born
1604	Robert Cawdrey publishes the first English dictionary, Table Alphabeticall
1611	The Authorized, or King James Version, of the Bible is published
1616	Death of Shakespeare
1623	Shakespeare's First Folio is published
1702	Publication of the first daily, English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, in London
1755	Samuel Johnson publishes his dictionary
1828	Noah Webster publishes his dictionary
1928	The Oxford English Dictionary is published

Symposion alpha

The History of the English Language

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE