And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program,
EXPLORATIONS. Today we present the second of our two programs about the
history of the English Language.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
Last week, we told how the English language developed as a result of
several invasions of Britain. The first involved three tribes called the
Angles, the Jutes and the Saxons. A mix of their languages produced a
language called Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. It sounded very much like
German. Only a few words remained from the Celts who had lived in Britain.
Two more invasions added words to Old English. The Vikings of Denmark,
Norway and Sweden arrived in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The
next invasion took place in the year ten sixty-six. French forces from
Normandy were led by a man known as William the Conqueror.
The Norman rulers added many words to English. The words 錕斤拷parliament,?
錕斤拷jury,?錕斤拷justice,?and others that deal with law come from the Norman
rulers.
VOICE TWO:
Over time, the different languages combined to result in what English
experts call Middle English. While Middle English still sounds similar to
German, it also begins to sound like Modern English.
VOICE TWO(cont):
Here Warren Scheer reads the very beginning of Geoffrey Chaucer錕斤拷s great
poem, 錕斤拷The Canterbury Tales?as it was written in Middle English.
(錕斤拷The Canterbury Tales?
VOICE ONE:
Chaucer wrote that poem in the late thirteen hundreds. It was written
in the language of the people. The rulers of Britain at that time still
spoke the Norman French they brought with them in ten sixty-six.
The kings of Britain did not speak the language of the people until the
early fourteen hundreds. Slowly, Norman French was used less and less
until it disappeared.
VOICE TWO:
The English language was strongly influenced by an event that took
place more than one thousand four hundred years ago. In the year five
ninety-seven, the Roman Catholic Church began its attempt to make
Christianity the religion of Britain.
The language of the Catholic Church was Latin. Latin was not spoken as
a language in any country at that time. But it was still used by some
people.
Latin made it possible for a church member from Rome to speak to a
church member from Britain. Educated people from different countries could
communicate using Latin.
Latin had a great affect on the English language. Here are a few
examples. The Latin word 錕斤拷discus?became several words in English including
錕斤拷disk,?錕斤拷dish,?and 錕斤拷desk.?nbsp; The Latin word 錕斤拷quietus?became the English
word 錕斤拷quiet.?nbsp; Some English names of plants such as ginger and trees
such as cedar come from Latin. So do some medical words such as cancer.
VOICE ONE:
English is a little like a living thing that continues to grow. English
began to grow more quickly when William Caxton returned to Britain in the
year fourteen seventy-six. He had been in Holland and other areas of
Europe where he had learned printing. He returned to Britain with the
first printing press.
The printing press made it possible for almost anyone to buy a book. It
helped spread education and the English language.
VOICE TWO:
Slowly, during the fifteen hundreds English became the modern language
we would recognize. English speakers today would be able to communicate
with English speakers in the last part of the Sixteenth Century.
It was during this time period that the greatest writer in English
produced his work. His name was William Shakespeare. His plays continue to
be printed, acted in theaters, and seen in motion pictures almost four
hundred years after his death.
VOICE ONE:
Experts say that Shakespeare錕斤拷s work was written to be performed on the
stage, not to be read. Yet every sound of his words can produce word
pictures, and provide feelings of anger, fear, and laughter. Shakespeare錕斤拷s
famous play 錕斤拷Romeo and Juliet?is so sad that people cry when they see this
famous story.
The story of the power hungry King Richard the Third is another very
popular play by Shakespeare. Listen as Shep O錕斤拷Neal reads the beginning, of
錕斤拷Richard the Third.?/P>
("RICHARD THE THIRD")
VOICE TWO:
The development of the English language took a giant step just nine
years before the death of William Shakespeare. Three small British ships
crossed the Atlantic Ocean in sixteen-oh-seven. They landed in an area
that would later become the southern American state of Virginia. They
began the first of several British colonies. The name of the first small
colony was Jamestown.
VOICE TWO(cont):
In time, people in these new colonies began to call areas of their new
land by words borrowed from the native people they found living there. For
example, many of the great rivers in the United States are taken from
American Indian words. The Mississippi, the Tennessee, the Missouri are
examples. Other Native American words included 錕斤拷moccasin? the kind of shoe
made of animal skin that Indians wore on their feet. This borrowing or
adding of foreign words to English was a way of expanding the language.
The names of three days of the week are good examples of this. The people
from Northern Europe honored three gods with a special day each week. The
gods were Odin, Thor and Freya. Odin錕斤拷s-day became Wednesday in English,
Thor錕斤拷s-day became Thursday and Freya錕斤拷s-day became Friday.
VOICE ONE:
Britain had other colonies in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and India.
The English language also became part of these colonies. These colonies
are now independent, but English still is one of the languages spoken. And
the English language grew as words from the native languages were added.
For example, the word 錕斤拷shampoo?for soap for the hair came from India.
錕斤拷Banana?is believed to be from Africa.
Experts cannot explain many English words. For hundreds of years, a dog
was called a 錕斤拷hound.?nbsp; The word is still used but not as commonly as
the word 錕斤拷dog.?nbsp; Experts do not know where the word 錕斤拷dog?came from or
when. English speakers just started using it. Other words whose origins
are unknown include 錕斤拷fun,?錕斤拷bad,?and 錕斤拷big.?/P>
VOICE TWO:
English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words
together. A good example is the words 錕斤拷motor?and 錕斤拷hotel.?nbsp; Many years
ago some one linked them together into the word 錕斤拷motel.?nbsp; A motel is a
small hotel near a road where people travelling in cars can stay for the
night.
Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices.
A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and
Ranging became 錕斤拷Radar.?nbsp; The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is
usually called NATO.
VOICE TWO(cont):
Experts say that English has more words that explain the same thing
that any other language. For example, the words
錕斤拷large,?錕斤拷huge,?錕斤拷vast,?錕斤拷massive,? and 錕斤拷enormous?all mean something really
錕斤拷big.?
VOICE ONE:
People often ask how many words there are in the English language.
Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about six
hundred fifteen thousand words. Yet the many scientific words not in the
dictionary could increase the number to almost one million.
And experts are never really sure how to count English words. For
example, the word 錕斤拷mouse.?nbsp; A mouse is a small creature from the
rodent family. But 錕斤拷mouse?has another very different meaning. A 錕斤拷mouse?is
also a hand-held device used to help control a computer. If you are
counting words do you count 錕斤拷mouse?two times?
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Visitors to the Voice of America hear people speaking more than forty
different languages. Most broadcasters at VOA come from countries where
these languages are spoken. International organizations such as VOA would
find it impossible to operate without a second language all the people
speak.
The language that permits VOA to work is English. It is not unusual to
see someone from the Mandarin Service talking to someone from the Urdu
Service, both speaking English. English is becoming the common language of
millions of people worldwide, helping speakers of many different languages
communicate.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson.
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another
EXPLORATIONS program, on the Voice of America.
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