What is The Earliest Form of English?
The story of English as we know it is a long one, but the truth is that we can trace its roots back to early Anglo-Saxon.
Did you know that English is the world’s third-most-spoken language? And it’s not even close! That means there are billions of people around the globe who speak English.
English is a language, and languages change over time. Some linguists say that English began as a West Germanic dialect spoken by the Angles and Saxons, which became the basis of Old English.
History Of English In 8 Points
1. The Oldest Known Spelling System
Spelling systems existed even before the English language was written down. Most of us learn to read without ever learning how to spell. The earliest known spelling system is the Etruscan alphabet, developed in Etruria around 600 BC. It wasn’t used until after the Romans took control of Etruria. The Roman alphabet, which is still used today, was established in Rome in the 4th century BC.
The oldest known spelling system was written around 2500 B.C. on the walls of the Hittite Kingdom.
It is based on a phonetic system where each word is pronounced in three syllables and the final syllable of each word is its spelling
. This system has been studied and documented extensively and was used until the mid-19th century.
This is also the system that the Phoenicians used and is the basis for the alphabet still in use today.
2. How English Became Spoken Language
The second principle is that English was spoken language long before it became a
Many languages are spoken in several parts of the world and yet it’s English that’s considered the language of business, academia, media, and almost every part of our society.
Why is that? We don’t know exactly, but there are a lot of theories about why it became such a global language
. It’s the world’s lingua franca, after all, and it’s used across the globe. So, even if you’re not a native
English speaker, chances are that at some point in your life you spoke, listened to, or read English.
written language, and has always been spoken, not just written, says Tracy. To prove it, she offers these examples:
The French language is older than English; the first written Chinese text dates back to 2737 BC, and the first written English text was written in 886 AD.
3. Why English Spread Worldwide
Why English spread worldwide, English became the international language
. It is because people from all over the world came together and made sure that they could communicate with each other.
These people did not want to be isolated anymore from the rest of the world
. They wanted to communicate with each other.
English was created in order for people to do that. Because of this, it spread all over the world.
4. Why English Spread Beyond Europe
The spread of English across the globe was initially the result of colonialism.
Colonies were established by English people in many parts of the world, and after a period of time, they created a demand for their language.
In time, the population of English speakers increased, and schools and universities were built in these places.
The spread of English outside of the English-speaking world is largely the result of globalization
. English is the international language of business and has been since the 19th century.
It is now spoken all over the world.
The spread of English around the world and its adoption as a second language has been fueled by both globalization and imperialism.
From the 1600s until the 1800s, the British Empire became a dominant force in global politics and commerce.
This economic power led to the development of international trade routes and eventually, an English-speaking world.
The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa all developed into countries because of their British roots.
Even with the end of the British Empire in the mid-1900s, English continues to be used by many in the world today.
5. Early English Spelling Systems
English spelling systems are not the same everywhere and have been a source of confusion for many centuries.
Even when an official spelling system exists, it is often not used and is only applied in very limited circumstances.
Some notable differences include the absence of a uniform sound system (e.g. how words like ‘dog’ and ‘goat’ are spelled) and the lack of a standardized system for representing consonant clusters
(for example, the fact that ‘man’ is pronounced differently from ‘man’).
There are many other examples, but the point is that there is no single, correct English spelling system. In the last century, many alternative spelling systems have come and gone.
6. The Development of the Modern English Orthography
The modern spelling system is based on the Latin alphabet, but it has undergone many changes over the centuries.
In the late 17th century, scholars were in the midst of debating whether the English alphabet should be changed to include a letter to represent the sound "sh."
The "sh" wasn't adopted until the mid-19th century, and only one of its four proposed letters (sh) was used in any significant numbers.
7. Common Mistakes: Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
Spelling and punctuation aren’t just about being professional and grammatically correct. It’s about building trust in your brand.
Trust is a major element of any brand strategy and is even more critical for eCommerce brands than for brick-and-mortar businesses
. So if you make mistakes when using the English language, you’ll appear as if you don’t care enough about your brand to properly communicate and engage with customers.
Not only will this make potential customers feel uncomfortable, but it could also make them stop sharing your content with others and ultimately lead to an increased bounce rate.
8. How English Changed over the Years
English has been evolving ever since the Norman Conquest. It’s a rich language with many dialects.
Here’s a short timeline to illustrate some of the changes.
As it stands now, English is the second most commonly used language in the world, with over a billion people speaking it.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s always been the same. In fact, English has evolved quite a bit over the centuries.
Some of these changes include spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.
Final Thoughts
the earliest written records of English are found on stone inscriptions carved into boulders. One such inscription was written on a boulder at Stonehenge.
Another was carved into a rock face in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The text on these stones consists of the name of the person who wrote it, and their message to someone else
. These are called Runic inscriptions because they were created with runic symbols. Runes are the same type of alphabet used in the ancient Germanic languages known today as English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Danish, and Finnish.
There are many more examples of Runic inscriptions, scattered across Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, Russia, and even parts of the Middle East. You can see them yourself at the British Museum in London.
Early English is the early form of the English language before it was “modernized” by the Normans. It is sometimes referred to as Old English, Anglo-Saxon, or Anglo-Saxon.
To begin with, it was made up of only about twenty-five to thirty-five words
Nowadays we have about five hundred words in our English language. Early English was a direct descendant of Proto-Germanic, which in turn is descended from Proto-Indo-European, the oldest language known to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Latin the early form of English?
Although the English language as a language is not descended from Latin as the Romance languages are, about 60% of English words are of Latin origin due to borrowing.
what is the "earliest" form of English?
the earliest form of the English language – was spoken and written in Anglo-Saxon Britain from c. 450 CE until c. 1150 (thus it continued to be used for some decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066)
What is middle English?
Old English was the language spoken during the 5th to mid-12th century; Middle English was spoken during mid 11th to late 15th century. 2.
Old English developed and originated from North Sea Germanic; Middle English developed from Wessex.
What is an old English example?
Old English words were spelled as they were pronounced; the "silent" letters in many Modern English words, such as the "k" in "knight", were in fact pronounced in Old English.
For example, the 'hard-c' sound in cniht, the Old English equivalent of 'knight', was pronounced.