In modern times humans have used speech to communicate with each other. The verbal communications are as diverse as the people’s cultures. There are different dialects in the languages used by people. Ancient man used signs and symbols to pass information from one person to another. Sounds were used to get the attention of a person, and then the sign followed. With increased need for communication, languages were slowly developed. With this advancement came lots of influences from other languages. People travelled to distant lands carrying their ways of verbal communication. Interactions with natives resulted into novel forms of languages. The English, like most languages, is believed to have evolved through influence by foreign visitors.
The English method of verbal communication started with the advent of three Germanic ethnic groups. These tribal assemblies occupied Britain in the 5th century AD. They included the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. The tribes journeyed from Denmark and north of Germany. On arrival, they found the residents of Britain speaking a Celtic verbal way of communicating. However, a number of the residents were forced out by the invasion into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Angles originated from Englaland and they spoke Englisc. The ancestral place gave England its name and the Englisc language resulted into English speech (English Club 1).
The intruders all communicated using Germanic speeches. Their verbal communiqué were associated with what materialized to be Gothic, Dutch, German, Scandinavian dialects, and Frisian methods of speech. Nonetheless, facts on the languages of the invaders are little known due to lack of records. It was not until the times of the old English documentations, that provincial distinctions were established. This was however superseded by later discoveries. In the 19th century, Alfred the Great called the verbal communication English. Hints on the presence of Celtic language in English are rare, although they were present during the intrusion. Researchers view that grammatical advances in English are inclined to the Celtic way of dialogue. Nevertheless, this is largely provisional as the amounts of reference terms found in Old English are minimal (Durkin 1).
There were other groups that manipulated English language. The Vikings were such a group. Intrusions and occupations conveyed numerous Germanic expressions into English language, especially on the upper sections of England. Bulk of the statements in contemporary English originates from overseas and not Old English. A minute portion of the familiar Old English expressions have progeny existing at present. Even so, the facts are unreliable as Old English is a lot more significant than shown. Approximately one out of two statements frequently used in contemporary English, have Old English derivation. Statements such as be, strong, water and others, originate from Old English extraction. Old English survived through to the year 1100. This followed the Norman occupation which was significant in the expansion of the English language.
The duke of Normandy intruded and occupied England and the Anglo –Saxon in 1066 AD. The intruders conversed in a language of Old French branded as Anglo – Norman. They were similarly of Germanic collection and the later being a French vernacular. The Anglo- Norman contained substantial Germanic persuasion together with the fundamental Latin heredity. Preceding the occupation, Latin was merely a slight sway from the English language. It endeavored to influence English language using leftovers of the Roman inhibition and from the change of Britain to Christianity. With this came the mixture of Anglo- Norman utterances. The manipulation of the Normans could be demonstrated by considering a few statements, beef and cow. Beef, normally consumed by the upper classes, draws from Anglo – Norman. The Anglo-Saxon masses, which look after the livestock, hold on to the Germanic cow. Numerous judiciary references such as indict, verdict, and jury originate from Anglo-Norman since Normans operated the judiciary system. The divisions, in which statements are normally exercised by upper class, have Romantic origins. Statements often applied by the Anglo-Saxon masses have Germanic origins; they can be observed in several cases. Occasionally, French statements substituted Old English descriptions. For instance, crime swapped for firen and uncle for eam. In further cases merges were formed between French and Old English expressions to arrive at a novel statement. This can be seen in the joining of the French gentle and the Germanic man to result in gentleman. Conversely, two diverse statements with almost similar connotation endure into contemporary English. Therefore, there is the French wish and desire and the Germanic doom (History of the English Language 1).
Events of 1204 AD saw the ruler of Britain John trounced by the French ruler for the region of Normandy. The upper class of England was alienated from their French counterparts. England was the main worry of the upper class as opposed to their property in France. This led them to an acceptance of tailored English as their indigenous language. Shortly after 150 years, the Black Death of 1349-1350 murdered roughly one of every three English people. Consequently, the working and business groups increased in trade and social significance. Together with this increase was that of English language in contrast to Anglo-Norman. The blend of two tongues was referred to as Middle English. Middle English is legible compared to Old English, although with trouble, to contemporary English-talking persons. By 1362 English language had reached a higher status and was used even in the national assembly. In the 1500’s there was a transition into the modern English.
This novelty in English arrived with a new beginning. The renewal of traditional learning engaged numerous established Latin and Greek statements into English. The loaning was intentional and countless people regretted the acceptance of the vocabularies, however, several endure to date. Shakespeare used modern English to the dismay of some students. Amateurs to Shakespeare are frequently surprised at the amount of formulas enclosed in his dramas, not until they recognize that he created them. This has impacted the modern English language greatly. Other features also helped to separate modern and Middle English, for instance the Great Vowel Shift. This was an adjustment in articulation that commenced in 1400. Although contemporary English narrators can interpret Chaucer with a little intricacy, the utterance could have appeared incomprehensible to the contemporary listener. Alternatively, Shakespeare would be modulated, yet clear. Vowel reverberations were originated more to the border of the lips and the epistle “e” tailing terminologies were unspoken (History of the English Language 1).
The arrival of the publishing correspondents was a final key aspect in the maturity of Modern English. It was William Caxton who delivered publishing correspondence to England in 1476. Manuscripts were inexpensive resulting in increased number of learned people. Printing documents for the commoners was a gainful trade. Print outs in English were much more widespread as compared to the Latin prints. Publishing also instituted consistency to the English language. The regulatory machinery was situated in London which was the hub of publishing. Specifications for grammar and spelling were set with the initial English lexicon being printed in 1604 (History of the English Language 2).
Differences between early on and later contemporary English are in the terminology. Utterances, spelling, and grammar are relatively similar; however, Late-Modern English consists of more terms. These provisions resulted from dual past reasons. One is the manufacturing re-invention and the growth of the hi-tech culture. There was a requirement for novel terms to equipments and notions that had not subsisted previously. Next was the British Kingdom, which governed a quarter of the world at some point in time. This led to English accepting scores of terms and including them into its vocabulary. The disintegration of the language persists to this day, especially in areas such as information technology. Other significant influential bodies are like the military that have terms such as radar, camouflage, among others. American English followed in the 1600 AD with assortments of English (History of the English Language 3).
Learners of English usually do not have enough English verbal communication abilities to use in employment. While there are numerous English training lessons, not much is done for continued expansion in the language proficiency. Confidence when talking the language is a concern for most non-English speaking learners. Oral communiqué is largely different from written English. This challenges the learners in differentiating the two uses of English language. It typically puts them at a moment of truth when speaking to indigenous people. The dread of making simple mistakes such as gramma haunts the international learners. The terror forces them to mingle with people of their own language groups (Bernat et.al 21). The speech difficulty and traditions fright has resulted into a large concern for the global learners. However, it is thought to be a normal occurrence. Although they could understand the English language, a thought of difficulty in talking engulfs their minds (Xiao Li 1).
The English language has evolved over the centuries into the modern English we speak and publish. It has been a tremendous journey of manipulations and control by other dialects. This is common to most international languages that have not maintained their original identities. Nevertheless, English being an international language is prone to influence by other verbal communication styles. To maintain the uniformity, the standards set in place should be adhered to by the users of the language.
Works Cited
Bernat, Eva. Davies, Martin, and Ritchie, Carolyn. “Language learning strategies of international students: Five Australian universities investigate”. Web.
Durkin, Philip. History of English. “Five Events that Shaped the History of English” askoxford.com. 2009.
English Club. History of the English Language. “A short history of the origins and development of English”. englishclub.com.
History of the English Language. “A Brief History of the English Language”. www.anglik.net.
Pei, Xiao Li. “What is the big issue for international students?” webdiary.com.2008. Web.