Term
What invasions influenced the development of the English language? |
|
Definition
The invasions of the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans. |
|
|
Term
What language was spoken before the arrival of the Romans? |
|
Definition
Celtic was the language spoken before the arrival of the Romans. |
|
|
Term
What family of languages does English
belong to? |
|
Definition
English belongs to the Indo-European family of
language |
|
|
Term
| Where are these languages spoken? |
|
Definition
Most of these languages are spoken in Europe
and India today |
|
|
Term
| What are the Indo-European languages? |
|
Definition
These Indo-European
languages are: Latin and the Modern Romance
languages, the Germanic languages, Hindi
and Sanskrit, the Slavic languages, the Baltic
languages, the Celtic languages and Greek. |
|
|
Term
What group of languages does English
belong? |
|
Definition
English belongs to the Germanic group of
languages and exactly to the West Germanic
group |
|
|
Term
How was the Germanic group of languages
divided? |
|
Definition
The Germanic group of languages was divided
into: East Germanic (no languages today),
North Germanic (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
and Icelandic), West Germanic (modern
German, Dutch, Flemish, Frisian and English) |
|
|
Term
What language was spoken in Britain
before the arrival of the Roman troops? |
|
Definition
Before the arrival of the Roman troops Celtic
was the language spoken by the inhabitants of
the island. |
|
|
Term
What languages preceded English in the
British Isles before it became the main
language? |
|
Definition
Before becoming the main language in the
British Isles, English was preceded by Celtic, by
Latin (spoken by the Romans) and by the
languages of Germanic tribes coming from the
North Sea (the Anglo-Saxons: the Jutes, the
Angles and the Saxons). |
|
|
Term
| What were the branches of Celtic? |
|
Definition
Celtic can be divided into: Gaulish (spoken in
France and in northern Italy), Britannic
(spoken in Britain before the arrival of the
Anglo-Saxons), Gaelic (the Celtic language of Ireland) |
|
|
Term
Where do the Celtic languages survive
today? |
|
Definition
The Celtic languages survive today in Gaelic
languages of Scotland and Ireland and in
Welsh |
|
|
Term
Why can we find only a few traces of
Celtic in English? |
|
Definition
Today there are only a few traces of Celtic in
English because the Anglo-Saxon conquest was
not just the arrival of a ruling minority, but the
settlement of a whole people. |
|
|
Term
How many periods are there in the
development of English? |
|
Definition
Within the development of English there are
three periods: Old English, Middle English
and Modern English. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Old English
was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons
|
|
|
Term
What happened to the Celtic people
when the Germanic tribes invaded
Britain? |
|
Definition
When the Germanic tribes invaded Britain, the
Celtic people was pushed out of what is now
England into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and
Ireland |
|
|
Term
What is the best known example of Old
English? |
|
Definition
The best known example of Old English is the
poem “Beowulf”. |
|
|
Term
What was the second main period of the
English language? |
|
Definition
The second main period of the English
language is called Middle English. |
|
|
Term
What language influenced English in
Middle English? |
|
Definition
In the second period English was influenced by
French, which was spoken by the Normans who
invaded Britain in 1066. |
|
|
Term
| How is Modern English divided? |
|
Definition
Modern English is divided into Early Modern
English and Late-Modern English |
|
|
Term
Which works influenced English in the
first part of Modern English? |
|
Definition
In the first part of Modern English (Early
Modern English) the development of the
language was influenced by the works of
William Shakespeare and by King James’ Bible |
|
|
Term
| What were the major factors influencing the first part of Modern English? |
|
Definition
The major factors of this influence were
pronunciation and the development of
printing press. |
|
|
Term
Who brought the printing press to
England and when? |
|
Definition
The printing press was brought to England by
William Caxton in 1476. |
|
|
Term
What distinguishes the first period of
Modern English from the second one? |
|
Definition
The main distinction between Early and Late-
Modern English is in vocabulary,
pronunciation, grammar and spelling |
|
|
Term
What were the major factors which
influenced the second part of Modern
English? |
|
Definition
The major factors which influenced Late-
Modern English were the First Industrial
Revolution and the rise of the British Empire. |
|
|
