School of Distance Education
                           HISTORY OF
                  ENGLISH LANGUAGE
                           (ENG1C03)
                                STUDYMATERIAL
                                  I SEMESTER
                                 CORECOURSE
                               MA ENGLISH
                          (2019AdmissionONWARDS)
                          UNIVERSITYOFCALICUT
                          SCHOOLOFDISTANCEEDUCATION
                  Calicut University P.O, Malappuram Kerala, India 673635.
                                   190003
             History of English Language                      Page1
                                        School of Distance Education
                  UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
                  SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
                  STUDY MATERIAL
                  FIRST SEMESTER
                  MA ENGLISH (2019 ADMISSION)
                  CORE COURSE:ENG1C03:HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
                Prepared by        :    1. Smt.Smitha N,
                                        Assistant Professor on Contract (English)
                                        School of Distance Education,
                                        University of Calicut.
                                        2. Prof. P P John (Retd.),
                                        St.Joseph’s College, Devagiri.
                Scrutinized by      :   Dr.Aparna Ashok,
                                        Assistant Professor on Contract,
                                        Dept. of English,
                                        University of Calicut.
                History of English Language                                  Page2
                                 School of Distance Education
                                 CONTENTS
                       1    Section : A              6
                       2    Section : B             45
                       3    Section : C             58
             History of English Language                      Page3
                                    School of Distance Education
              Introduction
                  As English Literature learners, we must know the evolution of this language over the past
              fifteen hundred years or more.  This course offers an overview of the History of English Language
              from its origin to the present. This SLM will have three sections: Section A briefly considers the
              early development of English Language and major historical events that had been made changes
              in its course. Section B takes up the changes that have taken place in English through Foreign
                       th th    th
              invasions in 17 , 18 , and 19 centuries, besides it discusses the contribution of major writers to
              enrich this language. In the Section C, we trace out the evolution of standard English and the
              significance of English in this globalized world where technology reigns. A lot of technical words
              has been used in this SLM. We suggest that you go through the entire sections and prepare your
              own notes. Moreover, we have given a list of books for reference that will give you a thorough
              understanding of the origin of English language, its growth and maturity. We wish you a happy
              learning experience.
              Syllabus
              Section A.
              Language families - The Indo-European family of languages; Germanic Family of languages and
              the origin of English - The early history of English language; Old English Period - Scandinavian
              invasions - Middle English Period: The Impact of the Norman Conquest on the English Language;
              - Middle English Literature. Modern English Period – Latin and Greek influence – Loan words -
              The impact of the Renaissance – Bible Translations. Sound changes in English – The Great Vowel
              Shift -
              Changes in Grammar, vocabulary, phonology and morphology – Semantics – word formations.
              Section B.
              Foreign influences on English in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Centuries –
              Colonialism and the English language – Expansion of Vocabulary – Semantic change- Pidgins and
              Creoles. Contributions of major writers to the growth of English vocabulary.
              Section C.
              The discrepancy between spelling and pronunciation - Attempts to reform English spelling –
              Evolution of Standard English - Dialects of English: British and American – English in India –
              English in the postcolonial world – English as a global language –– The rise of englishes‚ – impact
              of Science and Technology – English in the digital age.
              History of English Language                            Page4