[music plays] England, part of a small island off the
west coast of Europe. Yet English is the spoken language or else an official language in all these parts of the world. It is in fact a world language. Where did it start? Somewhere between South Russia, near the Black Sea, and the Baltic
several thousand years ago. This was the home of a group of languages we now call
Indo-European. From here they have spread all over Europe and into Asia, the
Americas, Africa and Australasia. Here in northern Europe, one of these
Indo-European languages about 2000 years ago divided into three main groups of dialects. The eastern group, marked
roughly here, has quite died out. The northern group spread across Scandinavia and much later into Iceland. The western group began to spread over these parts of Europe. Now Britain about sixteen hundred years ago was still part of the Roman Empire. It was inhabited by Celts who spoke Celtic, and by Romanized Celts who spoke a form of Latin. But the Romans had to go leaving the land to the Celts. A few years later Germanic tribes from northwest Germany invaded the island. The Celts retreated to the west where the Celtic language survived. The invaders quickly settled down in a fertile land and became the English. They spoke four English dialects. Of these four English dialects the central one, Mercian, is the basis of modern English. This early English, brought from north
west Germany, was already a satisfactory language with first-rate poetry. From it
come all our most essential and most familiar words such as: 'man', 'woman', 'bairn', 'eat', 'drink', 'sleep'. Already in the fifth century English was
a flexible language quite ready to enrich its stock of words with new
acquisitions. From the original Celtic language the English began borrowing any
words they wanted - notably river names ('Thames' and 'Severn') or the names of towns
such as: Dover, London, Lincoln, Leeds. from the Romanized Celts the English
borrowed Latin words, many being names of plants and agricultural implements. Typical Latin words adopted at this period into English are: 'cock', 'pear', 'cup', 'pail', 'anchor'. About a hundred years later missionaries
came from Rome to convert England to Christianity From them the English took
many more Latin words especially terms of religion such as: 'minster', 'alms', 'altar'. During the 9th century the Vikings from
Scandinavia attacked many parts of southern Europe. Many of these
Scandinavian settled in Britain from them the English gathered several
thousand everyday words. The English language already had such words as 'sail', and 'ship', but the many nautical words they took from the Scandinavians include
'haven'. Other common Scandinavian words acquired at this time are: 'knife', 'take'. Another very common word taken at this period is 'root'. the Scandinavians who had settled in
France were called the Normans. Before long they gave up their own language and spoke French. In 1066 the Duke of Normandy made himself King of England
and many of his followers came over with him, settling among the English. From them the English took many hundreds of new words. Some of them dealt with buildings
such as: 'castle', 'tower', 'moat', 'court', in the sense of courtyard 'chimney'. Other French words taken into
the language at this time dealt with cooking. so we get: 'fry', 'boil', and we also get names of food such as: 'beef', 'mutton', and 'sausage'. French words were also
borrowed through the Normans to describe new legal ideas: 'court', meaning law court 'judge', 'advocate'. During the Middle Ages, the English took
more than 10,000 words from the French. The King's courts of law began to sit in
London, so London became the legal center of England in the Middle Ages. It was also the center of trade so naturally the form of language that was spoken in
London became standard English. Now the English were always great travellers and traders and they traded all round the North Sea. From the Dutch they gathered
many new and useful words to do with shipping. 'Buoy' is one of the Dutch words
taken into English in the Middle Ages. Other words of Dutch origin are: 'skipper', 'deck', 'dock'. Up to the 15th century only this part of
the world, marked in black, was known but in the next 150 years the New World was discovered. Now the English embraced a new world with their trade routes and
enlarged their language with new words. Some words they got from Spain. The word of Spanish origin is 'gallium'. Another is: 'comrade'. Yet another is 'armada'. From the Portuguese the English borrowed only a small number
of words. The best known is 'port wine'. From South and Central America came
Native American words imported into English through Portugal and Spain, such
as: 'tobacco', 'potato', 'maize'. English also enriched itself with words
from Europe. from Germany were borrowed terms associated with metals and mining. One well-known word is 'quartz'. The German language also provided words associated with war such as 'plunder'. between 1450 and 1640, Italy was the home of the Renaissance. From the Italian language, English was greatly enriched by cultural terms of architecture, music, literature, and art. from Italy come 'cameo', 'miniature', 'balcony', 'umbrella'. So by 1600, when Shakespeare was writing, English had become a rich and powerful medium of expression with large numbers
of words taken from many languages. Shakespeare in his works used some
20,000 words. Here is a passage of 11 lines containing only 59 different words,
yet 22 come from abroad. 'this royal throne of Kings, this sceptred isle, this
earth of Majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden,
demi - paradise, this fortress built by nature for herself against infection in
the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, this precious stone
set in the silver sea which serves it in the office of a wall or as a moat
defensive to a house against the envy of less happier lands, this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.' 1600 - in the next century and a half the
English built up a great colonial empire where their language came to be spoken. In 1776, the 13 English colonies on the coast of North America became
independent as the United States of America. English is the language of the
United States and with the growth of the American people has spread across North America. By this time the English were in partnership with the Scots, Welsh, and
Irish. Together as the United Kingdom they built the present British
Commonwealth, where English is either the spoken or the official language. As British trade with the world has increased by leaps and bounds,
so every year English has enriched itself with more words from other
languages. From India the British have adopted: 'cockatoo'. and 'chintz'. From China comes 'tea'. From Arabia: 'sash', and 'sofa'. From Turkey: 'coffee'. From Persia: 'divan', and 'shawl'. From West
Africa: 'chimpanzee', 'zebra'. From Australia: 'kangaroo', and 'budgerigar', ro mention only
a few examples. The modern world is full of new inventions, and to describe these
new inventions, English has made use of both Latin and Greek. From Latin comes
'omnibus'. From Greek: 'cinema', 'photograph', and many other recently coined words such as: 'thermometer', and 'telegraphy'. when Mr. Churchill broadcasts in English he is understood by the greater part of the world. [Churchill] 'The people have the British Empire
may love peace. They do not hate the land nor wealth of any country, but they are a
tough and hardy lot. We have not journeyed all this way across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies because we are made of sugar candy.' The English that Churchill speaks is based on an old
Indo-European dialect. It is a vigorous, rich and flexible language quick to make
use of new words from other languages. The English language has borrowed
thousands of its half million words from all over the world, and it is understood in almost every part of it.
How did he say that without cracking up, or is it just my schoolboy humour?