A Survivor

English is spoken by more than 700 million people in the world nowadays. However, few of them ever stop and think about where those words they speak everyday come from... and then, most of them find no easy-to-acquire answer, so they ignore their initial question and go on with their lives. I had never actually asked myself this question. I had, on many occasions, wondered how it is that so many accents were developed. But I never considered what came before the accents: how the English language developed from being nothing.

It wasn't even easy for this language to develop in the first place. When I imagined language evolving and changing, I thought of it doing so in a way similar today's: Teenagers (not limited to them, but especially them) create new slang words, then they grow up and continue using this slang, while the next generation of teenagers creates its own slang and grows up to use it, and the cycle goes on. It's a pretty peaceful and simple way, which is the complete opposite of what actually occurred in the past. The survival of English was actually  threatened in order for it to prevail.

I always wonder how it is that scientists and historians get all the information. Like, how they decipher runes, how they know what cells feel like (in terms of texture), etc. So I was actually very thankful to the creators of this series for taking the time to mention the source of their information: Everything up to 1155 was retrieved from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (3:33).

In 449 AD, Celtics arrived at Britain and divided England into three main regions: Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. (Essex [derived from the words "east" and "Saxon"] and Sussex [derived from the words "south" and "Saxon"] emerged later on). These newcomers are commonly referred to as the Anglo-Saxons, the fathers of the English language. They had three hundred rather peaceful years  but then, in 793 AD, they were attacked by the Danes. However, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, defeated them. This marked the first survival of the English language, and thanks to it, I am writing these words today. Otherwise, I would probably be doing so in Danish.

A few centuries later, in 1066, Duke William of Normandy invaded England, and King Harold was slayed. The new Norman rulers knew almost no English at all, but thanks to this, about 10,000 words were added to the English vocabulary. Many of the words I'm writing now are probably derived from Norman. England's invaders did not demolish the subjugated country's language, but actually strengthened it. The English language had then survived for the second and probably final time.

After this, came a time of linguistic development. The first book in English was written: The Canterbury  Tales. And soon, the printing press was created and employed in England. However, "the few [people] that could write, wrote as they spoke" (4:48) but slowly the spelling disagreements were agreed upon - though not entirely so. Finally, by the 1400's, English had developed and become very similar to today's twenty-first century English. I'll take full advantage of the still-developing English language and end with a cliché by simply saying that the rest, for now, is history.

The Story of English (Episode 2):
Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 1/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 2/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 3/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 4/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 5/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 6/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.

Armstrong, Edward. "The Story of English episode 2 - An English Speaking World - Part 7/7." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27, Aug. 2009. Web. 13. Jan. 2013.