Worksheet 4

History: Formation and expansion of the English language

A- Look at these prezi presentations about the invasions to the British Isles:

Settlers and invaders of Britain:

https://prezi.com/p/toofk2zxzfjn/settlers-and-invaders-of-britain/

A brief look at British history: (there is a mistake in the year referring to the building of
Stonehenge. It was around 5000 years ago. The invasions ended with the Normans.The
Norman invasion was the last one). In this presentation you can also see a video describing
the Norman invasion won by William Duke of Normandy.
https://prezi.com/op6zer9av0zv/a-brief-look-at-british-history/

Centuries of invasion: (from this prezi presentation you can get more cultural information
about the invaders:
https://prezi.com/xu0pxksoh2yq/centuries-of-invasion/

B- Now read this text about the invasion to the British Isles:
THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE INVASIONS OF THE BRITISH
ISLES

In the earliest of times Britain was inhabited by the CELTS (5000

BC-100 BC). The Romans called these people ‘Britons’. They spoke the
Celtic Britonic language, while Ireland was inhabited by a different group
speaking Gaelic. These first settlers were warriors, farmers and hunters.
They found out how to make iron tools and weapons, hence this period
is known as ‘The Iron Age’. Social life was organized in clans, bound
together with other clans into tribes. They built a number of hill forts,
small ditches on hilltops mainly to defend themselves and keep out
intruders. They lived in scattered villages and rounded huts with a
thatched roof. They were pagan, believed in many gods and goddesses
and worshipped natural elements; druids were main figures in society,
they were priests, teachers, political advisors and were the link between
the supernatural world and the ordinary human one. They were able to
predict the future and had a good grasp of medicine and mathematics.

The ROMANS: Roman conquest (55 BC-400 AD) was a gradual process
that ended in 43 AD. Caesar led his army across the sea from Gaul to
Britain in 55 BC and Claudius sent another legion in 43. Some Celts
agreed to obey Roman laws and pay taxes, but other leaders fought
back. Romans valued military achievements, they made roads and many
towns were army camps whose name derives from the Latin ‘castra’ (ex:
Lancaster) and still exist today. Romans didn’t manage to conquer the
north so emperor Hadrian ordered to build a wall to mark the border of
their territories. Romans also brought with them Christianity.

The ANGLO-SAXONS (400 AD-700 AD) settled in Britain over a period

of 300 years and belonged to three specific peoples: the Angles, the
Saxons and the Jutes. The first two occupied Britain from the Forth to
Cornwall, the third settled in Kent and the isle of Wight. The Angles
eventually gave the name to the land (England) and many kingdoms
were soon established: Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East Anglia,
Mercia and Northumbria. Apart from being warriors Anglo-Saxons were
farmers and fishermen and set up rural communities in an open-field
system. Each village had a chieftain who held office and the members
of the community listened to a bard, a professional storyteller and
verse-maker and music composer.
Anglo-Saxon literature was mainly oral and they had the runic alphabet.
They evolved a poetic form to recount their king’s heroic deeds (heroic
actions): it was called the ‘epic’ and the most important to have survived
to this day is Beowulf. The main features of this epic are: the use of
alliteration and head rhyme, the use of a metaphor called kenning and
the stress given to courage and loyalty. They were not Christians but in
597 Pope Gregory sent Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons, thus
bringing a new kind of learning and the practice of writing in Latin and
Greek. Clergymen mostly wrote in Latin but King Alfred also promoted
the use of English and translated books from Latin sources.

The VIKINGS (800 AD-975 AD) arrived from Sweden and swept away
the culture that came before them. Their occupation was short-lived
and England was soon drawn towards the French influence, in
particular Normandy.
 450 AD- 1150 AD: OLD ENGLISH
was an inflected language which
blends different Anglo-Saxon
dialects. It was influenced by the
use of Latin, Scandinavian and
French. After the Norman invasion
French replaced English as the
language of literature

The NORMAN CONQUEST (1066-

1485)

William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the battle of

Hastings and England came to be ruled by French kings (Normans and
Plantagenets) for over four centuries. The period saw great social,
political and cultural changes, the development of feudalism, an
increase in foreign trade, the growth of the middle classes. William took
away land possessions and establish a new taxation system. He tried to
limit the power of the church of Rome by creating a body of laws called
Common Law and conflicts led to a serious crime, the murder of the
archbishop Thomas Becket.
The idea that the king must be answerable to Parliament also led to
signing of Magna Carta in 1215: barons rebelled against King John and
the document represented an attempt to control the power of the king.
National representation in Parliament was also extended.

By 1200 Old English had evolved into

MIDDLE ENGLISH (1150-1500).
-thousands of words from French and
Latin were added, some words existed
side by side (freedom/ liberty). After the
Hundred Years’ War French influences
 grew weaker such that in 1356 English
was ordered to be the language of the
courts and legal proceedings. Chaucer
contributed to making English a great
literary language.

C- With the information you could get from A and B try to complete this chart: (perhaps there
are some boxes you won’t be able to complete, because you do not have that information in
the texts; if so just leave the blank space).

Invasion When? Origin Lifestyle/ Religion Governm Culture Contribut

Activities ent ion

Celts

Romans

Anglo
Saxons

Vikings

Normans

D- The following prezi presentations will help you understand the development of the English
language. The formation of the English language took place with the invasions. After that the
language started to expand.

History of Britain: (This prezi presentation will give you an overall view of British history)
https://prezi.com/jblqnz0grk4b/history-of-great-britain/

Formation of the English language:

https://prezi.com/iny3fwsllqjh/how-english-became-english/

E- The following timeline shows the formation and expansion of the English language:
E- With the information you have read complete the following chart about the formation and
expansion of the English language.How did the invaders contribute to the formation of the
language? How did culture and territorial conquest help to expand the language? Mention
the main events and contributions related to these issues.

Celts

Romans
Formation of the language

Anglo Saxons

Vikings

Normans

Territory
Expansion of the language

Culture

Congratulations!!! You’ve worked a lot today. Time to relax.

Instructions

This worksheet is your study guide. You don’t have to hand it in. We will work on it in the
following lesson.

Self assessment:

1. Can you understand how the English language was YES NO

formed?

2. Can you understand how the English language YES NO

expanded?

3. Have you learnt the reasons for the cultural differences YES NO
in the British Isles?
4.Have you learnt about the influence of Literature and YES NO
Religion in relation to the formation and expansion of the
English language ?

5. Are you able to make connections between the YES NO

geography and history of the British Isles?