External history of the English language. History of the English language: from its origins to the present day


The history of the English language began in the 5th century, when Britain, then inhabited by Celts and partly by Romans, was invaded by three Germanic tribes. The German influence turned out to be so strong that soon almost nothing remained of the Celtic and Latin languages ​​in almost the entire country. Only in remote and inaccessible areas of Britain that remained unoccupied by the Germans (Cornwall, Wells, Ireland, Highland Scotland) were the local Welsh and Gaulish languages ​​preserved. These languages ​​survive today: they are called Celtic languages, in contrast to Germanic English. Then the Vikings came to Britain from Scandinavia with their Old Icelandic language. Then in 1066 England was captured by the French. Because of this, French was the language of the English aristocracy for two centuries, and Old English was used by the common people. This historical fact had a very significant impact on the English language: many new words appeared in it, the vocabulary almost doubled. Therefore, it is in the vocabulary that the split into two variants of English - high and low, respectively of French and German origin - can be quite clearly felt today.

Thanks to the doubling of the vocabulary, the English language today still has many words of the same meaning - synonyms that arose as a result of the simultaneous use of two different languages, which came from the Saxon peasants and from the Norman masters. A clear example of this social division is the difference in the name of livestock, which comes from Germanic roots:

cow - cow

calf - calf

sheep - sheep

swine - pig

while the names of the cooked meats are of French origin:

beef - beef

veal - veal

mutton - lamb

pork - pork

Despite all external influences, the core of the language remained Anglo-Saxon. Already in the 14th century, English became a literary language, as well as the language of law and school. And when mass emigration from Britain to America began, the language brought there by the settlers continued to change in new directions, often maintaining its roots in British English, and sometimes changing quite significantly.

The beginning of the globalization of English

By the beginning of the 20th century, English was increasingly becoming the language of international communication. The English language, along with other languages ​​of international communication, was used at international conferences, in the League of Nations, and for negotiations. Even then, the need to improve its teaching and develop objective criteria that would allow learning the language more effectively became obvious. This need stimulated the search and research of linguists from different countries, which has not dried up to this day.

It is clear that one of the most important components of learning any foreign language is the accumulation of vocabulary. Only after acquiring some vocabulary can you begin to study the relationships between words - grammar, stylistics, etc. But what words should you learn first? And how many words should you know? There are a lot of words in the English language. According to linguists, the complete vocabulary of the English language contains at least one million words. The record holders among the famous dictionaries of the English language are the second edition of the 20-volume Oxford dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989 by Oxford University Press, and Webster's 1934 dictionary Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd Edition, which includes a description of 600 thousand words. Of course, not a single person knows such a number of words, and it is very difficult to use such huge dictionaries.

The “average” Englishman or American, even those with a higher education, hardly uses more than 1500-2000 words in his everyday speech, although he passively owns an incomparably large stock of words that he hears on TV or encounters in newspapers and books. And only the most educated, intelligent part of society is able to actively use more than 2000 words: individual writers, journalists, editors and other “masters of words” use the most extensive vocabulary, reaching 10 thousand words or more in some especially gifted individuals. The only problem is that each person who has a rich vocabulary has a vocabulary as individual as handwriting or fingerprints. Therefore, if the vocabulary base of 2000 words is approximately the same for everyone, then the “plumage” is quite different for everyone.

However, conventional bilingual dictionaries and explanatory dictionaries, which provide definitions of words in one language, tend to describe as many words as possible in order to increase the likelihood that the reader will find most of the words he is looking for. Therefore, the larger the regular dictionary, the better. It is not uncommon for dictionaries to contain descriptions of tens or hundreds of thousands of words in one volume.

In addition to ordinary dictionaries, there are dictionaries that do not contain the largest possible number of words, but rather a minimal list of them. Dictionaries of the required minimum vocabulary describe words that are used most often and have the greatest semantic value. Because words are used with different frequencies, some words are much more common than all other words. In 1973, it was found that a minimum dictionary of the 1,000 most common words in the English language describes 80.5% of all word usage in average texts, a 2,000-word dictionary describes approximately 86% of word usage, and a 3,000-word dictionary describes about 90% of word usage.

It is clear that minimum lexical dictionaries are intended for language learning by students, and not at all for translators. With the help of a minimum dictionary it is impossible to learn natural language in its entirety, but you can quickly and effectively learn that part of it that is of greatest value for the practical needs of communication.

The history of the English language began in England. English is a West Germanic language originally spoken in England. Currently, English is the most widely used language in the world. The history of the English language includes the spread of English across a significant number of countries and continents. English is the first language of most people in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. It is the third most widely spoken mother tongue in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. English is the most popular language as a second language. The total number of people speaking English - including native and non-native speakers - exceeds the number of people speaking any other language. English is the official language of the European Union, many Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as many world organizations.

History of the emergence of the English language.

The history of the English language began in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and in what is now south-eastern Scotland, but was then under the control of the kingdom of Northumbria. It was in this region that the English language originated. Thanks to the extensive influence of Great Britain from the 18th century, through the British Empire, and the United States from the mid-20th century, it was widely spoken throughout the world and became the leading language of international communication in many regions. Historically, the English language is born from a fusion of closely related dialects. Old English was brought to the east coast of Great Britain by Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) settlers. A significant number of English words are based on Latin roots because Latin was used in some form by the Christian church. The language was further influenced by Old Icelandic due to the Viking invasions in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Norman conquest of England in the 11th century gave rise to heavy borrowings from Norman-French. In vocabulary and spelling there was a close connection with the Romance languages. This is how Middle English was formed. Changes that began in the south of England in the 15th century led to the formation of modern English based on Middle English. Due to the assimilation of words from many other languages ​​throughout history, modern English contains a very large vocabulary. Modern English has not only assimilated words from other European languages, but also from all continents, including words of Hindi and African origin. This is the history of the English language.

You and I are studying the English language, its grammar, methods of studying and teaching it; we read some texts, do exercises, write essays... What do we know about the country whose language we are studying?

The history of England, the Kingdom of England, dates back to ancient times. This is a very interesting subject for discussion, full of secrets and legends. I would like to leave grammar, phonetics, teaching English for a while and talk about the founding of Britain and the legendary King Arthur, whose reign can be considered the period of the formation of England!

The British people are the descendants of the tribes of Britons and Anglo-Saxons who inhabited Foggy Albion in ancient times. The exact year of the founding of England is not known, but the 5th century AD is known - the beginning of the landing of the Angles and Saxons on the British shores. And approximately in the V-VI centuries. There was a legendary leader of the Briton tribe - King Arthur.

The tales of King Arthur are a whole literary and historical epic! King Arthur is the central character of numerous chivalric romances, songs, ballads, stories, tales, poems and poems. Monuments and sculptures were erected in his honor. Historians still doubt the existence of such a person in British history. However, this did not stop the people of England from believing in him and creating legends about him. Even if he did not exist in reality, nevertheless, every nation needs its heroes. One thing is certain - this hero had a historical prototype.

Legend has it that King Arthur gathered the best knights at his court in Camelot, who entered the category of the so-called Knights of the Round Table. The most famous of them are Lancelot, Percival, Gawain and others. The exact number of knights is unknown, because different authors give different data: someone talks about twelve, someone mentions sixteen knights, etc.

What did Arthur and his knights do? Of course, first of all, these are feats of arms, battles, duels. They also tried to find the Holy Grail - the legendary cup into which the blood of Christ was collected during the crucifixion. And they were also engaged in rescuing beautiful ladies.

We lift the veil of the legend...

There are many legends about King Arthur, but they all boil down to approximately the same plot.

Uther Pendragon was the king of Britain. And he managed to fall in love with Igraine, the wife of Duke Gorlois of Tintagel Castle (as if there were no unmarried girls at that time!). To spend the night with her, Uther asked the wizard Merlin to give him the guise of the duke, her husband. Merlin agreed on the condition that the born child would be given to him to raise. Uther agreed, and a few years later he was poisoned and anarchy began in the country (this is what happens if you get involved with someone else's wife).

Merlin endowed the newborn Arthur with strength and courage, then gave him to the old knight Sir Ector to be raised. Twenty years later, Merlin presented the knights with a sword stuck in a stone, on which it was written that whoever could pull out the sword would be destined to be king. Guess who managed to pull out the sword? Of course it's Arthur. Merlin revealed to him the secret of his birth and origin. But you can't fool cunning knights! Everyone wanted to be the king of England. Arthur had to win his right to the throne with a sword in his hands.

Legend has it that, having become king, Arthur made the city of Camelot the capital of England, gathering around him the best and strongest knights of the world, who sat with him at the Round Table (oh, that legendary Round Table!). He married the beautiful Queen Guinevere and a happy life began.

As they say, nothing lasts forever under the moon, and the Sword-of-Stone broke in Arthur's duel with Sir Pellinore. But Merlin did not leave his ward in difficult situations; he promised him another sword. The new sword Excalibur struck without a miss. It was forged by the elves of Lake Vatelin, and the Lady of the Lake herself gave it to Arthur with the condition that he would expose it only for a just cause and return it to her when the time came.

But not everything is so rosy! Once, during a walk, the beautiful Guinevere was kidnapped by the scoundrel Melegant. Lancelot, one of Arthur's best knights, without waiting for help, broke into Melegant's castle alone, killed him and freed the queen. Love broke out between them and Guinevere cheated on her husband with Lancelot.

The cunning Mordred, Arthur's nephew and, according to rumors, his illegitimate son, found out about this. He reported the treason to the king. Beside himself with anger, Arthur sent Mordred with a detachment to arrest Guinevere and Lancelot; the queen was in danger of being burned at the stake. But Lancelot freed Guinevere and together they fled across the sea. Arthur went in pursuit of them, leaving the treacherous Mordred as his deputy. He took advantage of the opportunity and seized power.

Having learned about this, Arthur was forced to return and restore order in the country. But the cunning Mordred was not going to give up power. The armies of Arthur and Mordred converged on the Cammlan field. During the battle, Mordred fell, struck by Arthur's spear, but he himself dealt a mortal blow to the king.

At Arthur's request, the sword Excalibur was returned to the Lady of the Lake, and the sad ladies escorted him on a boat to the island of Avalon. Legend has it that he still sleeps on this island, but at the right time he will come to save Britain. Thus ends the heroic tale of King Arthur.


King Arthur in English class

If you have chosen this topic for a lesson or extracurricular activity, then this is a very interesting decision. Holding such an event or lesson will be interesting for both the teacher, the children, and the guests present.

  • Since this is the Middle Ages, you can decorate the classroom in the appropriate style. Let your students help you, it's a lot of fun. On the walls there can be images of ancient coats of arms, swords and shields made of cardboard, in general, everything that you consider necessary
  • The guys themselves can be heroes of the legend, dressed in appropriate clothes: Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lancelot, etc.
  • Organize expressive readings of excerpts from the ballads about King Arthur. To do this, use the works of Alfred Tennyson, Terence White and other authors on this topic
  • Perform short theatrical performances and dramatizations using stories from the life of Arthur and his circle, having previously composed dialogues in English
  • Include excerpts from King Arthur-themed films or cartoons into your event
  • The classroom can also be decorated with children’s drawings and posters. Since the exact year of the king’s birth is unknown, there may be an inscription on the board in English, made in the old style: “Once upon a time, in the Vth century...” (Once upon a time in the fifth century...).

We are writing an essay about a legendary hero!

Whether there was such a character in the history of England, whether it is a collective image or an invention of popular imagination, just a legend - every country needs heroes, those images that you can look up to, from whom you want to take an example. Still, there is reason to believe that such a person existed, because we find partial confirmation of this in English literature.

The story of King Arthur also has instructive sides. She teaches courage, strength, fearlessness, friendship, responsibility for one's duty. This is also an instructive tale about how, sometimes, a woman can become the culprit for everything: power is lost, the country collapses.

The Tale of King Arthur is a great topic for a history lesson, an English lesson, or an integrated English and history lesson. If you have received the task of writing an essay about this king and giving a detailed answer about him, then we bring to your attention how this can be done in English.

I want to tell you about the king Arthur. It is a legendary king of England. We don’t know the exact year of his birth. But we know that he had lived in the Vth century. England is very proud of this king; he is a British historical hero, one of the symbols of the country.

The king Arthur is famous by his strength, courage, justice. Everybody, and not only in England, knows about Camelot, the Knights of the Round table, the queen Guinevere, the knight Lancelot, Merlin, etc. All these personages are the heroes of British epic poems, songs and stories.

Arthur's tutor was the wise magician Merlin. He taught him about strength and wisdom. Arthur became a king after he had pulled the sword from the stone. He gathered the best knights from the entire world. Everybody knows about the Knights of the Round Table. His wife was the beautiful Guinevere.

King Arthur is the main hero of many legends, stories, poems, songs. He is a symbol of courage and wisdom.

This is the kind of essay-story we came up with. And here is his translation:

I want to tell you about King Arthur. This is the legendary king of England. We do not know the exact year of his birth. But we know that he lived in the fifth century. England is proud of its king; he is a British historical hero, one of the symbols of this country.

King Arthur is famous for his courage, strength, and justice. Everyone knows, and not only in England, about Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, Queen Guinevere, the knight Lancelot, Merlin, etc. All these characters are heroes of British epic poems, songs and stories.

Arthur's mentor was the wise wizard Merlin. He taught him strength and wisdom. Arthur became king after he pulled the sword from the stone. He gathered the best knights from all over the world. Everyone has heard of the Knights of the Round Table. His wife was the beautiful Guinevere.

King Arthur is the main character of many legends, stories, poems, and songs. It is a symbol of courage and wisdom.

You can, of course, tell the legend in full, but it will take a lot of time. It is enough to outline in general terms what this legendary personality is.

King Arthur in cinema

This historical character still excites the minds and hearts of history and art lovers. King Arthur is a hero not only of the historical epic, but also of modern literature and cinema. Until now, many authors write about him, taking the legend of Arthur as a basis, but performing it in their own way. Arthur is also a hero of painting and sculpture. Directors and screenwriters do not ignore this legendary character.

We bring to your attention several films about the legendary king of England, which you can watch in English with Russian or English subtitles, or with Russian translation. These films will not leave you indifferent, but will help you discover something new in the image and character of Arthur.

  • So, 1953, the American film “Knights of the Round Table”. You will plunge into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages of England and the court of King Arthur. Wonderful acting and setting.
  • The year is 1981, the film "Excalibur". This film is based on the novel by Thomas Malory. The film is stunning in its epicness and believability. Oscar Award and Cannes Film Festival Award. You will get great aesthetic pleasure from viewing.
  • 1995 gives us the film “The First Knight”. This is a loose interpretation of the legend of the famous king, and much of the focus is on Lancelot. But the setting, costumes, castles, acting and Richard Gere in the title role do their job.
  • Year 1998. A cartoon for children “The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot” was released. This cartoon can be watched by the whole family. You will be captivated by the adventures and interesting situations that the main characters encounter every now and then.
  • The famous 2004 adventure film King Arthur starring Clive Owen and Keira Knightley will keep you in pleasant suspense for two hours. But it's worth it! Beautiful costumes, the atmosphere of the era, a new performance of the legend about the king will help the viewer learn something new regarding this topic.
  • Of the most recent works about the legendary king, 2014 should be mentioned, in which the start of filming of a new film on this topic was announced. The director of the film “Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur” will be the famous Guy Ritchie. The film tells the story of Arthur's youth and his rise as king.

We wish you pleasant viewing!

The history of the English language began with three Germanic tribes that invaded Britain in the 5th century AD. These tribes - the Angles, Saxons and Jutes - came from the territories of what is now Denmark and northern Germany, crossing the North Sea.

At that time, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language, but the invaders pushed the Celts to the western and northern edges of the island - essentially to what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles called their country "Englaland", and their language was called "Englisc" - this is where the words "England" and "English" came from.

Old English (450-1100 AD)

In the 5th century, Germanic conquerors entered Britain from the east and south coasts. The Germanic tribes spoke similar languages. On the island, their dialects formed a common language, which we now call Old English.

It bears almost no modern resemblance and would be very difficult for current English speakers to understand. However, about half of the most common words in modern English have Old English roots.

This is where words like be, strong and water come from, for example. Old English was spoken until around the end of the 11th century.

Middle English (1100-1500)

In 1066, Britain was invaded by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (now part of France). The Norman invaders brought with them French, which became the language of the royal court, as well as the ruling and trading classes.

This was a period of linguistic class division, with the lower classes speaking English and the upper classes speaking French. In the 14th century, English began to gain strength again, but...

This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400), but would still be obscure to modern speakers.

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

At the end of the Middle English period, sudden and significant changes in pronunciation began (the Great Vowel Shift), with vowel sounds becoming shorter. Since the 16th century, Britain has had increasing contact with different peoples around the world.

This fact, as well as the advent of the Renaissance, led to the fact that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also contributed to the development of a common language of literature. Books became cheaper, and more and more people learned to read and write. Thus, printing led to the standardization of English.

Hamlet's famous lines, "To be or not to be," were written by Shakespeare in Early Modern English.

The rules of spelling and grammar were fixed, the standard of which was the London dialect, since that was where most of the printing houses were located. In 1604, the first dictionary of the English language was published.

Late Modern English (1800-present)

The main difference between Early and Late Modern English is the vocabulary of the language. Late Modern English has many more words due to two key factors: first, the Industrial Revolution and the development of technology led to the need to create new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered about a quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language borrowed many words from other countries.

Varieties of English

Since the beginning of the 17th century, the colonization of North America by the British led to the emergence of. Some words and pronunciations were “frozen in time” when they reached America. In some ways, American English is even more similar to the language of Shakespeare than modern British English.

Some expressions that the British call “Americanisms” are, in fact, originally British expressions preserved in the colonies (for example, rubbish instead of trash, loan instead of lend and fall instead of autumn; another word, frame-up - “falsification, juggling” - Britain re-adopted through Hollywood gangster films).

Spanish also influenced American English (and subsequently British). Words such as canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are Spanish words that came into English during the development of the American West.

Today, American English has great strength due to US influence in film, television, music, commerce and technology (including the Internet). But there are many other types of English - for example, Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.

Brief chronology of the English language
55 BC e. The Romans, led by Julius Caesar, invade Britain Local residents speak Celtic language
43 n. e. Roman conquest. Beginning of Roman rule in Britain.
436 The Romans finally leave Britain
449 The beginning of the settlement of Germanic tribes in Britain
450-480 Earliest known inscriptions in Old English Old English
1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, conquers England
approx. 1150 Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English Middle English
1348 English is replacing Latin as the language of instruction in most schools
1362 English is replacing French as the language of power. This is the first time that English is used in Parliament.
ca.1388 Chaucer begins writing The Canterbury Tales
approx. 1400 Beginning of the Great Vowel Shift
1476 William Caxton opens the first English printing press Early Modern English
1564 Shakespeare is born
1604 The first English dictionary, Table Alphabetical, was published.
1607 First permanent English settlement in the New World founded (Jamestown)
1616 Shakespeare Dies
1623 The first collection of Shakespeare's plays published
1702 The first English-language daily newspaper, The Daily Courant, was published in London.
1755 Samuel Johnson publishes The Dictionary of the English Language
1776 Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence
1782 Britain gives up its colonies, which will later become the USA
1828 Webster publishes the American English Dictionary Late New English
1922 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) founded
1928 The Oxford English Dictionary has been published.

What fact in the history of English aroused your greatest interest or surprise? We are waiting for your answers in the comments.

As such, the English language arose from the Anglo-Frisian dialects that were part of West German groups of languages. The group of Germans that conquered Britain in the 5th century consisted of three tribes: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. During this era, Britain was inhabited by Celtic tribes - Britons and Gaels, who spoke various Celtic languages: Old Gaulish, Old British, Old Irish, Old Scots, Manx (Isle of Man).

Long before the invasion of the Germanic tribes, in 55 BC. The Romans, led by Gaius Julius Caesar, first landed in Britain. In 54 BC. The Britons were defeated, and Caesar reached the banks of the Thames. Then came the major conquest of Britain in 43 BC. e. under Emperor Claudius. Having conquered the Britons, the Romans created many military camps, from which English cities subsequently developed. In those years, Britain was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. This Roman colonization had a profound and wide-ranging impact on Britain. In cities, Latin replaced Celtic dialects. The Romans ruled Britain for almost 4 centuries. In 410, the Roman legions were recalled to defend Italy against the German advance, and the remnants of the Britons were left to their own forces to fight the Germanic tribes that threatened Britain.

The internal struggle between the remnants of the Britons and the Anglo-Saxon conquerors ended around 600 in favor of the latter. Since the migration of the Germanic Angles, Saxons and Jutes to Britain, their language came off from continental Germanic dialects and went in its development along separate paths. From the 5th century, from the time of this migration, the history of the English language begins. During this era, Anglo-Saxon Britain was almost cut off from Europe, from Rome. In 597, Pope Gregory II sent missionaries to Britain to spread Christianity among the German conquerors. The consequence of this new connection with Roman-Latin culture was the penetration into the language of a new series of Latin words, directly or indirectly related to the religious-ecclesiastical sphere.

Raids Scandinavian squads against Anglo-Saxon Britain began in the 8th century. At the end of the 9th century. The Scandinavians established themselves in its territory north of the Thames. By 1012, all of England had submitted to the Scandinavian conquerors. For the fate of the English language, the Scandinavian conquest had irreversible consequences. The Scandinavian dialects spoken by the conquerors belonged to the group of North Germanic languages ​​and, in their phonetic structure, were quite close to Old English. This close relationship of the English dialects with the Scandinavian ones (many cognates, but different endings) made it possible to understand without translation, resulting in a significant infusion of the English language used at that time with words from the Scandinavian dialects.

In 1066, the conquest of England began by the Normans - Scandinavians, settled in Normandy(modern territory of France). 50 years before the invasion of England they were subjected to powerful influence French cultures were native French speakers. On October 14, 1066, at the Battle of Hastings, the troops of the English king were defeated by the Normans and, for several centuries after the conquest, the dominant language was French language. English was spoken mainly by peasants and artisans. French became superior to English and was the language of the ruling class. The ruling stratum of the Anglo-Saxon feudal nobility, the main speakers of English, almost disappeared: some died in battles, some were executed, the rest immigrated.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, none of the remaining English dialects rose to the level of a national language: they were all independent, equivalent dialects. During the XII, XIII, XIV centuries. there was a struggle and intense influence of the two languages ​​on each other. The result: the struggle ended in favor of the English language. The English language emerged from this struggle in a significantly changed form - its vocabulary was enriched with a large number of French words and pronunciation with pronunciation. This struggle was complicated by the fact that Latin still existed at the same time as the international language of the church and ecclesiastical science. The French language was only supplanted towards the end of the 15th century.

By the end of the 14th century. The London dialect began to gain wider influence in other areas of England. This was the rise of London's importance as the economic and political center of the country. Thus, the London dialect, which formed the basis of the national English language, was complex education, which reflected the various influences associated with the social and political life of that era. The decisive role in the centralization of the process of developing the English National Language was played by the events of the 15th century, namely the War of the Scarlet Rose and the White, which lasted from 1455 to 1485. These wars marked the decline of English feudalism and the emergence of a new social stratum with a political and economic center in the city. .London.

XVII and XVIII centuries. were eras of major socio-economic changes that had a strong influence on the development of language, the fluctuation of linguistic tastes and the dominance of linguistic norms. The major events of this era were the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th century, the restoration of 1660, and the industrial revolution of the 18th century. But even before the start of the English bourgeois revolution, an important event took place in the history of the language. The English language has spread beyond England. In 1620, the first ship "Mayflower" carrying English emigrants landed on the shores of North America in the area of ​​modern Massachusetts. The internal struggle in England resulted in a civil war, which led to the victory of the Puritans and the proclamation of the republic in 1649, which led to the strong influence of Puritanism on public life, including on the language of that era.

Restoration 1660 - return In England, the Stuart dynasty in the person of King Charles II restored to some extent the influence on public life and at the same time the influence of the feudal aristocratic language of the culture overthrown by the revolution. Returning from France, King Charles II and his entourage were carriers French influence in various areas of social life, including language.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the English language went beyond the European possessions of England and entered New England during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. he, together with the English colonists, spread over most of North America and reached the Pacific Ocean.

During the 17th and 19th centuries. In connection with the territorial expansion of the British Empire and in connection with the seizure of more and more lands in various parts of the globe, the scope of the English language expanded. During the colonization of these vast territories, the English language withstood the struggle with the languages ​​of other colonizers and with the languages ​​of the local population.

The 15th century was marked in Europe by a cultural movement known as the Renaissance. It began in such cultural centers as Oxford and Canterbury. The movement spread throughout the country. Familiarity with Latin and Greek authors grew, learning their language and their style. At the same time, from the end of the 15th century. Another revolution took place in the entire cultural thought of the era. Great geographical discoveries radically transform the world map (Columbus, Vasco de Gama). All these new aspects of Renaissance life were deeply reflected in the vocabulary of the English language. The establishment of relations with the advanced countries of the era, primarily with Italy, the establishment of connections with the New World, the emergence of previously unknown goods caused an influx of borrowed words into the English language from Italian, Spanish, and subsequently also from the languages ​​of the American Indians. Words of the latter category entered the English language through Portuguese and Spanish.

The rise of classical philology, the widespread study of Latin and Greek authors and the widespread use of Latin as the international language of science gave the English language many words borrowed from ancient languages.

In the 19th and 20th centuries. There continues to be an influx of borrowed words into the English language from various languages ​​of the world. From Russian, for example, words related to the way of life and life of old Russia were borrowed: borzoi, samovar, czar, verst (verst), knout (whip). The Sovietisms soviet, Bolshevik, Bolshevizm, udarnik, kolkhoz and a number of others were borrowed, such as sputnik, synchrophosotron, etc. In 1913, a society called the Society of Pure English was even founded, which advocated the anglicization of borrowed words, but it did not achieve tangible results in the linguistic life of the country.

New English also has a significant layer of international words, i.e. words that exist in approximately the same form in a number of European languages, for example medicine (English) medicine (French) medzin (German) In New English the process accretion of phrases into an indivisible unity (mainly phrasal verbs) intensified and continued (beginning in the Middle English period), for example:

How can I get clear of all the debts?
How can I become clean (cleansed) of all debts?

The evolution of the English language led to the characteristic New English language gap between pronunciation and writing, which led to peculiar consequences. In some book words, known more visual image than in the auditory one, the pronunciation was changed in accordance with the spelling or adaptation to it. (since the 17th century). Due to the gap between spelling and pronunciation and the significant number of language borrowings in English, a whole category of words was created from ancient languages, existing, as it were, primarily for the eye (eye – word), pronunciation varies, and the number of options can reach 5 - 6. A typical example is a word of Greek origin phthisis[ˈθaɪsɪs] n - tuberculosis. It can be pronounced in four ways, or a word of Latin origin contumely[ˈkɒntjuːmli] n – insult, insolence, which can be pronounced in two options.

Throughout the centuries-old history of the English language, significant changes have occurred in all its aspects. In the field of vocabulary, the English language has undergone very significant changes over more than a thousand years of its history - more significant than, for example, German or French. As a result, the vocabulary of modern English, while retaining its basic core of original English words, turns out, however, very mixed in origin. A significant percentage of these words are words from Scandinavian, French and Latin.

Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

  • modern English, under the influence of the historical events described above, has a very complex phonetic-grammatical structure, which was the result of the fusion, struggle, or one-sided or mutual penetration of at least twelve languages ​​into each other.
  • The origins and roots of the Russian and English languages, due to geographical (territorial) disunity, were formed in fundamentally different conditions, which is why the languages ​​fall into completely different language groups.
  • in the evolution of the English and Russian languages ​​there was not a single historical period during which their speakers could influence each other with such intensity that this could lead to either the absorption of one language by the other, or a strong modification of one language under the influence of the other, as happened , for example, during the Norman conquest of Britain.

For these reasons, we do not understand the British, and they do not understand us, their language is so difficult for our perception and currently has this appearance. We have two historically other linguistic cultures that actually have only one similarity: Russian and English are two Great and Powerful world languages, in which a significant number of people inhabiting the globe communicate.

The above conclusions and conclusions determined the principle that needed to be followed when selecting new educational material for studying spoken English. Due to the impossibility of learning spoken English well using formal rules and knowledge from textbooks, often due to lack of time, the new medium was supposed to provide the most accessible opportunity for quality proceedings in the most natural English speech stream as such, in its properties and composition.