Stages of the history and formation of the national English language. Reasons for language expansion

The English language originates from the language of the ancient Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes), who migrated from the continent to Britain in the 5th-6th centuries. The complex interaction of the ancient Germanic tribal dialects brought to Britain, inhabited by the Celtic tribes (Britons and Gaels), and developed under the conditions of the formation of the English nation, led to the formation of territorial dialects on the old tribal basis.

The era of raids, and then the temporary conquest of Britain by the Vikings (790-1042) gives the Old English language a significant number of commonly used Scandinavian words in origin. At the end of this period, a process of great importance gradually begins to manifest itself - the withering away of inflection. It is possible that some role in this was played by the actual bilingualism of the part of the English territory under Danish control: linguistic confusion led to the usual consequences - a simplification of the grammatical structure and morphology.

The next period in the development of the English language spans from 1066 to 1485. The invasion of the Norman feudal lords in 1066 introduced into the Old English language a powerful new lexical layer of the so-called Normanisms - words that go back to the Norman-French dialect of the Old French language, which was spoken by the conquerors.

Instead of the dominance of the Norman-French language, a kind of "linguistic compromise" is gradually taking shape, the result of which is a language approaching that which we call English. But the Norman French language of the ruling class retreated slowly: only in 1362 English was introduced into legal proceedings, in 1385 teaching in Norman French was discontinued and English was introduced, and from 1483 parliamentary laws began to be published in English. Although the core of the English language remained Germanic, it incorporated such a huge number of Old French words that it became a mixed language. The penetration of Old French words lasts from about 1200 to the end of the Middle English period, but peaks between 1250-1400. During this period, the grammatical structure of the language undergoes further changes: the nominal and verbal endings first undergo confusion, weaken, and then, by the end of this period, they almost completely disappear. By the end of this period (1400-1483), the country won a victory over other English dialects of the London dialect. This dialect arose from the fusion and development of southern and central dialects. In phonetics, the so-called Great Vowel Shift occurs.

The period of development of the English language, to which the language of modern England belongs, begins at the end of the 15th century. With the development of book printing and the mass distribution of books, the normative book language is consolidated, phonetics and spoken language continue to change, gradually moving away from dictionary norms. An important stage in the development of the English language was the formation of diaspora dialects in the British colonies.

Expansion of the English language:

Modernization in the non-linguistic sphere means the popularization of national unity, the availability of social mobility, the rapid spread of innovations and status symbols. As for the language, here modernization means an increasingly widespread dissemination of the literary standard of the national language, greater accessibility of all its spheres, the accelerated spread of linguistic innovations and status markers.

In general, according to Western sociolinguists, language planning comes down to: status planning; corpus planning, changing the language in its vocabulary, grammatical structure, alphabet and spelling); cultivation, dissemination of the language, planning of assimilation and teaching of the language, development of forms and methods of teaching and planning the prestige of the language.

In the definition of the cultural and linguistic policy of English-speaking countries in relation to other countries, bourgeois status symbols are meant - these are symbols denoting wealth, personal success, enterprise, prestigious consumption, etc. As the English language and the English-language cultural and ideological discourse penetrate into the media, educational, cultural, everyday spheres of communication, they are imposed on societies where traditional symbols associated with patriotism, public good, military prowess, etc. were previously fundamental. Thus, in addition to educational goals, an important goal of modernization as an integral part of the language policy of the Anglo-Saxon language community is to establish the status of languages ​​that would preserve linguistic inequality and consolidate the economic dominance of the former colonialists.

The second tool for instilling identity is discursive expansion. In addition to the conceptual material itself, unified, monocultural discourses and corresponding styles of thinking, communication, and behavior are being introduced. Discursive expansion accompanies the introduction of forms of organization of activity, adopted in developed Western countries.

The third tool for instilling values ​​is the establishment of the English language as the most important means of communication, the "world", "global" language. With regard to the instrumentality of the English language for globalization, several aspects can be distinguished:

a) its penetration as a lingua franca into all spheres of social activity: economic, scientific and technical, cultural, academic, etc .;

b) the widespread dissemination of teaching English as a second and a foreign language, the artificial creation of diglossia;

c) intensive dissemination of mentafacts in English through the media;

d) an aggressive policy of promoting the English language and promoting its prestige.

An analogy with the American currency, which is essentially the universal equivalent of world commodity exchange, is appropriate here. The English language becomes a universal code of international communication and a kind of "pass to the civilized world" not by itself, but through planning and creating appropriate conditions.

Conclusion:

A number of linguists argue the falsity of the urgent need to learn English and the identification of the lack of teaching it with “language deprivation. Many millions of highly cultured, literate and educated people in the world live happily, justifiably ignorant of the English language. If a person does not need English, it is not at all necessary to know it. Therefore, people should first of all ask themselves about the purpose of learning English.

Passion for the English language, the spread of Anglicisms in the Russian language in itself is not a negative phenomenon. This process is largely justified, since Russia relatively recently received the opportunity to integrate into the world community, and Russian citizens - the opportunity to freely travel abroad, work and study outside the country. Since English is the international language of conferences, scientific publications and teaching at many major universities in Europe, learning English and using English is where it is appropriate and necessary.