Essay on "War, Isolation, and English"
Essay 4 pages (1327 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
War, Isolation, And EnglishEnglish is often referred to as a "bastard" language due to the fact that it has so many sources. Though technically a Germanic language there is also a heavy Latinate influence that occurred over the millennia of English's spread, beginning in the time that Romans first set foot on the British Isles and continuing through direct and indirect influence from French, Spanish, and other romance languages; so much so that now less than half of the words in the modern English lexicon are actually etymologically rooted in the Germanic family (Marsh, 89). This kind of change is inevitable in any language where the speaking population is not in total isolation, and even then language may still adapt and develop as society changes. The unique history of the British Isles and the subsequent history and influence of the English-speaking world, however, makes the development of English especially volatile and interesting. It was Great Britain's mixture of geographical isolation and extreme centrality in terms of world events for much of its history that forced its unique evolution; more specifically, it was the history of warfare and occupation within and radiating from the British Isles and the later British Empire that made English the eclectic language it is today.
The association of war with English and the isolation of the British Isles both began playing into the history of the English language in the fifth century, with a series of invasions from the Germanic tribes of the Jutes, Saxons, and Angles, all of whom spoke a similar language (English Club, par. 1). The Celtic peoples who populated the island at the time were pushed across the sea to Ireland,
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Though it was war -- or at least bloody intertribal fighting -- that established Old English, it was isolation that allowed it to evolve in its own way, free for a time from being superseded by the more common romance languages on the European mainland. This did not mean that the English language and the peoples on the British Isles were completely without outside influence, however, but their isolation did restrict this influence to the scant effects of the Latin brought over with Christianity (Marsh, 56). Because of the island's isolation, English remained largely unchanged from the seventh century, from when the earliest written records of the language date, to the eleventh century (Merriam Webster). Though the words are definitely Germanic, the syntax of the early Anglo-Saxon language was unlike anything evidenced in mainland Europe, giving Old English a unique start in addition to a fertile place in which to evolve, increasing the effects of the language's isolation (Marsh, 47).
It was in the eleventh century that war again caused a… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "War, Isolation, and English" Assignment:
Please, write an essay about the history of the English language and some of the many factors that have influenced its evolution. Using course readings which I will send to you and outside research, if necessary, support a thesis on one of your observations on the nature of the English language and/or its development.
Notes : Provide readers with sufficient background information on the components of language in general and the English language in particular.
Develop a supportable thesis on the historical, social, and/or cultural events that have left their traces on the English language.
Use well chosen examples and facts to support thesis. Use at least three sources to do this.
Writing for a general academic audience with little knowledge of the history of the English language.
Please, write an essay with essay structure (intro w/ strong thesis - 3or4 body paragraph - conclusion).
Questions to think about as you formulate your thesis:
*****¢ What factors have influenced the evolution of the English language? How/why?
--historical
--social
--cultural
*****¢ What have you learned about the nature of the language and/or its development?
*****¢ What do we know about the English language now? If someone were to ask you to tell them about English*****”how it came into existence, what other languages have influenced it, why/how it is constantly changing (and whether that change is good or bad*****”according to whom?), whether or not it is a world language, what makes it easy/hard to learn, how the written and spoken forms are different, etc.*****”what would you tell them?
Thesis
You obviously can*****t cover all of this in your essay, so you*****ll have to decide what you have the most to say about, what you*****re most interested in exploring, what you can support well with the readings, etc. in order to formulate your thesis. This essay is a reflection on the English language: what do you feel are the most important aspects of the language that your reader needs to know/think about? Your thesis statement should encompass the main point of your essay that you will develop/support throughout your body paragraphs.
Introduction
In your introduction, you want to give your reader broad/general background information about language in general and lead up to your thesis statement about the English language specifically.
Body Paragraphs
Each body paragraph should have a clear topic sentence (first sentence of the paragraph) that serves as a mini-thesis for that paragraph; it should state the main point of the paragraph. For example, if your thesis states that English is a living language that has evolved and been influenced based on historical, social, and cultural factors, then it would be logical to develop a body paragraph around each of these three factors. The topic sentence of each body paragraph should clearly state which of these factors you*****ll be discussing and developing in that paragraph.
I will send you resource via email.
Thank you!!
*****
How to Reference "War, Isolation, and English" Essay in a Bibliography
“War, Isolation, and English.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/war-isolation-english/660649. Accessed 2 Jul 2024.
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