English Class 11 Chapter 1 Notes Bihar Board बिहार बोर्ड

How English Began

1. Origin and Youthfulness of the English Language:
   • English is a relatively ‘younger’ language compared to ancient languages like Sanskrit, Persian, Greek, and Latin.
   • During the dominance of these classical languages in Europe and Asia, the terms “English” and “England” did not exist.
2. Roots of the English Language:
   • The English language originates from the speech of Germanic tribes, specifically the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Collectively, these tribes are known as the Anglo-Saxons.
   • These tribes invaded England in the 5th century, bringing with them their language and contributing to the naming of the country.
3. Germanic People and Their Language:
   • The Anglo-Saxons were Germanic people residing in North and West Europe, in what are now Denmark, Germany, and Holland.
   • They spoke languages that were Germanic or Teutonic in nature, closely related to Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and other Indo-European languages.
4. English as Part of the Indo-European Family:
   • Through its Germanic roots, English is a member of the ancient Indo-European family of languages.
   • The diagram in the document shows how English is related to other languages within this family, including Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, and various modern Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, etc.
5. Naming of England and the English Language:
   • The native people of England referred to the Germanic invaders as Saxons, while the Saxons called the natives “Wealas,” meaning foreigners.
   • The Saxons began to refer to their language as “Englisc,” derived from the name “Angles” (Old English: Engle).
   • The country was initially named “Anglecynn,” meaning the race of the Angles.
   • Around AD 1000, the name “Englaland,” which means “the land of the Angles,” started to be used, eventually evolving into “England.”
   • Therefore, both the name of the country and the language have origins outside of what we now consider native English.

Additional Points:

• The development of English from its Germanic roots highlights the significant influence of external tribes and cultures on the language.
• The transformation from Old English to Modern English involved a complex evolution of linguistic influences and changes over centuries.