TOPIC 1 :

HISTORY OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE

(i)
 English is one of the languages which is spoken and used throughout the world widely. It is
the medium of instruction. English was included in the list of Germanic Branch where it is the
second most spoken language, the most widespread, the language of technology, the
language of technology and the language with the largest vocabulary. English language is a
West Germanic language which was originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects, brought by
the Germanic invaders (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes) or the settlers to the Britain
during the 5th century from the places which are called as North West Germany and the
Netherlands in this era which uses a vocabulary disparate to other European languages. The
inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language but they were mainly pushed to Wales,
Scotland and Ireland by those invaders. The Angles came from "Englaland" [sic] and their
language was called "Englisc" where the words "England" and "English" are derived. Mostly
of the modern English vocabulary came from the Anglo-Norman languages and English
language is considered as a "borrowing" language.

From 450 to 1100 AD, the invaders spoke similar languages which in Britain
developed into Old English. The Old English does not sound like the English Language of
this era. It is very hard for the native speakers of understanding the Old English. But, the Old
English is the root for the Modern English where about half of the most words used in it.

In the years from 1100 to 1500, the Middle Ages are so called as the middle period
between the decline of the Roman Empire and prior to the period called the Renaissance.
The Middle English began with many French words when William the Conqueror, the Duke
of Normandy invaded and conquered England in 1066 AD. The Norman Conquest was a
pivotal event in English history and subsequent developments in the English monarchy,
government, society, language and outlook were coloured by it. Since William spoke only
French, later French language became the language of the Royal Court and the ruling and
business classes. There was a kind of linguistic class division happened where the lower
class people spoke English and the upper class people spoke French language.

French language became the language of law, administration, literature and the
government. English was banned from all polite and official usages, and practically ceased
to be a written language. However, after the loss of Normandy by King John in 1204 and the
hundred years of war, ties were lost with France and many Normans began to think of
themselves as English people. There were many different dialects at the beginning of the
Middle English period. Many authors wrote in their own dialect. The Middle English was used
by the great poet Geoffrey Chaucer (Father of English Literature) yet it still would be very
difficult for the native speakers to understand it today. So, there are some variations in the
writing of this era of modernisation. There are thousands of French words were embedded in
the English vocabulary. For instance, the origin form of word Crown was inherited from
Anglo-Norman French Corune used as the Middle English during this era. Therefore, there
are some variations in the writing of this time. During the course of the period however, the
speech of the London region gradually emerged as the standard form used for writing and
eventually developed into Standard Modern English.

During Early English Modern Age (1500-1800), A time of great cultural and
intellectual development occurred where a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the
Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. In 1476,
Caxton introduces the printing press to England. He prints all kinds of texts: mythic tales,
popular stories, poems, phrasebooks, devotional pieces and grammars. In 1539, the
publication of the Great Bible, the first officially authorised Bible in English, edited by Myles
Coverdale, largely from the work of Tyndale. This Bible is read to congregations regularly in
churches, familiarising much of the population of England with a standard form of the
language. During Elizabethan era (15581603), Elizabethan English was practised and
Shakespeares plays were written in Victorian English. During Jacobean and Carolines era
(1603-1625), Shakespeares sonnets were published and in 1607, the first successful
permanent English colony in the New World, Jamestown, is established in Virginia. Early
vocabulary specific to American English loaned from indigenous languages (such as moose,
racoon).

While in 1611, the King James Bible is published, largely based on Tyndale's
translation. It remains the standard Bible in the Church of England for many years. During
Interregnum and Restoration era, the period of the English Civil War and the Interregnum
was one of social and political upheaval and instability. The dates for Restoration literature
are a matter of convention, and they differ markedly from genre to genre. Thus, the
"Restoration" in drama may last until 1700, while in poetry it may last only until 1666, the
annus mirabilis; and in prose it might end in 1688, with the increasing tensions over
succession and the corresponding rise in journalism and periodicals, or not until 1700, when
those periodicals grew more stabilized. In 1700s, An age of dictionaries, grammars and rules
and regulations were conducted Many scholars believe that the English language is chaotic,
and in desperate need of some firm rules. Books teaching 'correct' grammar, pronunciations
and spellings are increasingly popular. Samuel Johnson publishes his famous dictionary in
1755.
 (ii)

According to Wikipedia, the World Englishes refers to the emergence to the localised
or indigenized varieties of English language, especially varieties that have developed in
nations colonized by England or the United States. The study of World Englishes consist of
varieties of English and used in diverse sociolinguistic context globally and analysing how
the sociolinguistic histories, multicultural backgrounds and contexts of function impact the
use of colonial English in different regions of world. There are approximately seventy-five
territories where English is spoken either as a first language or as an unofficial or
institutionalised second language in fields like government, law and education. English is
developed as a second language as the result of colonial imposition in Malaysia.

Malaysia is in the outer circle from the Braj Krachrus model of World Englishes.
In this circle, English language was produced by the second diaspora of English which
spread the language through the colonisation by the Great Britain in Malaysia. Here, English
is not the native language but serves as a use of Lingua-franca in our region. The practice of
English as a lingua-franca has its effect on the way the people want to speak. There are two
varieties of English spoken by the people in Malaysia and they are Standard English and
Malaysian English or so-called as Manglish.

Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a

national norm in any English-speaking country. It encompasses grammar, vocabulary, and
spelling. In the British Isles, particularly in England and Wales, it is often associated with: the
"Received Pronunciation" accent and United Kingdom Standard English (UKSE), which
refers to grammar and vocabulary. Standard English is one variety of modern English.
Standard English has a proper grammar and has free grammatical error. There should be no
spelling errors and the vocabulary should be proper and it is better to avoid colloquial terms.
In addition, there must be a proper pronunciation while speaking too. For instance :

He came yesterday.
Nobody said anything.
He ran really quickly.
I didn't break it.
He hasn't finished.

When we talk about English Language, the most acknowledged kind is called
Standard English. The type of English that is more commonly used here is known as
Malaysian English. Malaysian English is quite different from Standard English and many
view it as more inferior. Its popular use among the locals, however, has caused concern
about the declining standards of English. The study discovers that generally Malaysians
think that Malaysian English is not a threat to the Standard English. Many people in Malaysia
are more comfortable to use the Malaysian English as compared to Standard English.
However, Standard English will be spoken in formal situations.

When it comes to Malaysian English, it refers to the Malaysian Colloquial English,

which is famously known as Manglish, a portmanteau of the word Malay and English, or
Street English. The use of Manglish is therefore a style-based decision. Colloquialisms exist
that are not common outside of Malaysia, which are used colloquially as substitutes in other
languages in Malaysia. Using Malay, Tamil or Chinese grammar in conjunction with English
words, is often done quite spontaneously, sometimes even for comic effect. Malaysian
English is generally has a component of American English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and other
languages in their vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.

The speakers Manglish from the country's different ethnic groups tend to
intersperse varying amounts of expressions or interjections from their mother tongue
whether it can be Malay, Chinese or Tamil which qualifies as a form of code-switching in
some cases. The verbs or adjectives from other languages often have English affixes, and
conversely sentences may be constructed using English words in another language's
syntax. People tend to translate phrases directly from their first languages into English, for
instance, "on the light" instead of "turn on the light" or sometimes, "open the light", translated
directly from Chinese instead of switch on the light. The noun "terrer" which is pronounced
as in English "terror" refers to someone or something being awesomely amazing or good like
"Oh God, that guy is terrer!". The adjective "that boy is very action which means show-off
(due to confusion of the usage of the Malay word "berlagak", which can either mean "show
off" or "to act") is used as Manglish by the speakers in our region in their daily life.
Sometimes, the verb Gostan your car (mostly used in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and
Penang) which means to reverse the car, apparently from the nautical term of "go astern or
"go stunt". Other than this, there are some suffix words used in native languages by
Malaysians such as Lah(Malay) , Da (Tamil) and Ma(Chinese) are used in English and
they practice in their daily lives. For instance :

I want this teddy bear-lah!

( A malay girl wants a teddy bear)

Which dog do you want? Tell me-da!

(An Indian boy is asking his friend of which breed of dog he wanted to adopt)

You have to eat this so that you can be strong like your father-ma!
(A Chinese father is urging his son to eat vegetables)
Sometimes, there are also words with different meaning use in Malaysian English such as I
need to photostat this note which means I need to photocopy this note is used in Malaysia
even though the word Photostat is not English and has no such words in the Oxford and
Cambridge Dictionaries.

(iii)

The study of World Englishes consists of identifying varieties of English used in

diverse sociolinguistic contexts globally and analyzing how sociolinguistic histories,
multicultural backgrounds and contexts of functions influence the use of English in different
regions of the world. As a trainee English teacher, it helped me to study the world englishes
which differs from the history of English Language. I learned on how to differentiate the
standard English with world Englishes used in other countries in outer circle that found in
Braj Krachrus Model. This may help me in teaching English as a second language and
applied linguistics later. Specifically, knowledge of World Englishes helps me to do research
in teaching a variety of second language skills, such as reading, writing, speaking and
listening; materials and curriculum design; literacy and English for academic purposes. The
knowledge of learning world Englishes also embracing a sociocultural perspective on
communication and employing an array of methodological tools for data collection and
analysis, this volume documents the complexities of second language teachers professional
development in diverse of teacher education programs around the world. There is a Chinese
proverb Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere and I would agree with
this proverb where my learning based on the World Englishes is a treasure where it will
follow me so that I can share my knowledge to my pupils in future.

REFERENCES
 (2011, 03). Malaysian English vs Standard English. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 03,
2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Malaysian-English-Vs-Standard-
English-610636.html
(1997). English Club. Retrieved 2014, from History of English Language:
http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
British and Malaysian English differences:. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia The Free
Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_Malaysian_English_differences

Malaysian English. (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia the free encyclopedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_English.

Manglish (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia the free encyclopedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manglish
The Indo-European Family of LanguagesRetrieved from krysstal webmaster.
http://www.krysstal.com/langfams_indoeuro.html
Language Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved from The British Library:
http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/changlang/across/languagetimeline.html
Early Moderm English. (n.d.). Retrieved from: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English#English_Renaissance