What is language?
What distinguishes man from the rest of the animal world is his language. This is obviously more than anything else to indicate the superiority of the human kind to all other creatures. Man is, no doubt, a rational being. He is often defined as a 'thinking element'. But no thought has any sense without words to express the same. In fact, it is the power of his expression that makes man primarily remarkable as a living being.
This power of expression has come through language. Of course, this language is not the same in every land. The human expression has vari-ous ranges and manners. As a result, languages are different for different peoples. What is, however, important here is the existence of a language, whatever may be its type or nature, English, Germany, French, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Hindi or Arabic.
Language is the way to the expression that is the mode of communication. This is a very cardinal necessity to culture and civilization. It is, in fact, a kind of living tool which makes human culture and civilization possible and progressive.
Of course, other animals may have their way to communicate with one another or at any rate, stimulate or provoke one another by means of cries and neighs. In this respect sounds and bodily postures are diverse, just as human languages are, in the animal world. But there is one important point of distinction between the expression of non-human animals and human animals. The sounds and cries of non-human animals are not articulate. The implication is that they lack structure. There is nothing of distinctive word to convey distinct senses in them. In fact, what is missing in this animal world is the kind of structure that enables human beings to divide a human utterance into words. Men can change their utterances by replacing this particular word by that or by expressing their thoughts and ideas in differ-ent ways by means of different words. This is where they stand superior to other animals, not merely as rational beings, but also as articulate ones.
Language is definitely a tool, though it differs from the tools used by primitive animals, such as 'apes'. The apes indicate something by means of a stick, either to threaten or to show the attitude to the rival or enemy. But the sense of that tool is somewhat awkward and often, not clearly recognizable. But human beings have their useful tool to make known whatever is their purpose, intention, or like. This tool is their language. This is, as already asserted, the most remarkable tool ever invented and put to use creditably by any other creature.
Language, thus, forms much significance in the human existence. It is a sort of signal-an indication-that comes through some vocal sounds. Basically, a language is something spoken. The written language, in fact, is secondary to the spoken, came much later and was merely derivative. It is supposed that there are still human communities that have speech, words to say, but without the knowledge of the science of writing. But no human community is known to have a written language without a spoken one. The signal of the language comes through spoken words. Written words may only serve to emphasise or clarify the same.
Language is a great gift to man. This is the carrier of his thoughts and ideas, his visions and missions from place to place. Without his language, his culture and civilization could not have flourished. Of course, different languages have different characters as well as growth. But this is a matter of study for the linguistic scholars.
Origin of English language
The Origin of the English Language
The English language has a rich and complex history, evolving over centuries through cultural, political, and linguistic influences. It belongs to the Indo-European language family and specifically falls under the Germanic branch.
1. Proto-Indo-European Roots
English traces its ultimate origins to Proto-Indo-European (PIE), a hypothetical prehistoric language spoken around 4500–2500 BCE. From PIE, the Germanic languages emerged, which later gave rise to English.
2. Old English (450–1150 CE)
Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, developed after the migration of Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—to Britain in the 5th century CE. Their language mixed with local Celtic languages and Latin, introduced earlier by Roman invaders. Notable texts from this era include Beowulf.
3. Middle English (1150–1500 CE)
The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought a significant French influence to English. Thousands of French words, especially related to law, governance, and culture, were incorporated. The structure of English also evolved, leading to the language used in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
4. Early Modern English (1500–1700 CE)
The Renaissance and the invention of the printing press (by William Caxton in 1476) helped standardize English. This period saw significant vocabulary expansion due to Latin and Greek borrowings. Shakespeare’s works exemplify the richness of this stage.
5. Modern English (1700–Present)
With British colonial expansion and globalization, English absorbed words from numerous languages. The Industrial Revolution and technological advancements further enriched its lexicon. Today, English is a global lingua franca, evolving continuously through digital communication and cultural exchanges..
The English language as also literature belong to the Englishmen. But the Englishmen were not the original inhabitants of what is known today as 'England'. They were actually the savage residents of some scattered localities of modern Germany, designated as Germania by the famous Ro-man historian Tacitus.
In fact, the land, now known as Britain, was the habitat of the Celtic people who might have settled there in the remote past during the gradual spread of Aryan Civilization in the west. Those Celtic people, also known as Brythons, lived there as their native land, better known now as Britain. They had to face aggressions, time and again, to defend their land and liberty.
The result of one such aggression was the occupation of Britain by Rome in 43 A.D. The Roman rule of the country was long and continuous. The Celtic natives were absolutely under the rigors of the Roman power. But that had, too, a cultural bearing on them and brought them to the light of civilization.
The Roman Empire fell under the pressure of some civil dissention in Rome. The Roman army withdrew from Britain. The Celtic people found themselves quite helpless and unprotected thereafter against the fierce at-tacks of Picts and Scots from the north of Britain. The Celtic King Vortigern, in an utter desperation, sought the help of three Germanic tribes. But the help turned into an invasion from the savage Teutonic tribes around the year 449, leading to their settlement, from the later part of the fifth cen-tury. Those Teutonic tribes were mainly three-Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Without any military strength and national solidarity, it was impossible for the Celtic natives to resist the invited savage aggressions. So they fled away to the mountainous regions of Wales. Angles, Saxons and Jutes the three Teutonic tribes-settled finally in Britain with a certain sort of regional divisions, made naturally by them.
The origins of those tribal peoples were, however, remote and vague. About 500 B. C. a group of such peoples, speaking almost related languages, lived along the extensive shore of the North Sea. The territory, now known as Denmark, belonged thereto and was occupied by the Jutes. Westward to that, now part of the Netherlands (Holland), was Priestland, occupied by the Frisians.
Of course, those tribal peoples had no uniformity of speech, and natu-rally there might have been the variety of dialects, used by the nomadic settlers. Naturally, English, as termed today, originally consisted of a variety of different dialects, all of almost equal importance or position.
Of the tribes mentioned, the Frisians remained on the Continent, and are found to occupy now the province of Friesland in north-east Holland, and their speech, different from Dutch, seems to be the closest relative to the English language, perhaps, has now on the mainland of Europe. Other tribes, however, migrated to Britain. The Jutes went to the south-east corner, now called Kent, the Saxons settled in the region south of the Thames and the Angles, in the region of north. Various parts in the country, with their divergent dialects, had a cultural harmony through a standard language.
The language, spoken by the Germanic conquerors of Britain, came to be known as 'Englisc' (englisc), from which has come the modern term 'English'. That was the foundation of the English language of today in the remote past.
Of course, it need be remembered that the nature of the English language could not be traced only in the settlement of the Germanic tribes in Britain. Different forces, political and social, literary and linguistic, were at work at different times for the making of the English language. It was the cumulative effect of the operation of all such forces that laid a solid founda-tion of the English language and has made the language what it today is.
Conclusion
From its Germanic roots to its modern global presence, English has transformed through centuries of influence. It remains a dynamic and evolving language, shaped by history and human interaction.
