English

For those who like me have been fascinated with the evolution of the English language, the recent show by Melvyn Bragg on the subject has been simply illuminating!

English, spoken by well over a billion people around the world has now replaced the old 'lingua franca' or French as the main language used in diplomacy around the world. It has grown from a little known and cared about tongue to become one of the main languages of the world. The HOW of this is fascinating enough. The WHY has been simply stunning but the WHAT is perhaps the most interesting of all.

I noticed a long time ago, as someone who speaks both German and French as well as having studied Latin many years ago, how bizarre it seemed that English took on many of its traits in direct relationship to the invasions that it suffered over the years.

Thus in the language, the history of these invasions is still ever present. As the German based language spoken in England was replaced by the Norman French in 1066 this became more and more evident. The common words for things retained their Germanic roots while the more refined things took on the character of the conquerors.

For example, a "stool" or a primitive 3 legged sitting implement was derived from the Germanic "stuhl" and the moment it had four legs and a back it became a "chair" from the French "chaise". Many farm animals went the same way so "cow" from "kuh" but "beef from "boeuf", "sheep" from "schaf". but "mutton" from "mouton".

Bragg's story unfolded many more of the insights into how the language had changed and developed and his most recent episode which linked the settlement of America brought out a few things which I have to confess I was not aware of . I always knew for example that that Levi Strauss and his famous work trousers were made from a cloth called denim which of course was originally made in France in a town called Nimes and since the word in French for "from" is "de" it is hardly surprising that the cloth came to be known as "denim". However I did not know the origin of the word "Jeans" and was surprised that the original cloth from which the trousers were made was manufactured in Genoa and hence the name. Bragg mentioned much of the inheritance that English has received from the American Indians and also from the wild wild west. He did not however mention some of the delights that have come down to us from the American Civil War.

Did you know for example that there was a General Hooker who permitted camp followers to attend his forces and who became known as Hooker's girls and hence the derivation used for prostitutes in the US - hooker? I guess it is ONE way to be remembered by history. Then again there are the mutton chops which were made famous by Elvis Presley called sideburns. This was named after an unfortunate general called Burnside in the Civil war who managed to get things very very wrong and who also wore them. Because people wanted to remember his back to front adventures they renamed his whiskers to sideburns and so he too is remembered by history but largely forgotten by most.

For the refugee, 'wog' that I was called when I first arrived in this country, learning this language was a challenge and a triumph when acquired.

For those who have learnt it at their mother's knees and who still find it difficult to spell, parse a sentence, or string together some words to make a sentence I feel great pity. However I feel even more sorry for those who have no understanding of the richness of the language, its nuances, its ability to convey shades of meaning that appear to be unavailable to many other languages that have not been so intensely influenced by other tongues.

I am rather glad that I speak several other languages as they have been my key to understanding English. I am also glad that I speak English as it is my key to understanding so much about the history of the countries in which it is spoken and about the countries that have contributed to its evolution.