Module 2 Discussion. History of English. Education Essay

History of English
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Institution
History of English
Explaining the history of English to students would require a discussion of the origin of English. English is a Germanic language by origin, particularly West Germanic, although over the years it has become a blend of many other languages due to heavy borrowing. The history of English is covered in three periods. It started as what is referred to as the Old English (700-1100) when Anglo-Saxons invaded England. During this time, English was very inflectional (Finegan 2008, p.473). The Old English period was followed by the Middle English period (1100-1500), which was characterized by the invasion of England by the Duke of Normandy. This period was the transitional period because the inflection of Old English disappeared and word order took over (p.487). The final period is what is now referred to as the Modern English period (1500 up to date). Modern English is highly analytic (p.495) and as such, relies heavily on word ...