Early Middle English Dialects. Extension of English Territory

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FROM THE ПТН TO 15TH С. LINGUISTIC SITUATION

Economic and Social Conditions in the 11th-12th с.

The OE period in the history of the language corresponds to the transitional stage from the slave-owning and tribal system to the feudal system in the history of Britain. In the 11th с feudalism was already well established. According to a survey made in the late 11th с slaves and freemen were declining classes. The majority of the agricultural population (and also of the total population, which amounted to about 2,000,000 people) were bound to their lord and land. Under natural economy, characteristic of feudalism, most of the things needed for the life of the lord and the villain were produced on the estate. Feudal manors were separated from their neighbors by -tolls, local feuds, and various restrictions concerning settlement, traveling and employment. These historical conditions produced a certain influence on the development of the language.

In Early ME the differences between the regional dialects grew. Never in history, before or after, was the historical background more favorable for dialectal differentiation. The main dialectal division in England, which survived in later ages with some slight modification of boundaries and considerable dialect mixture, goes back to the feudal stage of British history.

In the age of poor communication dialect boundaries often coincided with geographical barriers such as rivers, marshes, forests and mountains, as these barriers would hinder the diffusion of linguistic features. In addition to economic, geographical and social conditions, dialectal differences in Early ME were accentuated by some historical events, namely the Scandinavian invasions and the Norman Conquest.

Effect of the Scandinavian Invasions

Though the Scandinavian invasions of England are dated the OE period, their effect on the language is particularly apparent in ME.

We may recall that since the 8th c. the British Isles were raved by sea rovers from Scandinavia, first by Danes, later — by Norwegians By the end of the 9th с the Danes had succeeded in obtaining a permanent footing in England; more than half of England was yielded to the invaders and recognized as Danish territory — "Danelaw". While some of the Scandinavians came to England merely to plunder and return to their homeland, others made their permanent home in North East England.

In the early years of the occupation the Danish settlements were little more than armed camps. But gradually the conditions stabilised and the Danes began to bring their families. The new settlers and the English intermarried and intermixed; they lived close together and did not differ either in social rank or in the level of culture and customs; they intermingled the more easily as there was no linguistic barrier between them. (OE and О Scand belonged to the Germanic group of languages and at that time were much closer than their descendants are today.) The colonization and the intermixture of the newcomers with their former foes continued from the 9th с on, during two hundred years, which witnessed diverse political events: the reconquest of Danelaw under Alfred's successors, the renewal of Scandinavian onslaughts In the late10th с under Sweyne and the political annexation of England by Denmark under Canute.

In the areas of the heaviest settlement the Scandinavians outnumbered the Anglo-Saxon population, which is attested by geographical names. In Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Cumberland — up to 75 per cent of the place-names are Danish or Norwegian. Altogether more than 1,400 English villages and towns bear names of Scandinavian origin (with the element thorp meaning "village", e.g. Woodthorp, Linthorp; toft 'a piece of land, e.g. Brimtoft, Lo-westoft and others). Probably, in many districts people became bilingual, with either Old Norse or English prevailing.

Eventually the Scandinavians were absorbed into the local population both ethnically and linguistically. They merged with the society around them, but the impact on the linguistic situation and on the further development of the English language was quite profound.

The increased regional differences of English in the 11th and 12th c. must partly be attributed to the Scandinavian influence. Due to the contacts and mixture with О Scand, the Northern dialects (to use OE terms, chiefly Northumbrian and East Mercian) had acquired lasting and sometimes indelible Scandinavian features. We find a large admixture of Scandinavian words in Early ME records coming from the North East whereas contemporary texts from other regions are practically devoid of Scandinavian borrowings.

In later ages the Scandinavian element passed into other regions. The incorporation of the Scandinavian element in the London dialect and Standard English was brought about by the changing linguistic situation in England: the mixture of the dialects and the growing linguistic unification. Yet neither in the South nor in Standard English did the Scandinavian element ever assume such proportions as in the North-Eastern ME dialects.

The Norman Conquest

Soon after Canute's death (1042) and the collapse of his empire the old AS line was restored but their reign was short-lived. The new English king, Edward the Confessor (1042-1066), who had been reared in France, brought over many Norman advisors and favourites; he distributed among them English lands and wealth to the considerable resentment of the Anglo-Saxon nobility and appointed them to important positions in the government and church hierarchy. He not only spoke French himself but insisted on it being spoken by the nobles at his court. William, Duke of Normandy, visited his court and it was rumored that Edward appointed him his successor. In many respects Edward paved the way for Norman infiltration long before the Norman Conquest. However, the government of the country was still in the hands of Anglo-Saxon feudal lords, headed by the powerful Earl Godwin of Wessex.

In 1066, upon Edward's death, the Elders of England proclaimed Harold Godwin king of England. As soon as the news reached William of Normandy, he mustered a big army by prom use of land and plunder (one third of his soldiers were Normans, other: mercenaries from all over Europe) and, with the support of the Pope landed in Britain.

In the battle of Hastings, fought in October 1066, Harold was killed and the English were defeated. This date is commonly known a date of the Norman Conquest, though the military occupation at the country was not completed until a few years later. After the victory at Hastings, William by-passed London cutting it off from the North and made the Witan of London and the bishops at Westminster Abbey| crown him king. William and his barons laid waste many lands in England, burning down villages and estates. They conducted a relent campaign of subjugation, devastated and almost depopulated Northumbria and Mercia, which tried to rise against the conquerors. Scores earthen forts and wooden stockades, built during the campaign, we soon replaced by huge stone Norman castles. Most of the lands of these Anglo-Saxon lords passed into the hands of the Norman barons, William's own possessions comprising about one third of the country. This Normans occupied all the important posts in the church, in the government, and in the army.

Following the conquest hundreds of people from France crossed this Channel to make their home in Britain. Immigration was easy, since the Norman kings of Britain were also dukes of Normandy and, about a hundred years later, took possession of the whole western half of France thus bringing England into still closer contact with the continent French monks, tradesmen and craftsmen flooded the south-western towns, so that not only the higher nobility but also much of the micelle| class was French.

Effect of the Norman Conquest on the Linguistic Situation

The Norman Conquest was not only a great event in British political history but also the greatest single event in the history of the English language. Its earliest effect was a drastic change in the linguistic situation.

The Norman conquerors of England had originally come from Scandinavia (compare Norman and Northman). About one hundred and fifty years before they had seized the valley of the Seine and settled in what was henceforth known as Normandy. They were swiftly assimilated by the French and in the 11th с came to Britain as French speakers and bearers of French culture. They spoke the Northern dialect of French, which differed in some points from Central, Parisian French. Their tongue in Britain is often referred to as "Anglo-French" or "Anglo-Norman", but may just as well be called French, since we are less concerned here with the distinction of French dialects than with the continuous French influence upon English, both in the Norman period history and a long while after the Anglo-Norman language had ceased lo exist.

In the early 13th c, as a result of lengthy and inefficient wars with France John Lackland lost the French provinces, including the dukedom nf Normandy. Among other consequences the loss of the lands in France in lit off the Normans in Britain from France, which speeded up the decline of the Anglo-French language.

The most immediate consequence of the Norman domination In Britain is to be seen in the wide use of the French language in many spheres of life. For almost three hundred years French was the official language of administration: it was the language of the king's court, the law courts, the church, the army and the castle. It was also the everyday language of many nobles, of the higher clergy and of many townspeople in the South. The intellectual life, literature and education were in the hands of French-speaking people; French, alongside Latin, was the language of writing. Teaching was largely conducted in French and boys at school were taught to translate their Latin into French instead of English.

For all that, England never stopped being an English-speaking country. The bulk of the population held fast to their own tongue: the lower classes in the towns, and especially in the country-side, those who lived in the Midlands and up north, continued to speak English and looked upon French as foreign and hostile. Since most of the people were illiterate, the English language was almost exclusively used for spoken communication.

At first the two languages existed side by side without mingling. Then, slowly and quietly, they began to permeate each other. The Norman barons and the French town-dwellers had to pick up English words to make themselves understood, while the English began to use French words in current speech. A good knowledge of French would mark a person of higher standing giving him a certain social prestige. Probably many people became bilingual and had a fair command of both languages.

These peculiar linguistic conditions could not remain static. The struggle between French and English was bound to end in the complete victory of English, for English was the living language of the entire people, while French was restricted to certain social spheres and to writing. Yet the final victory was still a long way off. In the 13th с only a few steps were made in that direction. The earliest sign of the official recognition of English by the Norman kings was the famous PRCCLAMATION issued by Henry III in 1258 to the councilors in Parliament. It was written in three languages: French, Latin and English.

The three hundred years of the domination of French affected English more than any other foreign influence before or after. The early French borrowings reflect accurately the spheres of Norman influence upon English life; later borrowings can be attributed to the continued cultural, economic and political contacts between the countries. The French influence added new features to the regional and social differentiation of the language. New words, coming from French, could no be adopted simultaneously by all the speakers of English; they we, first used in some varieties of the language, namely in the regional dialects of Southern England and in the speech of the upper classes, by were unknown in the other varieties. This led to growing dialectal differences, regional and social. Later the new features adopted from French extended to other varieties of the language.

The use of a foreign tongue as the state language, the diversity «I the dialects and the decline of the written form of English created .1 situation extremely favourable for increased variation and for more intensive linguistic change.

Early Middle English Dialects. Extension of English Territory

The regional ME dialects had developed from respective O' dialects. A precise map of all the dialects will probably never be mad for available sources are scarce and unreliable: localized and date documents are few in number. Early ME dialects and their approximate boundaries have been determined largely by inference; for later ME to difficulty lies in the growing dialect mixture.

With these reservations the following dialect groups can be distinguished in Early ME.The Southern group included the Kentish and the South-Western dialects. Kentish was a direct descendant of the OE dialect known by the same name, though it had somewhat extended its area. The Southwestern group was a continuation of the OE Saxon dialects, — not only West Saxon, but also East Saxon. The East Saxon dialect was not prominent in OE but became more important in Early ME, since it made the basis of the dialect of London in the 12th and 13th с. Among the dialects of this group we may mention the Gloucester dialect and the London dialect, which must have been an influential form of speech at all times.

The group of Midland ("Central") dialects—corresponding to the OE Mercian dialect — is divided into West Midland and East Midland as two main areas, with further subdivisions within: South-East Midland and North-East Midland, South-West Midland and North-West Midland. In ME the Midland area became more diversified linguistically than the OE Mercian kingdom occupying approximately the same territory: from the Thames in the South to the Welsh-speaking area in the West) and up north to the river Humber.

The Northern dialects had developed from OE Northumbrian. In Early ME the Northern dialects included several provincial dialects,e.g. the Yorkshire and the Lancashire dialects and also what later became known as Scottish.

In the course of Early ME the area of the English language in the British Isles grew. Following the Norman Conquest the former Celtic kingdoms fell under Norman rule. Wales was subjugated in the late 13th c: its eastern half became part of England, while the North and West of Wales was a principality governed separately. In the late 12th с the English made their first attempts to conquer Ireland. The invaders settled among the Irish and were soon assimilated, a large proportion of the invaders being Welshmen. Though part of Ireland was ruled from England, the country remained divided and had little contact with England. The English language was used there alongside Celtic languages — Irish and Welsh — and was influenced by Celtic. The Early ME dialectal division was preserved in the succeeding centuries, though even in Late ME the linguistic situation changed. In Early ME, while the state language and the main language of literature was French, the local dialects were relatively equal. In Late ME, when English had been reestablished as the main language of administration and writing, one of the regional dialects, the London dialect, prevailed over the others.

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