I was told early English kings, even those Shakespeare wrote about like Richard the 3rd, did not actually speak English!. What was their language and when did English became their everyday language!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
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Position:Home>History> What was the language of the early English kings?Question: What was the language of the early English kings!? I was told early English kings, even those Shakespeare wrote about like Richard the 3rd, did not actually speak English!. What was their language and when did English became their everyday language!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hi Sue; Isn't it annoying when people do not take you seriously!.!. You have asked a very valid question!. It depends on what you mean by 'early kings'!. Before the Norman Conquest most of them would speak some version of Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic language, somewhat different from our modern English and High German!. One still finds words in dialects that are closer!. The Viking kings like Canute obviously spoke an early version of Scandinavian (Danish/Norwegian) which again was a Germanic language!. (Incidentally my 'offspring' at Atlantic College observed modern Scandinavian youngsters speaking their own languages but able to converse understanding each other!) After the Norman Conquest the language at Court was Norman French; Early English-Middle English was the language of the peasants and those conquered!. Latin tended to be the international language and especially in documents!. Chaucer did much to make 'English' respectable and Shakespeare etc!. continued the trend!. Elizabeth I could speak several languages and even learned Irish Gaelic to meet Kate O Malley!. It may be that French continued as the official language till the Tudor Kings, after all the English Kings had French possessions till finally Mary I lost Calais!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The thing about the English is they have been invaded countless times!. Each wave brought their own language and for a time this was dominant in a small area!. As time went by, these language waves disseminated into the main line language even when the original invaders had gone (e!.g!. the Romans and Latin)!. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England!. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate!. There was a difference in the level where languages held sway!. The nobles, court and the church (and even the Law) spoke different languages from the rest!. Only when the aristocracy eventually lost all it's holdings in Europe did they finally turn inwards and start using English as the primary language!. English literature started to reappear ca 1200, when a changing political climate and the decline in Anglo-Norman made it more respectable!. The Provisions of Oxford, released in 1258, were the first English government document to be published in the English language since the Conquest!. Edward III became the first king to address Parliament in English when he did so in 1362!. By the end of that century, even the royal court had switched to English!. Anglo-Norman remained in use in limited circles somewhat longer, but it had ceased to be a living languageWww@QuestionHome@Com French for the royal court and educated people, even the laws in England during the feudal system were the same like in France, William of Normandy had imported all the french culture in England!. Mainly after the failure of the english invasion of France (1453 : end of the One Hundred years war) the sovereigns started to speak the language of their subjects : english with several thousand of french words!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The Earliest kings on the Island now known as England would probably some sort of Celt or other Germanic Language!. The Anglo-Saxons (becoming "England" invaded and the language was German which developed into an early English!. Other Germanic dialects entered and combined with the early English with other invasions from Norway and Denmark etc!. In 1066 a bastardized French/Norse language took over with William the Conqueror (later, Richard the Lionhearted spoke only French)!. So, it depends upon at what point you considered "England" to be "England"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It,s an early form of the English language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and southern Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century!. What survives through writing represents primarily the literary register of Anglo-Saxon!. It is a West Germanic language and is closely related to Old Frisian!. It also experienced heavy influence from Old Norse, a member of the related North Germanic group of languages!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Actually English is not a true language at all but a barstard, it has stolen words from every language on the planet, including those it has only reasently come in contact with!. all languages evolve with time but English is the most versitlie of all, it has evolved fron the original latin/celtic spoken in Roman England, into the language we speak today, it has had bits of German, French, and Spanish added over the years!. and after becomming a colonial power parts of other languages started being used as part of the English language!.Www@QuestionHome@Com it mainly depends on what part of the country you are talking about and what time but early english people probably spoke some form of celtic!.English now is a language which has evolved over a long time and is very influenced by other languages however some words have remained such as sunday which is named after one of the pagan gods!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The court language from William I (1066) on was French!. Only after the ousting of the Stuart kings did that shift, and then mostly to German, Queen Victoria herself was raised in German, though the language at court under her reign was indeed (at last) English!.Www@QuestionHome@Com English used to be the language of lower classes! The British aristocracy used to speak in German, French and "deities" in Latin!. Anyway, Australian union leader Faruque Ahmed was attacked by the ignoramus for telling the truth regarding English earlier!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The early kings in England spoke French!. The local overlords andkings spoke in old English, it is with time after Chaucer that language started developing!. During the time of the Tudors nd esp!. Elezabeth Tudor - the Shkespearean era it is well developed!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Which period and which region!? Are we talking about Saxon Kings, Normal Kings, Romano-British Kings!? Depending on where and when you could be talking about French, Latin, or a host of languages and sub languages and dialects!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I'm not sure, but that was a little bit of the Normannian language, a kind of french, allemannian und something else, like keltic!. FrankyWww@QuestionHome@Com The earliest british kings, after the collapse of the roman empire, spoke anything between welsh and latin!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Elvish obviously!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Olde English!?Www@QuestionHome@Com it depends which country they were from - there is no true english manWww@QuestionHome@Com |