The Evolution of English

Over the course of history,

English has undergone many changes.

As it is spoken by,

Many people in different places.

Its roots are entrenched in 450 AD,

When Germanic tribes arrive in Briton,

They brought with them a new language,

And were called the Anglo-Saxons.

While few to none of the words in Briton,

Had been assimilated from the Roman vocabulary,

The Anglo-Saxons new language,

Was appreciated for its ease and contemporaneity.

With simple words like “house”

And a “loaf” of bread,

Their vocabulary was,

Much more appreciated.

Besides such domestic words,

They also gave more abstract contributions.

For “Tiw's day”, “Woden's day”, “Thor's day” and “Frey's day”,

Are all based on their immortal pantheon.

After the Germanic era,

In what is believed to be 597 AD,

English was enlarged even more,

By the advent of Christianity.

Thanks to the Roman penchant for conquest,

Latin had been something to abhor,

Christianity's themes of love and peace,

Helped popularize “font”, “bishop” and “martyr”.

Time and history passed on,

Then, cerca 800 AD, or so,

Along came the Vikings,

Bringing violent words galore.

Their language was extremely brutal,

And reflected their rapacious lives,

For among the over 2,000 words English gained,

Were “drag”, “ransack”, “give”, “take” and “die”.

And so the years passed, once again,

Until 1066 came around,

With William the Conqueror,

Taking the British crown.

From France he brought,

Terms such as “council” and “parliament”,

And eventually made anglicized French,

The language of government.

Besides words with such political definitions,

There came some with legal meaning,

Such as “evidence”, “justice”, “jury” and “judge”,

Which are used today to describe more than criminal' dirty dealings.

And over time, new words came into being,

As people of various occupations,

Coined new terms to describe the things,

They interacted with on a frequent or daily basis/

“Cow”, “Sheep” and “Swine”,

Came from the English farmers,

While “beef”, “mutton” and “pork”,

Came from those wealthy enough to buy them.

And so many, many words were derived from the Normans,

Such as “jewel”, “fruit”, “music” and “melody”,

But all was not so blissful or peaceful,

As shown by “war”, “poor”, “pain” and the need for “charity”.

Then, as the Hundred Years war began,

Nations added new terms to their vocabulary.

Mostly military words and phrases,

Like “solider”, “army” and “navy².

Well, this occurred from the fourteenth to fifteenth century,

Then Shakespeare rose to prominence,

And created a vast array of new words,

That are still used in today's English.

Certainly worth “perusing”,

Are his contributions,

He alone created thousands of terms,

For his plays and compositions.

After the Shakespearean era,

Came King James' Bible in 1611,

Instead of words, it gave English phrases,

Like the metaphorical “fly in the ointment”.

The “ends of the earth” were visualized,

and Hell's depths given “fire and brimstone”.

As the “powers that be” fulfilled their “heart's desire”,

When laymen believed that they had “the wisdom of Solomon”.

But as religion began to fade away,

Science accrued numerous discoveries,

Leaving scientists to describe their concepts,

With new words like “pendulum” and “electricity”

Alongside the “gravity” of physics,

Another burgeoning field was biology.

With words like “acid”, “tonsil” and “cardiac,

English was growing quite rapidly³.

Besides the flourishing sciences,

So too was English spreading,

As the British Empire,

Decided that the world needed conquering.

First, they went to the Carribean,

And learned to “barbecue”.

But this hardly interested those back home,

So they pretended that “cannibals” captained the “canoes”

Then onwards to India,

Where they gave the natives an plethora of problems,

In exchange for learning “yoga”,

And about cummerbunds and the color crimson.

Later, Africa too was invaded,

And their religion reduced to mockery,

As the words taken were given negative connotations,

Like “voodoo” and “zombie”.

Their eastern interests, satisfied,

The British turned to look south,

Then proceede to ravage Australia,

while “nuggets” and “boomerangs” were picked up.

Then as the empire began to fail,

America rose to prominance and power,

Spreading their version of the language,

And changing English forever.

It started in the 17^th century,

As, filled with hope,

Settlers arrived on America's shores,

From all across Europe.

After arrival, the pilgrims,

Said a Thanksgivng grace,

Amazed by the abundance of life,

Like “pumpkins” and “maize”.

Though they would eventually “squash” the native culture,

(The word was actually supposed to describe the plant),

They also partook of the “moose” and “racoon”,

Before claiming all the land.

But these Britishers were not alone,

In describing the food in America.

The Dutch brought “cookies”, the Germans “pretzels”,

The Italians? “Pizza”, “Pasta” and the “Mafia”³.

After the 1800's came the Industrial Revoultion,

Which dominated the century,

As words like “whitecollar” and “bluechip”,

Were used in the economy.

“Capitalism”, was the economic system,

People capitalized on for their gain,

But the malpractice and “mergers” of monopolies,

Led to “price-fixing” and “downsizing”.

Then came the “World Wars”, ending the Depression,

But taking many men's livelihoods,

And along with “breadlines” and “bomber jets”,

It brought about the rationing of goods.

Post this time of conflict,

Came the Technological Revolution,

As the creation of “cellphones” and “laptops”

Changed language and “telecommunications”⁵.

Yet, despite English's growing diction

The prevalece of electronic abbreviations

Is placing many terms near extinction.

Words like “” and “” are in a precarious situation

So, to the reader, it should be quite apparent,

That, like most other things, there is nothing stable about language.

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1. Well, that put a damper on “charity”, as “markets” closed
   and most people lost their desire for “mercy”.
2. In part due ot the Royal Society,
   Which was founded in sixteen sixty.
3. Though the last is not edible,
   They were quite instrumental,
   In American culture, and deserve a mention,
   Though their ethics were questionable.

4. x

5. With the arrival of “email” and “tweeting”,
   Paper and ink near oblivion, replaced by “text messaging”.
   Social Media is also greatly expanding
   With blogs and Facebook giving a new meaning to “liking”.
   As “selfies” and “snapchats” become more important,
   And people thrive on status updates
   “Nomophobia” is increasingly prevalent.
   And replies cannot seem to wait.
   Then, to guard our precious “software”
   We “download” protections
   Among which are “Anti-virus” programs and “firewalls”
   To secure our private information

(If you like long, historically-oriented poems, I have another interminable one on a particularly fascinating epoch coming soon....)