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Previous | Next ENG 2020: History of the English Language Students look back 6000 years to the unfamiliar roots of English It's not every day you see a writing major try to draw. But that's exactly what Justan Mitchell, a junior writing major, had to do in last week's History of the English Language class. Mitchell and his classmates were examining the far-flung history of English: Back to about 4000 BCE, long before there was anything resembling a written form of the language. They drew pictographs that were once used in near-East China, which over the millennia influenced the creation of written English. The 17-student class will spend the semester learning about the roots and development of English, said Professor Paul Stuewe, from the end of the Roman occupation of the country to the advent of Old English, to the modern day. Since making the course a requirement for English majors at the beginning of the school year, this is the first time it has been offered. "Everybody here speaks and writes English," Stuewe said, "but many of us know very little about the history of the language. There's a sense in which this course teaches about the roots of our culture, which is, of course, fun." The semester started with a brief introduction to the science of linguistics, and has since focused on the development of English as well as its many forms - some nearly unrecognizable by modern American standards. "It gives you a better idea of how we form our words and put ideas together," said Ashley Converse, a junior Sociology/Anthropology major who took the course as part of her English minor. "English has a much broader history than I could have imagined. When I look at Old English, it's completely foreign to me." |
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