My own reflection 1
- 1. The English Language I read the text called “The English Language. It was about the origin and history of the English Language and how a Germanic dialect spoken in a small part of the British Isles became one of the most spread languages in the world. This spread language is that we know today as English. I can say that I learnt several important issues from the paper and I would want to share these issues with you. Firstly, one important thing that I learnt from this text was that the English Language that we know nowadays has an origin and a very long and complex history behind. In fact, the development of English started around 3.000 years ago in the British Isles. It occurred specifically with the arrival of the Celts that was the first influence on the languages spoken in the British Isles. Then the Roman and their language (Latin), which had a strong influence on the Isles, too, Latin added more words which we know as English today. Honestly, I did not know, before reading this text that words such as wall, kitchen, mile, wine and street derive from Latin. Also I did not know that the English language had been so influenced by others languages. English language was not created by itself and that it is a mixture of different languages (Celtics, Roman languages and so on). Another important thing that I learnt from this text was the existence of the following terms: Old English, Modern English, external and internal changes among others. For instance I did not know, before reading the text, that English was divided in different periods and that each period had its own characteristics. Of course, this information is useful to me in order to characterize the different periods in the English history. In addition I could understand better the process of the English language development. I would say that before the reading I thought that the English language had been the same that I know today, however, I could notice that it has changed through the time. Besides, not only the vocabulary has changed but also the grammar structure and the pronunciation as well. I appreciated a lot the reading of this text because as a teacher of English is quite relevant to have information about the origin of English Language. Because if a student asks me about this issues I strongly believe that is my duty to have an appropriate answer. As an EFL teacher I am not only going to teach the language but also I’m going to teach about the language. In addition, I believe that this text gives me a new vision of the English Language a broader vision than before. Indeed, now I am able to both understand and explain the process of the English language better not only in terms of the system of the language (grammar, vocabulary or phonetics) but also in terms of its origin, history and change.
- 2. To conclude, I have never thought before that English could have borrowed words from other languages and I think that this new knowledge gives my profession an extra value which had been very difficult to acquire in a grammar or phonetics class; nonetheless, these knowledge can be very useful in the classes mentioned before. Paulina Escobar.