PLR1056 - History of the English Language

Provide an overall view of the development of the English language from its origins to the present day.

Using the principles of internal and external linguistic change, the course will first trace the development of Indo-European in order to demonstrate its relevance to English. It will then go on to provide an account of the specific origins of English and then will describe the linguistic changes brought about by the chief historical events in the history of Great Britain.