History of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE - Part 1 Origins

[@itzjiddy632]

Tristan : I am so excited and happy that you started this fascinating series of videos on the History of English Language. I learned more listening to one episode than reading a whole book. You are a great speaker and wish you come to work in the US as a professor of English Language in Chicago where I live

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Pleased you are excited by this series as I am too! 😃 Thanks so much Jiddy, you're support and encouragement means a lot.

[@samuelstephens6163]

Tristan: Hello, let's talk about English! Me: *pauses video to look at the books*

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

😂😂😂

[@Leebearify]

Oh my gosh, I found myself talking to you on the screen !! When you first asked about where words came from I thought about Dante and his 'original language'.... then he moved to the vulgate Italian. So I added Italy as a possibility. Then you mentioned my favorite go-to guy Venerable Bede who gave us so much as he watched and wrote what he saw. I actually didn't think of France at all!! Yikes. This series will be totally FABULOUS.... I am marking my calendar so I don't miss Part 2. I also thought when you asked about 'how was that word chosen?" an everyday scene of working people from all over trying to communicate. Then realizing that 5 of the 8 people standing there used this particular word so they (as a group) decided to use the word so they could move on and get something accomplished. I have seen that very thing happen here in California when the working men are speaking Spanish and the boss doesn't...guess what the boss learns the Spanish word and probably will use it going forward. We also have a thing here called Spanglish (obviously a mixture of Spanish and English) there are an entire group of children mostly that only speak Spanglish. The other way movement of words could possibly happen was in situations like Canterbury Tales or the Decameron when people were telling one another stories and of course the maritime trading. Oh my goodness, Tristan this is so interesting. Thank you for making it available!!

[@Leahkab]

Fascinating, I have read and listened to many histories of the English language, and yet none had started as far back as you did. Each person took for granted that there was a language on the British Isles. You have just explained so well how it starts. Keep going, I'm loving this.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Leah. So pleased you enjoyed it.

[@sunnywu2801]

This is so much interestingly informative and I am looking forward to part 2. Thank you so much!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Sunny. I hope to do part 2 as soon as I can.

[@adrienne4028]

Wow, that was absolutely fascinating! More please! 👏🏼

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Will do, Adrienne. Pleased you enjoyed it.😀

[@charmainesaliba5546]

This is brilliant Tristan. I love languages and always wondered how words were formed. Last year, I read a historical fiction The Dictionary of lost Words. It's about the making of the first Oxford Dictionary. It was fascinated, to learn about the process to include the words in the dictionary and how certain words ( words used by women) were left out. Really looking forward to this new series. Thanks Tristan for your hard work and to teach me something new every time.😊

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Hey Charmaine. Great to hear from you, as always! Language is phenomenally interesting. I hope I don't end up going down too many rabbit holes for this series.😀

[@cerimoore3577]

I sincerely hope you continue with this series. My love of the history of languages, and what they can tell us of the movement and interaction of peoples, began in my ninth grade year when we spent a semester on the history of the English language. Many of the students found it terribly boring, which, I'm sure, wasn't helped by our instructor apologizing for the requirement in his introductory lecture. I loved it, and have dabbled in languages ever since As a fairly widely reas American himeschooling mother, and voracious reader from childhood, i have gravitated to English authors my whole conscious life. I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who provided me with the basics of the classics of the western world, and developed a taste for the English style early on. I agree that we have great examples of writing from other languages, and I think it has helped me to have an appreciation of my own language, it's history, and it's great writers, while venturing out to explore other languages and great literature. I find myself fascinated with the ideas, systems of government, structures of class, etc. and how different cultures developed. Understanding how my people developed and interacted with other people puts me in a position of being grateful and empathetic. It allows me to recognize the beauty found in cultures all over the world. Anyway, I'm loving all your videos, and i hope to see more on this topic.

[@lucyjazz1]

Brilliant Tristan ! Thank you 😊

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Lucy. You're so kind.😀

[@charleschan2920]

So fantastic and exciting. I got a great summary of the history of the English language, and learned to appreciate the English language we have today. Great work! Thanks

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

So glad that you enjoyed it Charles. Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it.👍

[@jassdad5202]

Best video I ever saw on the English language

[@Brieflectures.]

great content ! can't wait for part 2 ❤️🌹

[@sharonluvisi6069]

This was the excellent history lesson I never knew I needed until I watched your video. I particularly loved your "interpretations" 😉 of my country's most respected presidents.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Sharon. I practised JFK for hours before I could do this video🤣🤣🤣

[@obeliapark9860]

I only just found this today 29/04/24 and I found it positively fascinating! I hope you did more, I'll be searching for them eagerly.

[@BookZealots]

Love it! Thank you for sharing. Wonderfully fascinating!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

History is marvelling isn't it 😃❤

[@AndersBjornTH]

That was wonderful, worthy of watching again. Looking forward to the next episode and those that follow.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Glad you enjoyed it. The remarkable thing about language is we often forget that it came from somewhere. And it's history is, unlike any other, our personal history as it is the heritage of the words we personally speak every day. Fascinating!😀

[@mari3701]

Brilliant! Especially fascinating when you are a native romance language speaker. Looking forward to the next episode! :)

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Pleased you enjoyed it, Mariah. 😃❤

[@kamidsjournee]

I’ve subscribed so I don’t miss an episode! Thank you for creating it.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks for subscribing! I hope that the series proves satisfying.

[@elishevabarenbaum5319]

Fab! Very educational. I'm interested in the great vowel shift. Never understood how that happened.

[@andreeablaj3414]

More episodes, please! This is fascinating! ❤

[@brian1206]

I was so ready for the next episode and then so disappointed! Can't blame him though, weirdly low views on this, I guess the rest of the classics minded folk don't appreciate their linguistic history...

[@terrysbookandbiblereviews]

Great video!! I really enjoyed seeing the map of migrations of the people groups that lead to English!!

[@patriciatolliver4057]

Patty- Tristan, As a lover of languages, this video was a treat. I checked for the second video but couldn't find it. 😞 I hope you can make a second to continue the series.

[@moncoinlecture]

This video is soooo interesting! I know a lot more about the history of the french language so it's really cool to learn about english!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Karine. I really need to get onto making part 2.

[@roycoburne6710]

Absolutely wonderful.

[@maryanncarl646]

Hi Tristan, Hope allis well with you. Can't tell you what a treat this was. Loved every minute and am looking forward to more. Thank you.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Mary Ann. How language morphs and develops over time is just fascinating. Also, as History is another passion of mine, this was rather fun to do.😀

[@DramaPixie-wt8hm]

Great video - this topic is so interesting, and goes well with starting to read classic books. And you explain it all so well! Thank you :-)

[@cnohero]

Wow this is so fascinating!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I really need to get to part 2😀

[@elliewiltshire7001]

This is absolutely brilliant can't wait for more episodes. It made me want to look up 'episodes' and see if it was a Latin word, but it isn't it's Greek. Amazing. Thank you Tristan.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Ellie, that's so so kind of you to share. As for Greek, that's going to be interesting to watch come into the story of the English language.😃

[@elliewiltshire7001]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I forgot to say I grew up in Cirencester and now live near Minchinhampton. Both names mean so much more now, so thank you 👍😊

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

@@elliewiltshire7001 That's awesome 😃 Gotta love British place names. Where else would you find such a sublime name as Minchinhampton? 🙌❤

[@naturalbohemian1]

Hi Tristan, Okay, I'm gobsmacked! My husband and myself were already subscribers and fans of yours, we really enjoy your videos on literature and classics, as you are truly unsurpassed in your enthusiasm and your ability to articulate, not to mention your knowledge and love of learning! But wow! You have outdone yourself on this one! You are truly a natural teacher in every sense of the word! I am gushing, and that is something I don't generally like to do! We just enjoyed this video so much! I myself am not a person who has your gift of articulation, but just an admirer of those who do, as is evident by my rambling comment. But, this video has finally made some of the history of the english language and history of the British isles a bit more understandable and lucid, instead of walking away from a video on this subject, shaking my head and wondering who was who, and how in the world did the language come about?? It was not only clear, but quite interesting and entertaining! Just excellent! I rarely write a comment, but truly felt compelled on this occasion! Looking forward to your next video! Thank you!

[@Leebearify]

Completely agree with you !!!!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Well knock me down with a feather! Thank you for such a magnanimous compliment. I am blushing up to the hairline☺ You didn't ramble at all. You were very articulate. I am just so pleased that you enjoyed the video. And thank you for taking the time to comment too. It really keeps the motivation up. 😃❤

[@72mje]

This was fascinating, Tristan! I love languages, and learning how they developed into what they are today is so entertaining. I can't wait for your next video on this topic! Well, any topic, to be fair, but still. :)

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. Like you, I find the story fascinating. In fact I love History. I thought of starting a separate channel for History videos but, because I cannot afford animation software, I worried whether people would watch, as it would only be me talking. There wouldn't be any scintillating graphics etc. Unless I did it as purely a lecture format. ???

[@artco77]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 You don't need animation. Your content, enthusiasm, knowledge, are sufficient.

[@72mje]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I agree with Art Pressley. You don't need animation. You held my interest easily without any added "stuff". You are so enthusiastic, so happy to share your knowledge, that you catch my attention with every video.

[@lowman621]

Great video Tristan! The way you talked about language be formed due to demographics, geography, and migration. Made me think of a book called "Guns, Germs and Steel". It discusses the rise, fall and fromation if societies due to various external variables. I think you would find it very interesting.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

It sounds fascinating. Another one to put on the list😀

[@blackeyedlily]

Really enjoyed this. Is there a Part 2 or more?

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

There are supposed to be more episodes, but i have not gotten around to them yet. Takes a lot of putting together. So as soon as I get the time, part 2 will come. Keep a look out for it 😀

[@TheNutmegStitcher]

I read a book explaining how Latin became the language of law, government, education, medicine, and the new Christian church, while the words of the merchants and farmers, peasants, etc. retained the roots of the original people and subsequent invading tribes. Even today the everyday words for simple life are germanic while just about every word with three syllables or more are Latin based. The historical background makes sense of this.

[@adyshih]

Surprised to see 'oil' in the top 100 words... 'why' is that and 4W1H are all in the list except 'why' why?

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I'll be honest with you Drew, I have no idea why oil is there! It surprised me too. My research was based on the work of linguists. OK is the most spoken word in the English language, technically, but I appreciate why it wasn't on the lists I consulted. I will do some further research for you.😃👍

[@MrPhantomEd]

I speak both English and German (both non-native) Old English is almost understandable, at least you can guess the meaning most of the times.

[@susprime7018]

Seax, there is something Freudian going on in English. Thank you, very fine.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

😅

[@kimberly5411]

I am so thrilled by this series. My entire family heritage dates back to this small island in the sea (though we’ve been in the Americas for hundreds of years) and I’m always hungry to learn any details about its history.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Glad to know you are a history lover. It is my favourite subject. Akin to literature in that it is simply the story of people and time.

[@johnlee5709]

Where is part 2?

[@Yesica1993]

1:54 "On top of that, the English language has a sort of singular capacity for absorbing other languages. And since so much of the Western canon due to the influence of the British Empire, unfortunately, since so much of literature and its ideas have come in the form of the English language, although by no means are they the greatest. I think of plenty of other countries who have got greater writers than the English, with perhaps the exception of the playwright, Shakespeare, who pretty darn good if you ask me." I have been greatly enjoying (binging) your channel. But wow, this was so sad. Why would you be apologizing for this heritage, while at the same time having a channel that celebrates this very heritage? (At least the literary part of it, which is huge.) And on a video explaining the history of the very language! Again, this made me so sad. This current nonsense of elevating every other country/culture in the world (whether it's deserved or not) while denigrating the West (again, whether it deserves it or not) is wrong. Western culture is rooted in the greatest book of all, the Bible. Those principles built the Western world. Always perfectly? Of course not. There are no perfect people. But still. Never apologize for it!

[@user-bf8ud9vt5b]

Not unfortunately. The British Empire is the best thing that happened to the world in the last 500 years, and I say that as someone who is not even British.