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Kids ASK! about History
Words were not discovered, words evolved over the years. Different words have a different history and if you are interested in the history of specific words, you can try the dictionary below – “etymology” is the study of the origin of words.
Online Etymology
http://www.etymonline.com/
However, if you are asking about the history of language, then the beginning of how language started is not so clear. Early humans probably spoke some kind of language at the beginning but with lesser words and simpler grammar. There are about 5000 languages spoken in the world today and each has a different history.
(Reference: http://www.historyworld.net/
wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab13)
If you are looking at the origin and history of the English language, then you can try this website:
The Origin and History of the English Language
http://www.krysstal.com/english.html
From the above site…
“The history of the language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to the British Isles during the 5th Century AD. Angles, Saxons and Jutes crossed the North Sea from what is the present day Denmark and northern Germany… The Angles were named from Engle, their land of origin. Their language was called Englisc from which the word, English derives”
Words from different languages often spread into one another. For example, the word “machine” came from machina, which originated from Greek. This can happen when countries take over one another, trade, religion and in modern day, movies and internet.
If you want to find out more information about the origin of words or the history of language, you may refer to the following books :
The journey of English by Donna Brook ; illustrated by Jean Day Zallinger
Publisher: New York : Clarion Books, c1998
Call Number: J English 420 BRO
Click here to check our catalogue for item availability.
Word origins by George Beal; ill. by Peter Stevenson
Publisher: London : Kingfisher, 2000
Call Number: J English 428.1 BEA
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Language and writing by Julian Rowe and Peggy Burns
Publisher: New York : Thomson Learning, 1995
Call Number: Y English 411 ROW
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The beginning of language: opposing viewpoints by Clarice Swisher
Publisher: San Diego, Calif. : Greenhaven Press, c1989
Call Number: Y English 401 SWI
Only available at BECL and JRL
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All websites are last accessed on 11 September 2007.
Answered by Ms Felicia Chan, Librarian, Children’s Services
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