The dialectal situation of English from a historical perspective

1) Old English dialects

The ancient Germanic tribes occupied a comparatively small territories in the North-West of Europe, they spoke similar dialects. These dialects → common Germanic, it lasted till the beginning of our era. In the V cent Germanic tribes migrated to the British Isles. They were Saxons, Jutes, Angles. The language of this tribes serves as a basis for the formation of OE. They spoke 4 dialects:

1. Kentish (Jutes) – in Kent, Surrey, the Isle of Wight;

2. West-Saxon /Wessex (Saxon)—along the Thames and the Bristol Channel;

3. Mercian (Angles) – between the Thames and the Humber;

4. Northumbrian (Angles) – between the Humber and the Forth.

VIII^th century – Northumbria was the centre of the English culture.

In the IX cent – during the reign of King Alfred (871-899) the Great, Wessex became the most powerful kingdom and led the successful war against the Scandinavians. Since him the dialect of Wessex became more popular and got the status of written standard.

Most OE written records that came to us are in the Wessex dialect (“Beowulf”, Anglo-Saxon chronicles).

2)ME dialects.

In ME period we can observe the change of the names of dialects:

Northumbrian → Northern dialect

Mercian → East Midland dialect.

→West Midland dialect.

Kentish ----

Wessex → South Western dialect.

The most important dialect in the Middle English period was the LONDON DIALECT.

London Dialect

In the 12^th -13^th c. the London Dialect became the literary language and the standard, both in written and spoken form. The reasons why this happened:

· The capital of the country was transferred from Winchester, Wesses, to London a few years before the Norman Conquests.

· The East Saxon Dialect, that was the basis of the London Dialect got, became the most prominent in the Middle English period.

· Most writers and authors of the Middle English period used the London Dialect in their works.

Features of the London Dialect:

· The basis of the London Dialect was the East Saxon Dialect

· The East Saxon Dialect mixed with the East Midland Dialect and formed the London Dialect.

· Thus the London Dialect became more Anglican than Saxon in character à The London Dialect is an Anglican dialect.

Geoffrey Chaucer and His Contribution

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the most prominent authors of the Middle English Period and he set up a language pattern to be followed. He is considered to be the founder of the literary language of that period. Most authors of the Middle English Period tried to fallow this standard.