Конспект лекций по дисциплине «История языка (англ.)» для студентов специальности «Иностранная филология»

Every language changes through time. The history of the English language has been reconstructed on the basis of written records of different periods. The earliest extant written texts in English are dated in the 7^th century; the earliest records in other Germanic languages go back to the 3^rd or the 4^th century A.D. the development of English however began a long time before it was first recorded.

The evolution or historical development of language is made up of diverse facts and processes. Firstly it includes the internal or structural development of the language system. The description of internal linguistic history is usually presented in accordance with the division of language into linguistic levels. The main levels are: the phonetic and phonological levels; the morphological level, the syntactic level, and the lexical level. So the History of the language can be subdivided into

• 
  historical phonetics,
  
• 
  historical morphology,
  
• 
  historical syntax
  
• 
  and historical lexicology.
  

Linguistic situation embraces the functional differentiation of language and the relationships between the functional varieties. Most of these features are connected with the history of the speech community e.g. with the structure of society, the migration of tribes, economic and political events; the growth of culture and literature.