The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way

In Chapter 2, Bryson examines the archeological and evolutionary evidence that led to the development of human speech. Evidence of tool-making, communal activities, and human burials suggest that a linguistic system existed among Neanderthals. Arising in Africa and eventually spreading to Europe more than 100,000 years ago, the more advanced Cro-Magnon people were identical to modern humans and more capable of well-articulated speech because of the evolutionary change that pushed the larynx, or voice box, deeper into the throat (13). According to Bryson, “Neanderthal man was physiologically precluded from uttering certain basic sounds” (14). In addition to the anatomical change among Cro-Magnons which allowed for developed speech, other evidence such as specialized tools and advanced hunting techniques strongly suggest that they possessed a sophisticated linguistic system (14-15).

As human speech spread across the world, it became clear that some languages were related to each other, but unclear as to how similar languages developed in areas that were geographically distant. One theory concerning this is that “languages come ultimately from spontaneous utterances of alarm, joy, pain, and so on, or that they are somehow imitative (onomatopoeia) of sounds in the real world” (17). While Bryson doubts that onomatopoeia alone can account for language formation, he argues that “much of what we know, or think we know, about the roots of language comes from watching children learn to speak” (17). The traditional belief was that children simply learn their native language, but a more recent theory suggests that certain aspects of learning to speak are innate (18). Supporting this notion is the way in which pidgin languages often develop into Creoles. Whereas a pidgin is a makeshift language that is created when people from diverse backgrounds and different tongues are forced to communicate, a Creole is a more formalized language that is created as a fully formed means of communication.

The chapter also examines the notion that “the earth’s languages may be more closely related than once thought” (22). In the 18th century, researchers discovered striking similarities between ancient Sanskrit and European languages. In the 19th century, researchers began tracing modern tongues to their parent language—Indo-European. According to Bryson, “the original Indo-European language split into a dozen broad groups: Celtic, Germanic, Greek, Indo-Iranian, Slavonic, Thraco-Illyrian, and so on. These further subdivided into literally scores of new languages” (25). Among these groups, Celtic once dominated Europe but has survived only “in scattered outposts along the westernmost fringes of Europe” (26). Even in these areas, Bryson argues, “it is a story of inexorable decline” (26). Latin similarly dominated Europe but eventually evolved into the Romance languages of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian (26).

Chapter 3 begins by exploring the myriad of differences in grammar and syntax between English and other languages. Bryson argues that “it appears there is no feature of grammar or syntax that is indispensable or universal” (29). While some languages have only basic grammatical and lexical features, others are complex. Cultural predispositions to language are also widely varied. These include speech conventions such as the physical proximity at which speakers address each other and gesture with the hands, eyes, and body. The number of different languages across the globe has changed drastically over time, not only because some groups have died out, but because Creoles are formed and linguistic groups are often absorbed into other existing languages. Bryson explains that if a map of Europe was drawn today based on languages, it would “bear scant resemblance to a conventional map” (32). While some countries would disappear entirely on such a map, others would expand greatly or divide into several different countries based on dialects.

Because languages often overlap geographical boundaries, and multiple languages are used by citizens of single nations, the issue becomes political and often leads to conflict and violence. This was the case in Canada during the late 1970s and 1980s: A separatist movement grew in Quebec, and laws were passed that banned English in commercial activity and mandated French be taught in schools. The Basque separatist movement in northern Spain and southwestern France in the late 20th century similarly focused on language and was far more violent. Although suppression of minority languages was once common, Bryson explains that “governments these days take a more enlightened view to their minority languages” (38). In Wales, for example, Welsh was once practically banned but is now officially protected by the government (38). Likewise, the government of Ireland has vigorously defended the usage and preservation of Gaelic even though few people use it regularly and its usage has steadily declined for more than a century.

The focus of Chapter 4 is the formation of the English language, stemming from the invasions of various groups who displaced the Celts and occupied the island that is now the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The first of these invasions took place in A.D. 450 when Roman troops withdrew from Britain and four separate Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes—crossed the North Sea to Britain. Bryson explains that “the tribes settled in different parts of Britain, each bringing its own variations in speech, some of which persist in Britain to this day—and may have been carried onward to America centuries later” (43). The groups merged, subdivided, and established kingdoms, with the Saxons becoming dominant, and the new land becoming England and its language English—both named after the Angles (43-44). Although less advanced than the Celts in some ways, the new Anglo-Saxons and their Germanic dialects from mainland Europe formed Old English.

Four centuries later, England and much of the European mainland were invaded again, “this time by Viking raiders from Scandinavia and Denmark” (49). Soon, a treaty was signed between the English and the Danes, creating Danelaw—a boundary dividing control of Britain. Bryson points out that even today in England, “it remains an important linguistic dividing line between northern and southern dialects” (50). The English language was affected once again in 1066 with the Norman conquest. The Norman invasion brought French language and culture to England, and subsequently created a two-tiered language system in which the aristocracy spoke French and commoners spoke English (52). For three centuries, English was able to develop among the common people of England because the official language of the aristocracy was French. Because of this, English became simplified (i.e., some complicated grammar rules were dropped), and it eventually became the preferred language.

According to Bryson, “by the fifteenth century people in one part of England often could not understand people in another part” (57-58). These regional differences were due to the proliferation of English dialects throughout the period of Norman rule (57). As London emerged as a national and cultural center, its dialect slowly began to dominate others fighting for inclusion—leading to even more rapid, transformative changes to English. Bryson argues that “casualness of usage and style was a hallmark of the Middle and early modern English periods” (60-61). This casualness is reflected in the works of famous writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, who often invented words and phrases. Bryson suggests that “the changing structure of English allowed writers the freedom to express themselves in ways that had never existed before” (64).