Learning any language begins with mastering letters, sounds and pronunciation features. Without this, learning to read and write becomes impossible.
The modern English alphabet consists of 26 letters: 6 vowels and 20 consonants.
If you are an adult, then memorizing the alphabet will not be as difficult for you as it is for a child. If you are studying with a child, start learning the alphabet with the sounds that each letter makes, and only then enter the designation of the sound - the letter!
Learn vowels. There are only 6 of them, so this task will not be difficult.
|
Letter |
English transcription | Russian transcription | Sound
(English transcription) |
Sound (Russian transcription) |
| [Hey] | [æ] | [e] | ||
| Ee | [and:] (long) | , [e] | ||
| [ouch] | ,[i] | [ay], [and] | ||
| Oo | [əu] | [oh] | [o] | |
| [yu:] (long) | , [ʌ] | [yu], [a] | ||
| Yy | [wy] | ,[i] |
In English transcription the sign [:] - colon, indicates the longitude of the sound, i.e. it must be pronounced in a drawn-out manner.
Consonants are easier to remember if you break them down into logical groups:
Consonants similar in appearance to Russian letters and in pronunciation:
|
Letter |
English transcription | Russian transcription | Sound
(English transcription) |
Sound (Russian transcription) |
| [si:] | [k], [s] | [k], [s] | ||
| Kk | [kay] | [k] | ||
| [um] | [m] | |||
| [ti:] | [t] |
Consonants that are similar to Russian, but are pronounced or written differently:
|
Letter |
English transcription | Russian transcription | Sound
(English transcription) |
Sound (Russian transcription) |
| [bi:] | [b] | [b] | ||
| Dd | [di:] | [d] | ||
| [el] | [l] | [l] | ||
| Nn | [en] | [en] | [n] | |
| [pi:] | [p] | [n] | ||
| Ss | [es] | [s] | ||
| Xx | [ex] |
Consonants that do not exist in Russian:
|
Letter |
English transcription | Russian transcription | Sound
(English transcription) |
Sound (Russian transcription) |
| [ef] | [f] | [f] | ||
| Gg | [ji] | , [g] | ||
| [H] | [h] | [X] | ||
| Jj | [jay] | |||
| [cue] | [kv] | |||
| Rr | [ɑː] | [A:] | [r], [ɑ : ] | |
| [vi] | [v] | [V] | ||
| Ww | [‘dʌblju:] | [double] | [w] | |
| [zed] | [z] |
It is better to learn the English alphabet in blocks, writing and naming each letter as much as you need. This way you simultaneously use three types of memory: auditory, visual and motor (motor). After memorizing the letters, you can perform exercises to consolidate the material covered and self-test.
Exercises
Write the letters on a piece of paper from memory, saying each letter out loud. If you don’t remember the name or have difficulty “reproducing” the next letter, you can use the hint. Select a “difficult” letter for yourself and continue working on the exercise. After writing the entire English alphabet, write out all the underlined letters separately in one row. Repeat them. Write a few more rows of these letters randomly, calling them out loud. If you are sure that the “difficult” letters no longer cause difficulties, do the exercises again.
Write the letters of the alphabet (26) on small squares. Place the squares face down. Take each square in turn, saying the letter out loud. Put the letters you named incorrectly or the letters you forgot aside. After working on all the squares, take all the letters you set aside and do the same exercise with just those letters. Repeat the exercise several times, putting aside only those letters that are not remembered.
Ask someone to point to a letter in the text and you name it. Or ask to name any letter, and you name its neighbors, etc.
Memorization work can be structured as follows:
Learn the material and put it aside.
Repeat after 15 minutes.
Repeat again after an hour.
Repeat the next day.
Repeat in a week.
In this case, the memorized material will be stored in memory forever!
Games for memorizing the English alphabet
If it is possible to involve 2-3 people, then you can diversify the study of the alphabet with games:
“Spell the word”
Take any English text. Players take turns calling out the letters in order, starting with the first word in the text. The one who named incorrectly is eliminated from the game. The winner is the one who remains in the game last.
“What’s missing?”
The presenter chooses from 26 cards with five to ten letters, depending on the age of the participants. Players remember letters. After everyone has turned away, the presenter removes one or two letters. Players must remember which letters are missing.
“Who is faster?”
Each player is dealt the same number of cards. The players’ task is to quickly arrange the cards into alphabetical order.
“Find a match”
Participants in the game are given cards with capital letters. WITH reverse side Each card has a lowercase letter. The task of each player is to remember and write down a lowercase letter in 3 minutes. The one who wrote wins more letters
“Continue”
One of the players begins to say the alphabet from the beginning, the leader stops at any letter. Players must pick up where the previous player left off as quickly as possible.
“Remember Five”
Each player is given a letter face down. On command, players turn over the card. Players need to write the next 5 letters of the alphabet as quickly as possible. The one who completed the task raises his hand.
Songs
Songs are a great way to memorize the letters of the alphabet. The melody for them can be found on the Internet.
Lyrics of the song
ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRST UVW QRST UVW XYZ
Oh, well you see,
Now I know the ABC!
There is another version of this song, the last two lines of which are as follows:
Now I know the ABC
Next time won’t you sing with me!
Currently, English textbooks give two options for pronunciation of the letter Rr: [ɑː] and [ɑːr]. In the second option, the second sound is an oversound, that is, it is not pronounced in its pure form, but muffled. Both options are correct.
In English transcription you can find several ways of writing the same sound. This is due to a gradual change in the spelling of certain sounds, often for the purpose of simplification, for example: [ɛ] - [e] Both sounds are pronounced [e] with the overtone [е].
Next steps
After learning the English alphabet, it is advisable to learn the sounds that each letter can convey. In English, one letter can convey several sounds, depending on the type of syllable and combination with other letters (see tables).
Then you should move on to mastering the rules of reading (from simple to complex) and practice reading individual words, and then texts. Feel free to read texts from textbooks primary school, because they are compiled in such a way as to illustrate the basic rules of reading using specific vocabulary.
Learning any foreign language, including English, requires that first of all you must learn the English alphabet. An alphabet is a collection of letters arranged in a certain order. Letters are the basis of many languages. They are already used to make up words, phrases and sentences that make up our communication. cubes with the English alphabet Knowing the English alphabet will help you feel more confident. For example, foreigners, when they do not understand a particular word, are asked to spell it. Most often they ask for first and last names. Therefore, it is important to know by heart not only the letters of the English alphabet themselves, but also how they are pronounced correctly.
Below is a table of letters of the modern English alphabet. This table is equipped with Russian and English transcription. You can download it to your computer and print it out to make the alphabet easier to learn and repeat at any time.
Letter | English transcription | Russian transcription |
A a A a | ||
Bb | ||
C c C c | ||
D d D d | ||
E e E e | ||
F f F f | ||
G g G g | ||
H h H h | ||
I i I i | ||
J j J j | ||
K k K k | ||
Ll Ll | ||
Mm Mm | ||
Nn Nn | ||
O o O o | ||
P p P p | ||
Q q Q q | ||
R r R r | ||
Ss Ss | ||
T t T t | ||
U u U u | ||
Vv Vv | ||
W w W w | ||
X x X x | ||
Y y Y y | ||
Z z Z z |
Download English alphabet
Have you heard this sound?
The English language has had written language since the fifth century AD. Previously, the English alphabet included only 23 letters. Gradually, new ones came - these are Y, J, W. Modern English takes the Latin alphabet as its basis and currently consists of 26 letters that represent 6 vowel sounds - A, E, I, O, U, Y, and 20 consonants sounds - B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z.
By the way, Y can represent both a consonant and a vowel. The letter W denotes a consonant sound, but is used only in combination with other sounds. In fact, the number of sounds in this language exceeds the number of letters in it. Also, in the Russian language there are no sounds that are pronounced aspirated, and the sounds English language almost everything is pronounced aspirated.
It is worth noting that there are some differences in British and American pronunciation. For example, in the UK the letter Z is called “zed”, and in America it is called “zee”. The most common words in English are E and T, and the least common are Z and Q.
The English language is also known for the fact that it has digraphs. These are signs that indicate the fusion of two letters into one sound.
Digraph | English transcription | Russian transcription |
as in the word "the" |
How I opened the transcription
Transcription is what is enclosed in square brackets. This is a graphical representation of how letters should be pronounced. Transcription is always written with special characters in square brackets. The stress in it is placed before the stressed syllable. Transcription will greatly help you in your further study of the English language, because in this language there are significant differences between the way a word is written and the way it is read.
On initial stage Having Russian transcription will make your life easier. However, if you decide to learn English seriously, then you should also learn transcription, because only it will be used later.
Further, you will come across transcriptions mainly in dictionaries, because the pronunciation of words is also recorded using transcription. And if in the future you have doubts about how a word is read, then the best solution would be to check the dictionary. 
English alphabet with transcription
Why learn the alphabet?
Learning the alphabet is always on the list of basic lessons in learning any language. This is not surprising, since without knowing the letters of the language you will not be able to speak, read or write. The table given in this article will help with this. All you have to do is download it to your computer, print it and hang it in a visible place.
Very soon you will learn all the letters and also pronounce them correctly. Knowing the English alphabet in the correct order will make it easier for you to search in the future the right word in the dictionary, and will also help you read abbreviations. Therefore, move forward boldly and decisively towards new knowledge. Remember that any exciting journey begins with the first step.
Get to know the English alphabet better and listen to the pronunciation of each letter.
If you are starting to learn English, start with the alphabet, because letters “live” in it, without which it is impossible to learn to read and write.
Interesting facts about the English alphabet
The basis of the modern English alphabet is the Latin alphabet, but the sound of English letters is significantly different from the original Latin ones. In addition, the alphabet consists of 26 letters, and the language itself has 44 sounds (according to some studies, up to 49). This means that one letter can express several sounds, and vice versa - one sound can be expressed in writing in different ways. That is, we can talk about the pronunciation of a letter only in a specific word.
Nevertheless, each letter has its own name, which is what we hear in the alphabet.
English alphabet, letters and sounds
American English Alphabet with Pronunciation
To begin with listen to the entire alphabet and try to learn it by heart.
For what? More on this later.
Now listen to each letter separately
Click on the letter and it will name itself! Pay attention to the transcription. The American name for the letter Z sounds like [zi], the British one sounds like [zed].| Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd |
| Ee | Ff[ɛf] | Gg[ʤiː] | Hh |
| II | Jj[ʤeɪ] | Kk | Ll[ɛl] |
| mm[ɛm] | Nn[ɛn] | Oo | Pp |
| - this is the American version, the British - ">Rr [ɑr]/[ɑː] | Ss[ɛs] | Tt | |
| Uu | Vv | Ww[ˈdʌblju(ː)] | Xx[ɛks] |
| Yy | Zz/ | American: , or British (international) version: |
Why do you still need to know the alphabet by heart?
Alphabet - very important element learning a language and it must be learned so that it “flies off the teeth.” Firstly, this will significantly facilitate the process of learning the language - reading, working with dictionaries, pronunciation. In the future, you will receive advantages in oral communication, because the British, like Americans, are very fond of abbreviations and most of them are spelled. Knowing the alphabet and popular abbreviations, you won’t be confused when you hear: L-A (LA), DC (DC), FBI (FBI), CIA (CIA) or NWI (NYPD). If you have to work with lists or tables, then it will be much easier for you to find the text you need, since tables and lists are most often sorted alphabetically.
While talking on the phone you can often hear: Can you spell your name, please?, which means something like this: “I can’t understand your foreign name, please spell it.”
A few words about how to learn the alphabet. Each letter must be known “by sight”, but the letters of the alphabet cannot be taught separately, it is much easier to learn them in a “legalized sequence”, the alphabet must flow like a song, the letters must be connected and inseparable like train cars.
Pay attention to how the letter "Z" sounds in the American alphabet, the group
ZZ top remember? Or maybe you’ve come across the letter combination somewhere EZ? Now you will know what it means easy- that's how it is Just!
At the beginning of this page we listened to the alphabet, and now you can view its handwritten version, as well as the transcription of the letters.
Capital Letters of the English Alphabet
Here you see a handwritten version of the letters of the English alphabet. This is exactly an option, since there are a lot of them, ranging from simple rewriting of block letters to calligraphic delights in retro style. Don’t get too hung up on the handwritten version, write as you please, the main thing is to be understood.
And in the children's section of our website you will find a song about the alphabet for the little ones.
You may also be interested in the section of our website dedicated to studying
English for children
Fun English for children: learning the alphabet
Study any foreign language better since childhood. It is known that children who grew up in a multilingual environment adapt much more easily and absorb new information much faster.
In order for a child to start learning English as early as possible and not get bored from this process, it is enough to turn tedious learning into a game. This will make it much easier for your baby to remember new words and phrases, and you will spend time with your child not only fun, but also productive.
In this article we will talk about how to simply and easily learn the English alphabet for both children and all beginners and give several poems and songs to study.
English alphabet
The alphabet in English is called alphabet or simply ABC. It has 26 letters, of which 20 are consonants and only 6 vowels (vowels).
Vowels: A, E, I, O, U, Y
Consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z
Alphabet with transcription and pronunciation:
Aa [ei] [hey]
Bb [bi:] [bi]
Cc [si:] [si]
Dd [di:] [di]
Ee [i:] [and]
Ff [ef] [ef]
Gg [dʒi:] [ji]
Hh [eitʃ] [eych]
Ii [ai] [ai]
Jj [dʒei] [jay]
Kk [kei] [kei]
Ll [el] [el]
Mm [em] [um]
Nn [en] [en]
Oo [ou] [oh]
Pp [pi:] [pi]
Qq [kju:] [qu]
Rr [a:] [aa, ar]
Ss [es] [es]
Tt [ti:] [ti]
Uu [ju:] [yu]
Vv [vi:] [vi]
Ww [ `dʌbl `ju: ] [double]
Xx [eks] [ex]
Yy [wai] [wai]
Zz [zed] [zed]
Americans and British pronounce almost all letters of the alphabet the same way, except for the last one. In American English, Z would sound like "zee".
Learning the alphabet usually begins with an alphabet song: this makes it easier for the child to remember the pronunciation. She sings line by line:
Do you know your ABC?
You can learn along with me!
A, B, C, D, E, F, G
H, I, J, K
L, M, N, O, P
Q, R, S,
T, U, V
W, X, Y and Z
Now you know your alphabet!
By the way, due to the difference in the pronunciation of the letter “Z”, the end of this song in the British and American versions will sound differently:
British
X, Y, Z - Now I know my alphabet(Now I know my alphabet) or Now you know your alphabet(Now you know your alphabet).
American
Now I know my ABC, twenty-six letters from A to Z(Now I know my alphabet, twenty-six letters from A to Z) or Now I know my ABC, next time won't you sing with me(Now I know my alphabet, would you like to sing with me next time).
It is with learning the alphabet that a fascinating journey into any foreign language begins. Everyone needs to know ABC by heart in order to know how to correctly write and pronounce individual letters. Especially if you need to spell a word. Spelling is how a word is spelled. There is no direct analogue of spelling in the Russian language, but the Americans even have a whole game called Spelling Bee, in which you need to spell a word without making mistakes. In the USA, Spelling Bee competitions and competitions are often held.
But you need to start simple, especially for children. We tell you a few tricks on how to make it as easy as ABC for your child to learn the alphabet.
Cards with words
One of effective ways learn new words and remember the alphabet - make your child bright cards with letters and words that begin on them and hang them in a visible place.
The same technique can be used to enrich vocabulary: just hang translation cards over the objects you have in your apartment - let the child remember how words are written and pronounced.
One of the easiest options is to use words that are familiar to the child. These could be names of animals or everyday objects.
Here are the letters with the corresponding words that will allow you to remember not only the spelling, but also practice pronunciation:
A - Apple
B - Banana
C - Cat
D - Dog
E - Elephant (Elephant)
F - Fox (Fox)
G - Giraffe (Giraffe)
H - House
I - Ice-cream (Ice cream)
J - Jam (Jam)
K - Key
L - Lemon
M - Mouse
N - Nose
O - Owl (Owl)
P - Panda (Panda)
Q - Queen
R - Rabbit
S - Squirrel
T - Turtle
U - Umbrella (Umbrella)
V - Violin (Violin)
W - Wolf
X - Ox (Ox)
Y - Yacht (Yacht)
Z - Zebra
You can find a set of such cards in any bookstore, or you can make them yourself.
Poem for learning the English alphabet
In poetic form it is much easier to remember the order of letters and words starting with that letter. Many teachers read this rhyme to their youngest students to introduce them to the alphabet:
There's a knock on our door.
-Who's there?
- Letter A and autumn - autumn.
To everyone, so as not to be sad,
They give an apple - an apple.
Letter B, like a ball - ball
Jumps and hides under the table.
It's a pity I don't have time to play:
I'm reading a book - book
S. went hunting.
- Mice! Get your paws off!
For lunch today
Don't get it from a cat - cat.
Don't go near the letter D
Otherwise D will bite.
The cat runs without feeling his feet,
There is a dog in the yard.
The letter E is whiter than snow.
E begins with egg,
Egg is hatching a quonk.
Here is the end - the end. And period!
Sitting on a green leaf,
The letter F will croak loudly,
Because frog is a frog,
The famous wah.
Don't be friends with this letter
The letter G is arrogant.
It’s important to raise your head,
Looks down - giraffe.
H will wipe anyone's nose.
My horse is rushing like a whirlwind.
There is no barrier for him
If the rider is wearing a hat - hat.
With the letter I we are so similar:
I and I are one and the same.
We don't cry, we don't mope,
If there is a ice cream - ice-cream.
Sweet tooth letter J
Sweeter than buns and cakes.
The letter J is familiar to everyone,
Who tasted the sweet jam.
K will open the locks for everyone,
She has a key - key,
It will take you to the kingdom,
The magical world will open up.
The letter L came next,
To help the lamb - lamb,
He's afraid to go to bed
He asks to light the lamp.
The letter M is for monkey,
For a cheerful, nimble monkey.
She's waiting for treats
Melon - she needs a melon.
N don't get tired of hanging.
There is a nest on the branches - a nest.
There are chicks in it. We wish we could
Count their number - number.
From dawn to dawn
An oak tree is waving a branch.
He calls everyone under the arch of branches,
Mumbling under my breath: “O.K.”
Pirate - young pirate
With parrot - the parrot is glad:
- Look, this is for us
The palm tree is waving its branch!
Here I'll sing a song
In honor of the beautiful letter Q,
Because the queen is a queen
He loves to have fun.
Why is there word of mouth?
"Beware of the letter R"?
I'll tell you a secret
There is nothing more disgusting than a rat - rat!
It's no coincidence that the letter S
Of interest:
In the sky - the sky sparkles star -
A very bright star.
T is calling us to Children's World.
We are happy to visit:
He'll make friends with you there
Every toy is a toy.
If you see the letter U,
It means it will rain soon.
U got better today -
Gave me an umbrella.
Hey! Run, hold, catch!
There is a V on the serve.
The ball went straight into the sky,
I love volleyball.
W, everyone knows
Inverted M.
In the darkness, flashing his fang,
walks gray wolf- a wolf.
The doctor said from behind the door:
- I'm taking you to X-ray.
- What's happened? Maybe captured?
- No, just for an x-ray.
Hey, lean on the oars!
The letter Y is rushing into the sea.
Calls the guys on a long journey
White sailboat - a yacht.
What is the letter Z?
You will see when you take the ticket,
Wolf, tiger, and goat
In the zoo - in the Zoo.
Games for learning the English alphabet for children
Interesting games using the same cards will allow the child to get used to it faster and not get bored while learning the English alphabet. What you can play with your child:
"Draw a letter"
Tell your child a letter of the English alphabet and ask him to represent it with his fingers or with his body. You can play in turns and show some letters yourself.
"Draw a letter"
Place alphabet cards in front of your child and invite him to draw the letter himself on a piece of paper. This way he will quickly learn not only to visually recognize letters, but also to write them in the future. Similarly, you can take plasticine and ask your child to mold the letters of the English alphabet from it.
"Word-ball"
A more active game in which you can pass a ball to each other and name letters in alphabetical order or, for more advanced players, words starting with that letter.
"Stop Song"
Place letter cards in front of your child and play an alphabet song in English. Stop it at any moment - the child must repeat the last letter he heard and show the corresponding card.
"Not really"
For this game you can use cards with both letters and words. Show your child the picture and say the word. So, you can show a picture of a pig and say “tiger” out loud. If the child says “no,” then he must name what is actually shown in the picture.
Come up with your own games and tasks, ask your child what he would like to play. Watch cartoons in English together and sometimes turn to him with ordinary requests in English and let him also sometimes use English words in everyday speech.
You can study with your child online. Puzzle English has developed, which includes learning the alphabet, everyday objects, simple questions and much more. And all this with bright pictures and fun tasks so that the baby doesn’t get bored. We recommend starting to teach children English with this language.
The main thing is that the child does not get bored and learning the language does not turn into a routine for him.
Learning English begins with learning the English alphabet. The basis of the modern English alphabet used today is the Latin alphabet. Despite the fact that the English alphabet consists of only 26 letters, the language itself contains, according to various sources, from 44 to 49 sounds. 5 letters represent vowel sounds and 21 letters represent consonant sounds. Vowels: A, E, I, O, U (Y is also sometimes treated as a vowel) Consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S , T, V, W, X, Y, Z
The specificity of the English language and the English alphabet is that there are significant differences between how the letters of the English alphabet are written and how they are read. Therefore, in order to pronounce correctly english letters, components of words, in language teaching, Transcription is used, which clearly indicates how a particular letter is pronounced in a particular word.
| Printed symbol |
Handwritten font |
Approximate sound |
Phonetic transcription |
Listen pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | Hey | |||
| Bb | bi | |||
| C c | si | |||
| D d | di | |||
| E e | And | [ı:] | ||
| F f | ef | |||
| G g | ji | |||
| H h | HH | |||
| I i | ah | |||
| J j | Jay | |||
| K k | Kay | |||
| Ll | el | |||
| Mm | Em |
| Printed symbol |
Handwritten font |
Approximate sound |
Phonetic transcription |
Listen pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nn | en | |||
| O o | oh | |||
| P p | pi | |||
| Q q | Cue | |||
| R r | ar | [ɑ:] | ||
| Ss | es | |||
| T t | you | |||
| U u | yu | |||
| Vv | vi | |||
| W w | double u | ["dʌbljʋ:] | ||
| X x | ex | |||
| Y y | wy | |||
| Z z | zed |
History of the origin of the English language
English belongs to a large and widespread group of languages called Germanic languages. This group, in turn, is part of an even larger group of languages called Indo-European languages, which, in addition to the Germanic languages, include Romance, Slavic, Baltic, Celtic, Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Indian, Hittite and some others that are still alive today. already dead languages.
Distributed in Great Britain, Ireland, North America, Australia, New Zealand, as well as several countries in Asia and Africa. Official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland (in Canada - along with the French language, in Ireland - along with the Irish language), one of official languages the Republic of India (temporarily) and 15 African states (South Africa, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, etc.). One of the official and working languages of the UN.
The English language comes from the language of the ancient Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) who migrated from the continent in the 5th-6th centuries. to Celtic-inhabited Britain. The interaction of the tribal dialects of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, which developed during the formation of the English people, led to the formation of territorial dialects. In the Old English period of development, the English language (7-11 centuries; called the Anglo-Saxon language) is represented by 4 dialects; Northumbrian, Mercian, Wessex and Kentish. The decline of the northern and northeastern regions due to the raids of the Scandinavians and the strengthening of the economic and political influence of the Kingdom of Wessex in the 9th-11th centuries. led to the formation literary language based mainly on the Wessex dialect and the preservation of most of the monuments of Old English writing in the Wessian edition.
An example is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It exists in the form of a series of parallel chronicles, starting from the 7th century. The most important is the so-called “Parker Chronicle”, which was conducted until the end of the 9th century. (891) in Wessex dialect. The monastic chroniclers, whose names remained unknown, usually wrote without pretensions to artistic treatment of the text; probably the language of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is close to spoken language of that time. By the 9th century. include translations made by King Alfred: 1) “Cura Pastoralis” (“The Care of the Shepherd”) - a work by Pope Gregory I, who lived in the 6th century. The translation is preceded by a preface written by Alfred; 2) " World history» by the Spanish monk Orosius (VB.) 3) “The Consolation of Philosophy” by the Roman Christian philosopher Boethius (V-VI centuries). By the 10th century include the works of Abbot Elfric (sermons, translation of “The Art of Grammar”, etc.); to the 11th century - sermons of Wulfstan.
Back at the end of the 6th century. The Christianization of Britain began. By the end of the 7th century. Christianity established itself throughout the country. The introduction of Christianity played a very important role in the further state and cultural development of the Anglo-Saxon states. Christian missionaries introduced the Latin alphabet to England. Several runic symbols were added to it; Thus, to convey the sounds /θ/ and /ð/, the runic sign þ, the so-called thorn, was used; the same sounds were conveyed by the letter ð. At the monasteries, libraries were created from manuscripts copied by monks, and chronicles were kept. Thus, very important fact The church's cultural influence was the creation of writing. From the language of the Celtic population of Britain, mainly geographical names have been preserved.
The raids of the Scandinavians (from the late 8th century), which ended with the subjugation of England to the Danish king in 1016, and the creation of Scandinavian settlements led to the interaction of closely related languages - English and Scandinavian, which affected the presence in modern English of a significant number of words of Scandinavian origin and contributed to the strengthening of a number grammatical tendencies present in Old English.
Borrowed words cannot be reduced to any specific lexical groups; at the same time, these are words of everyday use. So, the modern ones go back to the Scandinavian borrowed words. Fellow, husband, law, wrong; to call, to take and a number of others. In the north-eastern regions of England, Scandinavian place names have been preserved, usually of a complex composition with second elements of Scandinavian origin: ~bu - sk. "village" - Whitby, Appleby.
In 1066 England was subjected to Norman conquest. The winners brought with them French; more precisely, its northern dialect is Norman. During the centuries immediately after the conquests, the so-called Anglo-Norman dialect. Anglo-Norman existed in England until the end of the 14th century, after which it disappeared without a trace. Until the 14th century. it was not only the language spoken by the nobility, but also the language fiction. Thus, three languages coexisted in England: English, French (Anglo-Norman) and Latin. English dialects spoken indigenous people, were equal to each other; Various works were written in them, but English was not used as the official language. The language of state correspondence, laws issued by the crown, the language of communication between teachers and students at school, and the language of parliamentary debates was Anglo-Norman. Latin was the language of the church and science. With the increasing assimilation of the Norman part of the population, English penetrated into those social strata where previously the language everyday communication was French (Anglo-Norman). Since the middle of the 13th century. One can trace the gradual expansion of the use of English. First state document written in English was the Proclamation of Henry III (1258). It is written in the London dialect, which at this time was closer to the south-west, although it also included elements of the east-central dialect. The next century, in 1362, London merchants petitioned for legal proceedings to be conducted in English. The petition was granted. At the same time, teaching in schools began to be conducted in English; For the first time, English began to be occasionally heard in parliament, but subsequently English gained increasingly stronger positions in parliament. TO end of the 14th century V. English has finally become state language. When does English begin to function as a language? government agencies, the dialect of the administrative government center, London, acquires a special position. London dialect beginning of the XIV V. represented by the poems of Adam Davy; the second half is the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower and John Wycliffe. Since the rise of the London dialect, the remaining territorial dialects have gradually become unwritten dialects.
English has acquired a huge number of Romance words, not only significant ones, but also structural parts of speech: prepositions and conjunctions (except, because). The bulk of borrowings are attested from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. Later in the 14th century, new French words entered the language; during this period, words belonging to a wide variety of lexical areas entered the English language. The borrowings especially clearly reflect the Norman influence in those areas of life that were associated with the administration of the country: Names directly related to the life of the royal court - court, servant, prince. But the names of the king and queen remained in English - king, queen. Words related to the organization of the army and military affairs - army, battle, victory. The word knight “knight” - English. Words related to the organization of the church – religion, chapel, to confess; with the exercise of power in a feudal state – liege, vassal, government, village; with legal proceedings – justice, judge, sentence; with city life – city, merchant; with city crafts – butcher, painter, mason, tailor. Craftsmen who lived and worked in the village retained their English names - blacksmith, spinner, weaver.
The Middle English period of English development (12th to 15th centuries; sometimes called Middle English) is characterized by phonetic and grammatical changes that sharply distinguish Middle English from the Old English period. The reduction of unstressed vowels led to a significant simplification of the morphological structure, and based on the grammaticalization of verb phrases, a new system verb paradigms.
In the 16th-17th centuries. the so-called Early Modern English. Modern English has a large number of territorial dialects: in Great Britain - the Scottish dialect, a group of northern, central (east-central, west-central), southern and southwestern dialects; in the USA - East Anglian, Mid-Atlantic (central), south-eastern, mid-western groups. Dialectal variation of the English language in Great Britain is much more pronounced than in the United States, where the central dialect becomes the basis of the literary norm. For phonetic system The English language is characterized by the presence of specific vowels, consonants, and the absence of a sharp boundary between diphthongs and long monophthongs. Among other Germanic languages, English stands out for the presence of pronounced signs of an analytical structure: the main means of expressing grammatical relations are function words (prepositions, auxiliary verbs) and word order. Analytical forms are used to express certain aspectual-temporal relations and to form degrees of comparison of adjectives. Case relations are conveyed by the position of words in a sentence and prepositional constructions. fixed word order is one of the main means of expression syntactic connections in sentence structure. In English, affix-free word production (conversion) is widely used. High in vocabulary specific gravity borrowings (about 70% of the vocabulary), among which a large group is formed by words and affixes borrowed from French and Latin languages, partly from Italian and Spanish languages. The literary English language is based on the language of London, the dialect base of which is based on early stage The formation of the literary language changed due to displacement in the 2nd half of the 13th - 1st half of the 14th centuries. southern dialect forms to east-central ones. Printing (1476) and the popularity of the works of J. Chaucer (1340-1400), who wrote in the London dialect, contributed to the consolidation and spread of London forms. However, book printing recorded some traditional spellings that did not reflect the pronunciation norms of the late 15th century. The discrepancy between pronunciation and spelling, characteristic of modern English, began. With the development of the literary language, the system expanded and became more complex. functional styles, there was a demarcation between the forms of oral-conversational and writing, codification literary norms. A major role in the development of the literary language was played by direct and indirect linguistic contacts of the English language with other languages, associated with the spread of the English language outside England. The latter led to the formation of variants of literary English in the USA, Canada and Australia, differing from standard English mainly in pronunciation and vocabulary. There are discrepancies in lexical meaning individual words(for example, truck "truck" in the USA and "open commodity platform" in England), the use of Americanisms instead of synonymous units of the British version (for example, elevator "elevator" instead of lift, sidewalk instead of pavement "sidewalk", etc.). Similar types of specific features are also found in the Australian variant, the distinctive elements of which are less numerous. The English language in Canada is significantly influenced by both American and British English.
