The romanisation of britain

UNIT 41
ROMANISATION OF BRITAIN.
LATIN INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
LOANWORDS AND CALQUES.
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.
2. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE ROMAN CONQUEST: BEGINNING AND
END OF ROMANO BRITAIN.
2.1. Before the Romans.
2.1.1. Prehistoric Britain.
2.1.2. The arrival of the Celts.
2.2. The beginning of the RomanConquest.
2.2.1. Early Roman expeditions.
2.2.2. The Roman Conquest.
2.2.2.1. The conquest of southern Britain.
2.2.2.2. The conquest of northern Britain.
2.2.2.3. The two Roman provinces.
2.3. The end of Romano Britain.
2.3.1. The decline of Roman influence.
2.3.2. The arrival of the Germanic people.
3. LATIN INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. LOANWORDS AND CALQUES.
3.1. Loanwords and calques.3.1.1. On defining the concept of borrowing.
3.1.2. On defining loanwords and calques.
3.2. The impact of romanisation.
3.3. Latin influence on the English language.
3.3.1. Latin influence in Old English.
3.3.1.1. On the continent.
3.3.1.2. In Britain.
3.3.1.3. The Christianizing of Britain.
3.3.2. Latin influence in Middle English.
3.3.3. Latin influence in Modern English.
3.3.4. Latininfluence up to now.
4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.
5. CONCLUSION.
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
The present unit, Unit 41, aims to provide a detailed account of the process of romanisation in
Britain and examine to what extent we can talk about an influence of Latin on the English language
on the basis of loanwords and calques, that is,the process of borrowing. So this study will deal
with the cultural characteristics of the British Isles before and after the Romans. It is therefore an
introductory review of the history of Romano Britain and the events which would condition the
earliest development of the English language. Then this presentation will start by offering the most
relevant bibliography in this field as areference for the reader, and by presenting our study in five
chapters, among which there are two central ones: the beginning and end of Roman Britain and its
influence on the English language.
Chapter 2 introduces a historical and cultural background for the Roman conquest namely by
reviewing all the events related to the beginning and end of Romano Britain. It is therefore an
introductory reviewof the history of the romanisation of British culture and society and the events
which would condition the earliest development of the English langua ge. So we shall approach the
situation of Britain (1) before the arrival of the Romans, where we shall start by reviewing (a)
prehistoric Britain and (b) the arrival of the Celts; (2) the beginnings of the Roman Conquest, where
we shall review(a) early Roman expeditions to Britain and (b) the Roman Conquest as such, in
three stages: (i) the conquest of southern Britain, (ii) the conquest of northern Britain, and (iii) the
division of Britain into two province; and finally, (3) we shall comment on what happened towards
the end of Romano Britain, by reviewing (a) the decline of Roman influence and (b) the arrival of
the Germanic peoplein Britain.
Chapter 3 will focus on the influence of Latin on the English language on the basis of loanwords
and calques. In this chapter, we shall analyse the impact of romanisation in Britain so as to get,
more particularly, to which extent Latin influenced the development of English language in the
following years and how this influence is present in the language, that is, the means ofthis
transmission: (1) loanwords and calques under the label of borrowings. So we shall start by defining
(a) the concept of ‘borrowing’, from which we get the definitions of (b) ‘loanwords’ and ‘calques’
as a result of languages in contact. Then, with these concepts in mind, we shall analyse (2) the
impact of romanisation in Britain so as to get, more particularly, to which extent (3) Latin...