(Flag)For centuries it has been believed that the Celtic languages had very little influence on the English language. Of the sixteen Celtic languages that have existed, there are only six left: Irish, Manx, Scottish, Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. Knowing that there were so many different versions of the Celtic languages, it makes sense that some of those languages made an impact on the ever-evolving English language from the fifth century to the present day. The more apparent languages that have influenced English are German, Danish, French, and Latin. Still, the Celtic languages have been wholly dismissed by historians claiming that the Anglo-Saxons would never stoop so low to take on a common language. While conducting my research on the topic, I found that previous scholars from the past century had very similar views to Otto Jespersen, who did not view the Celtic languages in a kind light. A book called The Celtic Roots of English, written by Markku Filppula et al. uses many examples of the kind of thinking that was put forth in the early twentieth century:
“We now see why so few Celtic words were taken over into English. There was nothing to induce the ruling classes to learn the language of the inferior natives; it could never be fashionable for them to show an acquaintance with that despised tongue by using now and then a Celtic word. On the other hand, the Celt would have to learn the language of his masters and learn it well; he could not think of addressing his superiors in his own unintelligible gibberish.”
This view and the view of other scholars is called the ‘Germanist View’, where the belief holds to this day that the Anglo-Saxons wiped out the native British and made the women slaves and wives, intending to purify the new country that they had taken over.
The belief that the Celtic languages made little to no impact on English besides place names and surnames was not challenged or looked at more closely until the middle of the twentieth century. The new challenges to the Germanist views are highly intriguing, stating that there is archeological evidence that the native British were not wholly extracted but that there was a much more peaceful transition that took a few thousand years. The archeological findings are crucial in the new line of questioning as to why earlier scholars were so determined to have their views put forth as absolute truth. The population of Anglo-Saxons was far fewer than that of the natives when they first arrived in England, so massive immediate extinction of the native British was highly unlikely and has been proven to be untrue. With that said, there was a period of bilingualism between the Anglo-Saxons and native British, “There must have been at least some degree of close relationship and intermarriage, through which British personal names were taken into Anglo-Saxon” (Filppula et al.). Knowing that personal names and place names have been a part of the English language for some time now, more and more evidence is coming to light that the Celtic language may have played a much more significant role in the English language that was once believed. The Celtic influence on English still exists and can be found in more regional dialects of England, specifically the North and Southwest regions.
An example that has been widely researched and discussed is the word ‘do.’ The Periphrastic DO has only been found in the Celtic languages and does not originate from any other language. ‘DO’ was put in place for questions, negatives, an “emphatic” contexts. There has also been a lot of work on the Celtic Hypothesis and a host of words where their origins are still being debated or have not been given a place to settle.
The idea that Celtic languages had an influence on English is still relatively new, and there is a lot more research to be done. The scholars who have scratched more than the surface still update their findings as new theories and evidence come to light. I think this idea is fascinating and could drastically change the way we see the world and its languages. For linguists to pursue this line of work and prove the old research was seemingly misled and came from less evidence and from more of a personal viewpoint is very fitting with the ideologies of today’s world.
