dawnbreak wrote:
anytime I try to speak in an accent I end up sounding welsh (like the guy from Ivor the Engine)
That's because Welsh was the original language spoken all over the UK, and all us Celts are connected.
The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from "Englaland" [sic] and their language was called "Englisc" - from which the words "England" and "English" are derived.
More here.....
www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
With the coming of the Indo-Europeans to Europe, Great Britain was next settled en masse by Celtic tribes. The island was originally called by Celtic tribes something like "Curiteni," which in some dialects became "Priteni," which is the origin of the word "Britain" (via Latin) and the Welsh word "Prydain" meaning "Britain" and the Irish word "Cruithne," which referred to the Picts.
The languages of Britain before the Roman invasion can be called Brythonic languages, and modern Welsh and Cornish are descended from them. Brythonic is the original Celtic language spoken in Britain at this time.
wiki.answers.com/Q/What_language_was_spo...habitants_of_Britain
Jane
