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History of the English Language
A short history of the origins and development of English
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 "a#ons and the $utes!
crossed the %orth "ea from what today is Denmar& and
northern Germany At that time the
inhabitants of Britain spo&e a 'eltic language But most of
the 'eltic spea&ers were pushed westand north by the invaders (
mainly into what is now )ales! "cotland and *reland The Angles
came
from +Englaland+ and their language was called +Englisc+ ( from
which the words +England+ and
+English+ are derived
Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts
in the 5th century,ld English -.5/(00// AD1
The invading Germanic tribes spo&e similar languages!
which in Britain developed into what we now call ,ld
English ,ld English did not sound or loo& li&e
English
today %ative English spea&ers now would have great
difficulty understanding ,ld English %evertheless! about
half of the most commonly used words in 2odern English
have ,ld English roots The words be!strong and water! for
e#ample! derive from ,ld English ,ld English was spo&en
until around 00//
2iddle English -00//(05//1
*n 0/33 )illiam the
'on4ueror! the Du&e
of %ormandy -part of
modern rance1!
invaded and
con4uered England
The new con4uerors
-called the %ormans1
brought with them a
&ind of rench! whichbecame the language
of the 6oyal 'ourt!
and the ruling and
Part of Beowulf, a poem written inOld English.
An example of Middle EnglishbyChaucer.
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business classes or a period there was a &ind of linguistic
class division! where the lower classes
spo&e English and the upper classes spo&e rench *n the
0.th century English became dominant in
Britain again! but with many rench words added This language is
called 2iddle English *t was
the language of the great poet 'haucer -c07./(0.//1! but it
would still be difficult for native
English spea&ers to understand today
2odern English
Early 2odern English -05//(08//1Towards the end of 2iddle
English! a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation -the Great
9owel
"hift1 started! with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter
rom the 03th century the British
had contact with many peoples from around the world
This! and the 6enaissance of 'lassical learning! meant that
many new words and phrases entered the language The
invention of printing also meant that there was now a
common language in print Boo&s became cheaper and more
people learned to read :rinting also brought standardi;ation
to English "pelling and grammar became fi#ed! and the
dialect of London! where most publishing houses were!
became the standard *n 03/. the first English dictionary
waspublished
Late 2odern English -08//(:resent1
The main difference between Early 2odern English and Late
2odern English is vocabulary Late 2odern English has
many more words! arising from two principal factors<
firstly!
the *ndustrial 6evolution and technology created a need for
new words= secondly! the British Empire at its height
covered
one 4uarter of the earth>s surface! and the English language
adopted foreign words from many
countries
9arieties of English
rom around 03//! the English coloni;ation of %orth America
resulted in the creation of a distinct
American variety of English "ome English pronunciations and
words +fro;e+ when they reached
America *n some ways! American English is more li&e the
English of "ha&espeare than modern
British English is "ome e#pressions that the British call
+Americanisms+ are in fact original British
e#pressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a
time in Britain -for
e#ample trash for rubbish! loan as a verb instead of lend! and
fall for autumn= another
e#ample! frame(up! was re(imported into Britain through
Hollywood gangster movies1 "panish also
had an influence on American English -and subse4uently British
English1! with words
li&e canyon! ranch! stampede and vigilante being e#amples of
"panish words that entered English
through the settlement of the American )est rench words -through
Louisiana1 and )est African
words -through the slave trade1 also influenced American English
-and so! to an e#tent! BritishEnglish1
Today! American English is particularly influential! due to the
?"A>s dominance of cinema!
television! popular music! trade and technology -including the
*nternet1 But there are many other
varieties of English around the world! including for e#ample
Australian English! %ew @ealand
English! 'anadian English! "outh African English! *ndian English
and 'aribbean English
The Germanic amily of Languages
English is a member of the Germanic family of languages
Germanic is a branch of the *ndo(European language family
A brief chronology of English
55 B' 6oman invasion of Britain by $ulius 'aesar Local
inhabitants spea& 'eltishAD .7 6oman invasion and occupation
Beginning of 6oman rule of
Britain
Hamlets famous !"o be, or not tobe! lines, written in Early
ModernEnglish by #ha$espeare.
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.73 6oman withdrawal from Britain complete
.. "ettlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins
.5/(.8/ Earliest &nown ,ld English inscriptions
,ld English0/33
)illiam the 'on4ueror! Du&e of %ormandy! invades and
con4uers England
c005/ Earliest surviving manuscripts in 2iddle English
2iddle English
07.8English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in
most
schools
073English replaces rench as the language of law English is used
in
:arliament for the first time
c0788 'haucer starts writing The 'anterbury Tales
c0.// The Great 9owel "hift begins
0.C3 )illiam 'a#ton establishes the first English printing
press
Early 2odern English
053. "ha&espeare is born
03/. Table Alphabeticall! the first English dictionary! is
published
03/CThe first permanent English settlement in the %ew )orld
-$amestown1 is established
0303 "ha&espeare dies
037 "ha&espeare>s irst olio is published
0C/The first daily English(language newspaper! The Daily
'ourant!
is published in London
0C55 "amuel $ohnson publishes his English dictionary
0CC3Thomas $efferson writes the American Declaration of
*ndependence
0C8 Britain abandons its colonies in what is later to become the
?"A
088 )ebster publishes his American English dictionary
Late 2odern English0 The British Broadcasting 'orporation is
founded
08 The ,#ford English Dictionary is published
History of the English Language(http
