English, an Oral History

Earliest Known English Language Inscription

450

Earliest known Old English inscriptions.

The beginning of Old English

500

The conquest of the Celtic population in Britain by speakers of West Germanic dialects (primarily Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) eventually determined many of the essential characteristics of the English language. (The Celtic influence on English survives for the most part only in place names--London, Dover, Avon, York.) Over time the dialects of the various invaders merged, giving rise to what we now call "Old English."

Earliest Surviving Manuscript

Jan 1, 1150

Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English.

English Replaces Latin

Jan 1, 1348

English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.

English replaces French

Jan 1, 1362

English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time.

Ten Thousand words are added to english

Jan 1, 1500

William Caxton introduced the printing press to England in 1476 and the East Midland dialect became the literary standard of English. Ten thousand words were added to English as writers created new words by using Greek and Latin affixes. Some words, such as devulgate, attemptate and dispraise, are no longer used in English, but several words were also borrowed from other languages as well as from Chaucer's works.

First English Dictionary

Jan 1, 1604

Robert Cawdrey publishes the first English dictionary.

First Newspaper in English

Jan 1, 1702

Publication of the first daily, English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, in London.