-
56 BCE
Original Language
The spoken language in England was a mixture of Latin and various Celtic languages -
55 BCE
Romans arrived to Britain
The Romans arrived to Britain and brought Latin to Britain which was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. Words: win(wine), candel (candle), belt (belt), weall (wall). -
450
Arrival of Germanic Tribes to British Isles
Saxons, Angles, and Jutes arrived to the British Isles and pushed out most of the original Celtic-speaking inhabitants into Scottland, Wales , and Cornwall. -
500
Old English Creation
Period: 450-1100 AD
It was an event occurred through the years, the creation of the Old English came up due to the combination of the different Germanic tribes' dialects (Saxon, Angles, and Jutes) -
597
St. Augustine's Arrival & Introduction of Christianity
This event brough even more Latin words into the English language. -
Jun 30, 878
Vikings Invasion
Danes & Norsemen invaded the country and English got many Norse words, such as: sky, egg, cake, skin, leg, window (wind eye), husband, fellow, skill, anger, flat, odd, ugly, get, give, take, raise, call, die, they, their, them. Norse language was Germanic as well. -
Jun 30, 1000
Beowulf
The oldest known Old English poem, it is notable for its lenght of 3,183 lines. Experts say "Beowulf" was written in Britain more than one thoursand years ago, and its author is unknown. -
Jun 30, 1066
Invasion & Conquer to England
William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered England becoming King. The they spoke 3 languages:
- Old French
- Latin
- Vulgar Tongue -
Jun 30, 1200
Middle English
Period: 1000 - 1500 AD
It is the rebirth of Old English plus the Frech words took from the the nobles.
Most of the embedded words are words of power, such as:
crown, castle, court, parliament, army, mansion, gown, beauty, banquet, art, poet, romance, duke, servant, peasant, traitor, and governor. -
Jun 30, 1450
Invension of the Printing Press
Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany -
Jun 30, 1476
First Printing Press in England
William Caxton established the first printing press at Westminster Abbey, England. -
Jun 30, 1478
The Canterbury Tales
It is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer. It tells the stories of 30 people who travelled as pilgrims to Canterbury, England. The images contained give the reader an idea of how the life was like in the 14th century. -
Jan 1, 1500
Modern English
Period: 1500 - Present
Modern English was developed after the invension and settlement of the first printing press.
This period has 3 big developments:
- Renaissance
- Industrial Revolution
- British Colonialism -
Jun 30, 1500
The Great Vowel Shift
Period: 1500 - 1800 AD
This change in the English language pronouciation ocurred during the 15th and the 18th centuries.
A vowel that used ot be pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced in different places, higher up in the mouth. -
Renaissance
Most of the words from Greek and Latin entered English
- The age of Shakespeare
- The Elizabeth Era -
Industrial Revolution
New words had to be invented or existing ones modified to cope with the rapid changes in technology since inventors designed various products and machinery. -
British Colonialism
English language continued to change as the British Empire moved across the world ' USA; Australia, New Zeland, India, Asia, and Africa.
They sent people to settle and live in their conquered places and as settlers interacted with natives, new words were added to the English vocabulary, for example: kangaroo and boomerang -
Current English Language
It has become the official language in many countries worldwide
