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When the three Germanic tribes invaded what is now Britain, the English language had developed.
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Examples of words: Stalwart, Woofits, Grufeling
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During this time, The Venerable Bede wrote “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People” in Latin.
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Here he encouraged English to be prosed and the Latin words translated.
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Charles II of France grants Normandy to the Viking chief Hrolf the Ganger, this begins Norman French.
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This was an Old English Poem written around 925-1025 -
Here the Normans invaded England and brought with them the French language. This was incorporated into the English they had and the French was only spoken in the higher classes.
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Examples of words: Al be that - Although, Unnethe - Scarcely, Pryme - 9 A.M.
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John Wycliffe publishes his English translation of “The Bible”
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His tales are famous Middle English examples. -
Henry IV becomes first English-speaking monarch since before the Conquest
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William Caxton establishes the first English printing press. -
In 1492, Columbus was credited with discovering the Americas.
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Examples of words: thou, whiche, fruyte, To be, or not to be
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This event occurred somewhere between 1400-1700.
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Robert Cawdrey publishes the first English dictionary, “A Table Alphabeticall”
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The Authorized, or King James Version, of “The Bible” is published
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This occurred a few years after William Shakespeare had died in 1816. -
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Last native speaker of the Celtic Cornish language dies
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Examples of words: ambulance, camouflage, more verbs and adjectives came around this time.
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Lewis and Clark document exploration of routes to American West -
Noah Webster publishes his “The American Dictionary of the English Language”
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America ended slavery after the Civil War.
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Second edition of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published -