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Jan 19, 1066
Norman Invasion
The Normans invaded England and took over, then establishing French as England's official language for the next 150 years. The upper class spoke in French but the people with little education remained speaking English. Five major regional dialects emerged: Northern, East Midland, West Midland, Southwestern, and Southeastern. -
Period: Jan 19, 1066 to
Origin & Diffusion of the English Language
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Jan 19, 1204
England Gains Control
England lost control of Normandy and began conflict with France. This conflict cause many people to not want to speak French any longer causes English to become the dominant language again. -
Jan 19, 1362
The Statute of Pleading
Parliament enacted the Statute of Pleading to change the official language of court business from French to English. -
Jan 19, 1476
Introduction of the Printing Press
The introduction of the printing press encouraged the diffusion of dialect spoken in London and the university cities. Then grammar book and dictionaries were based on the London dialect. -
Settlement of Jamestown
Half of the southeastern settlers came from southeast England, they were even diverse in social-classes. English dialects now in the US are recognizable and know from the establishment of independent and isolated colonies in the 17th century. -
Gain of Philippines for the U.S.
The United States cedes the Philippines from Spain, which is a year after losing the Spanish-American War. -
Philippines Independence
Philippines gained independence from the United States but retained English as one of its official languages, along with Filipino.
