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Attempts to invade Britain (100-44 BC)
Initial Roman raids begin. -
Invasions from: Picts- North, Scots- West, Jutes & Saxon- Southeast claiming more than half the country.
Celts were pushed out. -
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Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxon begins.
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English aristocracy replaced by Norman aristocracy. English lost status and became language of lower classes.
Image (Hohenbary, 2019). -
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French language is no longer being instructed to children of nobility. English replaced it.
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King John lost hold of Normandy province to France
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The quest for control led to war between the French and English, eventually leading to English becoming the taught language as French was no longer needed.
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One third of British people die, lower class language (English) used more widely.
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English is used in English Parliament for first time
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Schools instruct in English with the exception of Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
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Image (Giancarlo, 2001). -
William Caxton introduces the first English printing press which led to the standardization of the English language.
Image (Gao & Gurd, 2019). -
Colonization began and the English language began it's struggle toward becoming a global language.
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Germanic at core has an extensive Roman vocabulary. Complexities of the Old English have disappeared.
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Henry VIII cut links to Rome and Catholic Church.
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Shakespeare wrote poems and plays, adding over 2000 words to the language to enhance his writings. Shakespeare dies in 1616.
Image (Jimenez, 2020). -
Seven long vowels raised (where they were stressed in the mouth) and two dropped out, meaning they became double vowels (diphthongs).
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The Bible being published has a large impact on the English language, since Christianity was the predominant religion and more people now had access to it in written form.
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