Shakespeare

The History of The English Language

By kwhitted14
  • 700

    Approximate date of the earliest manuscript records of Old English

  • 730

    Scandinavians begin to settle in Britain and Ireland, Danes begin to settle in Ireland

  • 1000

    Old English poem Beowulf

    Approximate date of the only surviving manuscript
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    The Norman Invasion created the Modern English that we know today
  • 1150

    Approximate date of earliest surviving texts in Middle English

  • King John signs the Magna Carta
    1215

    King John signs the Magna Carta

    a critical document in the long historical process leading to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world.
  • The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer
    1387

    The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer

  • 1399

    King Henry IV Coronation

    He becomes the first English Monarch to deliver a speech in English
  • The Printing Press was invented by Johannes Gutenburg
    1440

    The Printing Press was invented by Johannes Gutenburg

    The printing press was a major accomplishment in the English language because they could mass produce books, and newsprint.
  • North America was Discovered
    1492

    North America was Discovered

    Christopher Columbus discovered North America in 1492

  • William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar

    The first book for English grammar published

  • The first permanent English settlement in America is established at Jamestown, Virginia.

  • First Copyright Act

    The first copyright act is enacted in England

  • Dictionary of the English Language

    Samuel Johnson publishes his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language.
  • Period: to

    The American Revolution

    Americans developed their own idiom, accents and vocabulary after declaring themselves independent from England

  • First Dictionary of Americanisms

    John Pickering compiles the first dictionary of Americanisms.
  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

  • The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

  • The number of speakers using English as a second language exceeds the number of native speakers

  • The second edition of The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

  • The Oxford English Dictionary Online is made available to subscribers

  • The two-volume Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary is published by Oxford University Press

  • Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)

    The fifth volume (SI-Z) of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE ) is published by Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.