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400
Old English Starts
The language of the Anglo-Saxons that was made up of mainly Germanic word roots. In this time period, the language was extremely different in comparison to modern day English. -
660
“Cædmon's Hymn” Composed in Old English
This was one of the only poems that was written down and passed down through the years. Long ago, poems were mainly oral and sang in order to be shared. -
792
Vikings Begin Raids in Britain
During the viking raids, there were many words that were taking and placed into the English language that had Norse origin. Many of those words are ones that we use today, such as egg, father, and Thursday. -
800
Beowulf Composed
As one of the oldest poems that was written in the English language, it tells a short story of heroism. -
871
“The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” Begins
Even though researchers believe that the Chronicle may not be completely accurate, this document shows a wide timeline of British history. -
1066
Norman Conquest
During the conquest, it is believed that around 10,000 French words were incorporated into the English language. Many of which are still used to this day. -
1100
Middle English Begins
When the English language turned into a blend of many different languages shortly after the Norman conquest. -
1154
“The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” discontinued
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1362
The Statute of Pleading
The Act was made because there was French language being used when some people did not understand what was being said to them. In order to make it equal in courts, it was declared that all things said would be in the English language. -
1370
“Piers Plowman”
An alliterative poem written by William Langland. -
1388
Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"
A collection of stories about a group of pilgrims that was written by Geoffrey Chaucer. -
1440
Printing Press Invented
It was first invented by a German man by the name of Johann Gutenberg. Gutenberg's printing press was made out of metal instead of wood. -
1492
Christopher Columbus Discovers America
There was a voyage to find a new land. Christopher Columbus came across America which would become the home of many English pilgrims. -
1500
Early Modern English Begins
The English language that was used in many of the printed documents in history. -
1526
William Tyndale Prints English Version of "The Bible"
This was an important part in history due to the religion being able to be carried throughout time with the English speaking people. The first writings of the Bible were largely written in foreign languages. -
First English Dictionary Published
It was published by a man by the name of Robert Cawdrey and was titled, “A Table Alphabeticall”. -
First Folio of Shakespeare's Works is Published
This was a collection of many of Shakespeare's plays. There were around 1,000 copies of the First Folio. -
Start of American Revolution
This is the time where the people from the 13 colonies came together to revolt and take their independence from Great Britain. This eventually led to the United States of America. -
End of American Revolution
The United States of America was born and the colonies were finally independent. -
Late Modern English Begins
The change of vocabulary in the English language. Though there was a slight change in vocabulary, there was still basically all the same pronunciation and grammar. -
Texting Introduced
Texting was the start of a lot of shortened words that still had the same meaning. It was also a start to a lot of the slang terms that are used today. -
The Fifth Volume of DARE is Published
Also known as the Dictionary of American Regional English, the dictionary was published by Belknap Press of Harvard.
