The History of the English Language

By matead
  • 400

    Old English

    Old English
  • Period: 400 to 1100

    Old English

    Grubbling
    Snollygoster
    Zwodder
  • 500

    Arrival of Germanic Tribes

    They came from three tribes. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
  • 700

    Suspected date of Beowulf's writing

    The Author is unknown. It is written with alliterative verse style.
  • 787

    Viking Invasion

    They attacked because they had traded goods with the Anglo-Saxons.
  • 980

    The Danes Raided England

    They attacked the English Coast each year from 980 until the conquest of 1016.
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    The invasion created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe.
  • 1100

    Middle English

    Middle English
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

    Coy
    Everich
    Anon
  • 1167

    University of Oxford was Founded

    It was a Collegiate Research University founded by Alfred the Great.
  • 1180

    The "Ormulum" was Written

    The "Ormulum" was written with how words were pronounced instead of how they were normally spelt.
  • 1392

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    It was a collection of 24 stories by Geoffrey Chauncer.
  • 1440

    The invention of the Printing Press

    The invention of the printing press made books and writing more accessible to people to be able to read.
  • 1450

    The Great Vowel Shift

    The vowels in the English language were changed and started to be pronounced shorter.
  • 1497

    The discovery of North America

    North America was discovered by Christopher Columbus and introduces people to a new language as well.
  • 1500

    Modern English

    Modern English
  • Period: 1500 to

    Modern English

    stabilize
    technology
    license
  • The English Colonization of North America

    The colonization of America started with the Spanish and then more countries started to as well.
  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's first folio included three plays.
  • First English Dictionary Published

    The first English Dictionary that was published had about 3000 words and was written by Robert Cawdrey.
  • The Industrial Revolution

    The industrial revolution brought about new machines and the need for new words to describe these machines.
  • The American Revolution

    The American Revolution separated the United states from the British which gave them less influence on the United States language.