The History of the English Language

By breereiner
  • 400

    start

  • Period: 450 to 1100

    Old English

    Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion.
  • 871

    Important Old English Historical Events

    ~ Alfred the Great became king of Wessex, encourages English prose and translation of Latin words. ~ "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" began. ~ In the 12th Century London became de facto capital of England.
  • Period: 871 to 1025

    Suspected date of Beowulf's writing

    Beowulf was written in England, but is set in Scandinavia; its dating has attracted considerable scholarly attention. The poem has been dated to between the 8th and the early 11th centuries
  • 900

    OLD ENGLISH PHRASES

    ~ Aptycock: a quick-witted or intelligent young man.
    ~ Bang-a-bonk: to sit lazily on a riverbank.
    ~ Crum-a-grackle: Any awkward or difficult situation.
  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    The Norman Invasion
    The Norman conquest of England was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.
  • Period: 1100 to 1500

    Middle English

    The dialects of Middle English are usually divided into three large groups: (1) Southern (subdivided into Southeastern, or Kentish, and Southwestern), chiefly in the counties south of the River Thames; (2) Midland (corresponding roughly to the Mercian dialect area of Old English times) in the area from the Thames to southern South Yorkshire and northern Lancashire; and (3) Northern, in the Scottish Lowlands, Northumberland, Cumbria, Durham, northern Lancashire, and most of Yorkshire.
  • 1230

    Important Middle English Historical Events

    ~ In 1230 English was used in English Parliament for the first time.
    ~ In 1382 John Wycliffe publishes his English translation of "The Bible"
    ~ In 1525 William Tyndale prints his English translation of the New Testament of "The Bible."
  • 1300

    MIDDLE ENGLISH PHRASES

    ~ Hither: "Come hither" or "here." I have heard my parents say this.
    ~ Grammarcy: Thank you.
    ~ Belly timber: Food. Ex.: "McDonalds has the best belly timber."
  • Period: 1300 to 1400

    Inspiration and invention of the printing press

    During the 1300's to 1400's, people had developed a very basic form of printing. It involved letters or images cut on blocks of wood. The block would be dipped in ink and then stamped onto paper. Gutenberg already had previous experience working at a mint, and he realized that if he could use cut blocks within a machine, he could make the printing process a lot faster. Even better, he would be able to reproduce texts in great numbers.
  • Period: 1387 to 1400

    Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400.
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America

    The discovery of North America
    The only Norse site yet discovered in North America is at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Norse colonies were later abandoned. The Viking voyages did not become common knowledge in the Old World, and Europeans remained ignorant of the existence of the Americas, until 1492.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Early modern English

    Early Modern English, Early New English is the stage of the English language used from the beginning of the Tudor period until the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle English in the late 15th century to the transition to Modern English during the mid-to-late 17th century.

  • Important Modern Historical Events

    ~ In 1611 the authorized or King James version of "The Bible" was published.
    ~ In 1755 Samuel Johnson publishes his "dictionary of the English Language."
    ~ In 1785 the first publication of "The Times" newspaper in London.

  • MODERN ENGLISH PHRASES

    ~ Bae: an affection term for a boyfriend or girlfriend.
    ~ Staycation: spending your holiday in your hometown relaxing.
    ~ Meh: when something is dull or a good word to show lack of interest.

  • Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio

    Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
    Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio.
  • Period: to

    The American Revolution

    The American Revolution was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America.

  • End