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600 BCE
Celts
The first languages in the British Isles are the Celtic ones like Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. These people settled the British Isles about
600 BC. That is more than 2500 years ago! Celts words used today in English: Town, Smithereens, Slew and Trousers. -
55 BCE
The romans
In 55BC, there was an invasion by the Romans, who spoke Latin.
They gave Latin names to places and some of these names are still used today. Roman words used in English today: Triumph. ...
Ovation, Consul, Dictator, Forum, Augur, Circus and Curator. -
450
The Anglo- Saxons
The first people who spoke English
arrived in England in about the year 450.
These people were the Anglo-Saxons
and their language was Old English. Anglo-Saxons word used today in English:
live, love, heaven, fight, good, evil, man, wife, child, sleep, eat, house, stone, rain, one, two, three, green, black, the, an, to, for, but, around, will, do, and, & with. -
800
The Vikings
From about 800, the Vikings started to invade Britain.
The Vikings came from countries like Denmark and
Norway and spoke a language that developed
into Norwegian and Danish. Vicking words used today in English:
freckle, leg, skull, skirt, skin, sky, egg, score, scream, and cake. -
1066
The Normans
In 1066, the Normans invaded England from Normandy in France.
They spoke an earlier version of French and this became the language of prestige in England. Normans words used in English today:
soup, lettuce, pheasant, pastry, ginger, sauce, chestnut and mustard.