The
Birth of the English Language
What is English?
What is English?
History of the English Language
A
short history of the origins and development of English
The history of the English language really started with the
arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD.
These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from
what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of
Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed
west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and
Ireland. The Angles came from "Englaland" [sic] and their language was called "English" - from which
the words "England" and "English" are derived.
Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in
the 5th century.
Old English (450-1100 AD)
The invading Germanic
tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now
call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native
English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English.
Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have
Old English roots. The words be,strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until
around 1100.
Part of Beowulf, a poem written in Old English. |
Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of
modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the
Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the
Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind
of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the
upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in
Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle
English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it
would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.
An example of Middle English by Chaucer. |
Modern English
Early
Modern English (1500-1800)
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in
pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced
shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many
peoples from around the world.
This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many
new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also
meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and
more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English.
Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most
publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English
dictionary was published.
Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare. |
Late
Modern English (1800-Present)
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern
English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from
two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology
created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height
covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted
foreign words from many countries.
Varieties of English
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America
resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some
English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America.
In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than
modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call
"Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were
preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for
rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was
re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had
an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words
like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the
settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West
African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and
so, to an extent, British English).
Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's
dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including
the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the world,
including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian
English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.The Germanic Family of Languages
English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.
Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.
Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.
A brief
chronology of English
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55 BC
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Roman
invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar.
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Local inhabitants speak Celtish
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AD 43
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Roman
invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.
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436
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Roman
withdrawal from Britain complete.
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449
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Settlement
of Britain by Germanic invaders begins
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450-480
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Earliest
known Old English inscriptions.
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Old English
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1066
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William
the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England.
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c1150
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Earliest
surviving manuscripts in Middle English.
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Middle English
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1348
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English
replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.
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1362
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English
replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the
first time.
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c1388
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Chaucer
starts writing The Canterbury Tales.
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c1400
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The
Great Vowel Shift begins.
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1476
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William
Caxton establishes the first English printing press.
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Early Modern English
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1564
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Shakespeare
is born.
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1604
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Table
Alphabeticall,
the first English dictionary, is published.
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1607
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The
first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is
established.
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1616
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Shakespeare
dies.
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1623
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Shakespeare's
First Folio is published
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1702
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The
first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in
London.
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1755
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Samuel
Johnson publishes his English dictionary.
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1776
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Thomas
Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence.
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1782
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Britain abandons its colonies in what is later to
become the USA.
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1828
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Webster
publishes his American English dictionary.
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Late Modern English
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1922
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The
British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.
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1928
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The Oxford English
Dictionary is published.
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