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Period: 55 BCE to 600
Before English
-55BC- Celts already in the English Isles
-100BC-44BC Julius Caesar makes attempts to conquer the Celts
-50AD Romans conquer and people become Romanized sharing the Latin language
-410AD Romans leave after the fall of Rome.
Picts, Scots, Jutes and Saxons attack the coasts of the British Isle and push the Celts into Cumbria and Wales. -
Period: 600 to 1100
Old English
-600-1100 People in the British Isle gained most of the language from the Germanic tribes (Jutes, Anglo & Saxon)
Simple words were used such as him, his, as, the
-1066 William the Conqueror. The structure of the aristocracy changed to a Norman aristocracy. This caused English to become the language of the lower class and was no longer written by the nobles. -
Period: 1100 to 1500
Middle English
-1204- King John lost his possessions. French disappears as official language in England.
-1204-1348- Noble children no longer are taught French.
-1348-1351- Black Death kills 1/3 of the people. A lack of laborers causes a shift and English becomes more widely used.
-1337-1453- The Hundred Years War causes another shift where holdings change and French is no longer needed.
-1476- Printing Press is invented by William Caxton which leads to English being standardized
Gemanic core of Language -
Period: 1500 to
Early Modern English
-1500 Colonization begins leading to wide spread of English
-1509 Henry VIII cuts ties with Roman Church
English becomes a global language
Great Vowel Shift and Science begins
William Shakespeare influences English
Morphology- analytic, remains subject, verb & object
Phonology- 5 of 7 vowels raised allowing English to be more understood
Revival of Science brings back Latin & Greek
By 1700 English is only slightly different than today
Elizabeth 1 sees a boom in literature after her reign ends -
Period: to
Present Day English
English is spoken by billions today
English has 3 circles
Inner Circle- used as a first language or native language
Outer Circle- Countries colonized by US & UK, used as a 2nd language
Expanding Circle- Not used as the official language but taught as a foreign language for its importance.