-
600 BCE
Celts
First languages we know about in the British Isles are those like the Welsh and Scots Gaelic (the Celtic ones). These languages belongs to people who probably settled here about 600BC, that is more than 2500 years ago. -
55 BCE
Romans
An invasion by the Romans who spoke Latin in the 55 BC, gave Latin names to some places and things.
Nowdays, some of these names are still used. For example, any place name containing 'chester' is derived from the Roman name for that place. It comes from their word for 'camp'. -
450
Anglo-Saxons
The anglo-saxons were the first people who spoke the language which over time turned itself into English conquered England in about the 450 AD. Their language is also often called Anglo-Saxon or Old English. Nowdays, many words from this time are still using like cow, house, bread and sword. -
Jan 1, 800
The Vikings
Britain was invaded by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They came from countries like Denmark and Norway and spoke a language which later developed into Norwegian and Danish.
The are many words today in English which origin is the language the Vikings spoke left behind: anger, husband, you, law... and also there are some places which meaning comes from the Vikings language: Grimsby for example, in which the 'by' means village. -
Jan 1, 1066
The Normans
England was invaded by the Normans in 1066. The Normans (men of the North) were Vikings conquerors who occupied the northwest of France. Once they invaded this region, they called it Normandy. They spoke an earlier version of French, so once they invaded England, this became the high status language in England. Some words like cash, reward or age comes from that language. -
Jan 1, 1400
Middle English
When the invasions of England finished the English language gradually took over again from French. This “reborn” language spoken around this time is called middle English.
During the middle English age, a number of books were published, being the most famous a book called The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1500
The Origins of Standard English
In the last part of the 14th century, a regional standardized literary language appeared. This language was based on the dialects of the Central Middle countries. Characteristics: Each vowel changed its sound quality, but the distinction between one vowel and the next was maintained. In addition, long vowel sounds began to be made higher and further forward. -
Jan 1, 1500
Early Modern English - The printing press
Books have been written in English since the 9th century, but it was with the introduction of the printing press by Thomas Caxton in 1476 that publishing really took off.
With the printing also came an interest in a standard way of writing English which had not been present before. -
Jan 1, 1500
Early Modern English - Rennaissance. King James Bible
In 1520 the New Testament of the Bible was translated into English by William Tyndale, so this was quite a big step since it meant that people who only knew English could read the Bible themselves.
But, the king James intended that this version was adequate to the Church of England. The church didn't like this at all and so the first Bibles were printed elsewhere and smuggled into England. The version used both in Anglican and English Protestant churches. -
Jan 1, 1550
Early Modern English - Invading Words
Though England wasn't being attacked by armies anymore, there were still a words invassion.
In the 16th century there was great interest in studying due people read books written in Latin and Greek and they “took” some words from these languages. This was something "weird" because the Latin was a dead language at this stage, so no-one spoke it for day-to-day purposes. -
Jan 1, 1580
Early Modern English - Shakespeare
The influence of Latin also had a stabilising effect on the English spelling. There are many important authors in modern English, however one of the most well-known early writers is William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616). He deserves a mention here since many words in English are first found in his plays. It could be that he invented words (such as “in my mind’s eye”, “it’s Greek to me” or “love is blind”) or that he took words that were only used in spoken English and put them in print.