-
449
Anglosaxon invasion
Used their own language instead of adapting to what the citizens of England used. -
597
Cristians missionaries
Started to arrive in England. They had a large Latin vocabulary. -
800
Vikings
Ruled most of the Eastern England. -
1066
William The Conqueror
Invades England. -
1167
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
Were founded in 1167 and 1209 respectively, and general literacy continued to increase over the succeeding centuries. -
1337
The Hundred Year War against France
Had the effect of branding French as the language of the enemy and the status of English rose as a consequence. -
1476
Printing Press
The final major factor in the development of Modern English was the advent of the printing press. -
1500
Age of Shakespeare or Recovery of English
Latin (and to a lesser extent Greek and French) was still very much considered the language of education and scholarship at this time, and the great enthusiasm for the classical languages during the English Renaissance brought thousands of new words into the language. -
King James Bible
it is often considered a masterpiece of the English language, and many phrases from it have become well-used in every day speech. It is still considered by many to be the definitive English version of “The Bible”. -
Golden Age
Newton wrote his “Opticks” in English, introducing in the process such words as lens, refraction, etc. Over time, the rise of nationalism led to the increased use of the native spoken language rather than Latin, even as the medium of intellectual communication. -
Dictionary of the English Language
The first dictionary considered anything like reliable was Samuel Johnson’s “Dictionary of the English Language”, published in 1755. -
Modern English
The 20th Century was, among other things, a century of world wars, technological transformation, and globalization, and each has provided a source of new additions to the lexicon.
Later, the Internet it gave rise to (the word Internet itself is derived form Latin, as are audio, video, quantum, etc) generated its own set of neologisms. -
Today
The language continues to change and develop and to grow apace, expanding to incorporate new jargons, slangs, technologies, toys, foods and gadgets. In the current digital age, English is going though a new linguistic peak in terms of new word acquisition.
