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Jan 1, 700
Beowolf (8th Centuary)
Beowolf, the oldest surviving epic poem of Old English and also the earliest vernacular English literature was written in the 8th centuary. The poem is spoken in Anglo-Saxon before the Norman conquest. http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html -
Jan 1, 1016
Viking King: Cnut rules
After a series of assaults the rest of England is taken under the rule of a Danish king, Cnut (Canute), in 1016. -
Jun 1, 1016
Danish Place Names Are Left Behind.
The language of the Danes gives a lasting influence on Old English, especially in the north and east. More than 1,500 place names in England have Scandinavian origins, particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. For example, the '-by' in names like Rugby and Grimsby means ‘farm’ or ‘town; the '-thorpe' in Althorpe and Linthorpe means ‘village’; and the '-thwaite' in Braithwaite and Langthwaite means ‘isolated area’. -
Jan 1, 1042
Viking Dominance Ends
The Danes are no longer in power. -
Jan 1, 1066
Battle of Hastings ushers a new linguistic era.
In 1066, William of Normandy invades England, enforcing in a new social and linguistic era. -
Jan 1, 1100
The new linguistic change takes a while to sink in.
Manuscripts continue to be written in Old English as late as 1100. -
Jan 1, 1100
William Normandy highlights French speaking language with great status.
French is rapidly established as the language of power and officialdom. William appoints French-speaking supporters to all the key positions of power, and this elite of barons, abbots and bishops retains close ties with its native Normandy.
But English is far too entrenched and continues to be used by the majority of people. With Latin the language of the church and of education, England becomes a truly trilingual country. -
Jan 1, 1100
Language continues to develop after Normandy conquest.
Particularly in grammar!
Word order becomes increasingly important in conveying the meaning of a sentence, rather than the traditional use of special word endings. Auxiliary verbs ‘had’ and ‘shall’ as in 'had made' and 'shall go' are conjured up to create a better structure in the English Language. Norman scribes spell words using their own conventions, such as qu- instead of cw-. Distinctive Old English characters begin to die out. -
Jan 1, 1337
French and English at war.
1337 to 1453, the 100 years war resulted in England losing it's French estates. French language declines and is only spoken at court by aristocracy and well-educated clergy. Children of nobility begin to adopt English as their mother tongue, rather than their second language. -
Jan 1, 1362
English Usurps French as the language of power.
When it is used for the first time at the opening of parliment in 1362AD, French is the 'language of the law'; Latin dominated the education and church. Ask= Old English, Question = French, Interrogate= Latin. French words: grape, geometry, broach, art, diamond, pearl, salmon, etc. -
Jan 1, 1387
Geoffery Chaucer - first great writer in English
Geoffery wrote the Canterbury Tales as his most famous pieces of work. He used English in different dialects and registers to create a different tone to his work, particularly the London dialect. Geoffery used elevated synonms too. Although writing for what would seem to be a child audience, Chaucer subverted expectations by using difficult French synonms rather than the English counter parts: 'paramore', 'misadvantage', 'difficult' (difficulte), 'disadventure', 'governance', and 'ignorance'. -
Jan 1, 1387
CONTINUED: Geoffrey Chaucer - first great writer in English.
Geoffrey wrote in a very colloquial style using words like 'Ess' meaning 'Arse', 'Swiven' meaning 'Fucking', and 'Ferting' meaning 'Fart'. -
Period: Jan 1, 1476 to
Renaissance
Borrowed from French and meaning 'rebirth' the Renaissance was kick started by William Caxtons development of the printing press. This effected standardisation massively. Caxton had to decide what words to print in his books. His choices determined one version of English more widley (London/South East). The great vowel shift happened, this meant the way people pronounced vowels changed over the first two centuries. The cultural movement spread via sailors and the expansion in the 16th Century -
Period: Jan 1, 1476 to
Renaissance CONT.
in particular the Spanish Armarda which influenced foreign trade, 10-12,000 new words and ideas entered the language at this time. French brought words such as 'crew' 'detail' 'passport' 'progress' 'mustache' and 'explore'. Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch brought 'imborgo', 'smuggle', 'port', 'napsack', 'landscape' and dutch sailors brought taboo lexis such as 'crap' and 'fucking'. New food terms also developed, japan brought 'ketchup', China, 'mandarin', 'lychee' and french, 'chocolate' 'tomatoe' -
Sep 1, 1476
Early Modern English - Printing Press
First printing press develops. Books are more common and affordable. It is developed by William Caxton. -
First dictionary 'a table alphabetical'
The first dictionary was created by Robert Caudrey, it contained 2,543 words. It was written for those who would not understand words they read in texts/scriptures. Half the population had minimal litracy, not just scholars but ordinary people could read too. 'Rhetoric' then was not a device as it is today but it meant 'the art of public speaking', it came from Queen Elizabeths education and interest of poetry. Moreover, Queen Elizabeth allowed her courtiers and knights to write literature. -
First English Translation of The Bible.
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Shakespeare's Plays are Published as Folios.
Prefixes are added "UNcomfortable", and suffixes "delightFULNESS", "laughABLE", and compounds "UNDERground", "Comander-in-chief". -
Early Modern English - Lexicography craze.
"Universal Erymological English Dictionary" was written. -
Early Modern English- Lexicorgraphy Craze.
"Dictionary of the English Language" -
Oxford English Dictionary Began Being Written
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Broadcasting Established
First to the empire... -
Broadcasting Established
...then to the commonwealth -
Electronic revolution
First email -
Internet is created
Changing English communication dramatically. -
Celtic language becomes unpopular
Cornish, Welsh and Cumbric languages develop, but the Celtic culture of central, southern and north eastern England is ruled by the Anglo-Saxons. -
Vikings lose power.
The vikings remained in power until the Anglo Saxons struck back under Alfred the great. -
Vikings fight back!
The danes retaliate -
Romans Retreat
The Romans came to Britian to aid the Celts, however Rome was under invasion so they retreated home (despite more than 400 years in charge) the Romans don’t leave much of their Latin language behind, beyond the occasional place name. Many native Britons take to their heels and retreat west to Cornwall, Wales and Cumbria. -
Christianity came to England
Christianity came to England and the missionarys brought Latin with them, they produce large numbers of manuscripts, in the form of the Bible and other religious texts. The Anglo-Saxons wrote in Runes and symbols of straight lines to be carved into wood or rock, this progressed into scriptures of the latin alphabet, the missionaries have to adapt the Latin alphabet to suit Old English sounds, adding such symbols as ð (called ‘eth’ in the original Scandinavian) and Þ 'wynn', anglo-saxon runes. -
Danelaw
Danes are restricted to an area called the 'Danelaw', this is the areas in the north east of a diagonal line between Chester and London. -
The Vikings invade.
The vikings continued to raid until the 11th century. The Danes rule the majority of eastern England. until the Anglo Saxons strike back under Alfred the Great in 878.
