History of the English Language

  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    43 - 410 - Celtic Speech of the Britons during Roman Occupation
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    400 - 1500 - Anglo-Saxton Britain
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066CE)
    500 - 650 - Angles, Saxons, Jutes & Frisians settle in Britain, bringing dialects that become Old English.
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    550 - Borrowed words from narrative Romano-Britons; influence from Celtic languages or British Latin is disputed.
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    597 - Latinism
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    1000 - Beowulf was written down, but the poem was suspected to be created as early as the 700's
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    700 - Caedmon's Hymn - the oldest known English poem composed
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    800 - 1000 - Vikings invade eastern and northern England. A contact between Old English and Old Norse of the English case system.
  • Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)

    Old English (450 CE - 1066 CE)
    1066 - Normans, Bretons and Frenchmen invade England and establish themselves the ruling class
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1150- Translation to Middle English-earliest surviving texts
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1066- The Norman Invasion
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1170- Introduction to Norman French and English; University of Oxford founded
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1387-1400- The Canterbury Tales by Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1436- Invention of the Printing Press
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1200-1450- As a result of the Norman conquest, French words began to enter English, including royalty, law and food items
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1215- King Johns Magna Carta; critical document in the ruling of the constitutional law in the English-speaking world
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    1204- England now only home for Norman French/English
  • Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)

    Middle English (1066 CE - 1450 CE)
    Late 15th Century- The first printing press; printers begin to standardize English spelling
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1450- Translation to Early Modern English
  • Early English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1500-1700- Great Vowel Shift 0ccurs, affecting all dialects of English
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1492- Discovery of the Americas
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1610-1790- Large scale migration from England to Northern America leads to new strains of English evolving there
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1623- Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1800- Translation to Late/Modern English
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1765- American Revolution
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1939-1945- World War II
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    1790-1950- English spreads across the world as a result of the British Empire
  • Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)

    Early Modern English (1450 - 1700) Late Modern English (1700 - Present)
    2000's- English continues to spread through media, films, music and internet