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400
Beginning of the English Language
Three Germanic Tribes, the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, brought their native language, Englisc, with them which evolved into Old English. -
Period: 400 to
History of the English Language
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450
Beginning of Old English
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550
Beowulf's Writings
Beowulf's poems were written in Old English. -
Oct 9, 625
Wes hal
Wes hal in modern English would be Hello. -
Jan 9, 660
Caedmon's Hymn
It is the oldest attested poem in Old English -
Jan 9, 1066
Norman Invasion
The Duke of Normandy invaded and conquered England. They brought with them a new kind of French, which then changed the English language. -
Jan 1, 1100
Beginning of Middle English
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May 11, 1387
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400. -
Jan 1, 1500
The Beginning of Early Modern English
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Jan 9, 1500
The Great Vowel Shift
Vowel's started being pronounced shorter and shorter. -
Jan 9, 1500
Johannes Gutenburg Invented the Printing Press
This made it possible to document the English language. -
North America was discovered
Americans were still using words with the same meaning they had in Britain, but the meaning changed in Britain afterwards. -
Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
This changed the English language because Shakespeare had a unique way or writing and saying things. -
The American Revolution
The Modern English Language was changed once again by the influence of the Spanish giving us words like canyon and stampede. -
Noah Webster publishes his famous dictionary
Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English Language. This gave America our own version of the English language that was documented.