-
500 BCE
Celtic tribes begin to invade Britain
Words of Celtic origin: bog, clan, pet, slogan, trousers. -
55 BCE
First Roman invasions in Britain
Romans occupied Britain for about 500 years -
450
Germanic Anglo-Saxon tribes come to Britain
The Celtic languages are pushed out by Germanic dialects --> English is born!
Words of Anglo-Saxon origin: dark, pillow, town, laugh. -
Period: 450 to 1150
OLD ENGLISH
First "modern" texts - loss of endings, new grammatical forms, synthetic language -
597
The Anglo-Saxons convert to Christianity
English starts adopting words from Latin: angel, school, martyr, plant. -
792
First Viking raids in Britain
Words from Old Norse: slaughter, wing, reindeer, ransack. -
1066
The Norman Conquest
William the Conqueror invades Britain --> French coexists with Latin in the nobility
Words to English from French: beef, scarlet, judge, war. -
Period: 1150 to 1500
MIDDLE ENGLISH
Most grammatical changes have taken place -
Period: 1500 to
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
In the 1700s, the Great Vowel Shift is complete, spelling is standarized and globalization of the English language -
The Great Vowel Shif is complete
The pronunciation of long vowel sounds changes in English -
Period: to
MODERN ENGLISH
Complex syllable structure, analytic language, standarized speech -
Globalization of English
First British colonies in America
Loanwords --> kindergarten, café, plaza, kangaroo.