Language & Society

By Mischa_Lucas
  • May 20, 1066

    The Normam Conquest

    Norman French invaded England in 1066 and brought with him french language however, this did not start to take effect immediately. The BBC. (2013) said 'manuscripts continue to be written in Old English as late as 1100'. The French language seemed more elegant. It became the language of power influencing people of law, barrons and bishops. However, this did not take away the germanic influences that were already apon english language, making it a truely triligual language already.
  • May 20, 1200

    Resurgence of English

    According to BBC. (2013) 'The 12th century witnesses a renewed interest in Latin, Greek, and Arabic, which in turn spawns numerous English translations'. This new found interest spured on the opening of universities however, the relationship with France took a turn for the worst. All ties were sethered and the French influence of English language deteriorated and so greek, Latin and Arabic were taken on.
  • May 20, 1476

    Printing Press

    The Printing Press was announced to standardise English writing and print major documents. The BBC. (2013) states 'Over 20,000 titles appear following the setting up of England’s first printing press by William Caxton in 1476'. Caxton chose to use the East Midland dialect for printing and this then became the most accepted type of English language. With the Printing Press, spelling and punctuation became better and so English language as a whole became more standardised.
  • May 20, 1500

    The Renaissance

    The Renaissance was the era where an interest in classical languages was sparked for medical terms. According BBC. (2013) an 'English translation of the Bible in 1611, named for the monarch who made it all possible, King James I of England (and VI of Scotland)'. Shakespears first play was published in 1623, this brought lyrical language into play and with this, came new words including: uncomfortable and delightfullness which were prefixes and suffixes.

  • The Colonisation of the New World

    Walter Raleigh's expiditions led him to settle in America in Chesapeake bay in 1607. This led many others to settle outside of England. According to BBC. (2013) 'By 1700, inhabitants in the region number more than a quarter of a million'. The English language was taken over to America and an American accent was formed from their native language

  • The Industrial Revolution

    During this perioid, England became the world's ;eading industrial and trading nation. with this came a greater knowledge of science and so new words were needed. The BBC. (2013) states 'A project is begun in 1884 to compile a ‘New English Dictionary’, which will eventually become the Oxford English Dictionary'. The intriduction of the Oxford english dictionary gave a greater understanding of the concept of words and how they were expressed. Some include: bacterium, sodium, photosynthesis.

  • British Broadcasting Corporation

    According to the BBC. (2013) 'The British Broadcasting Corporation is established in 1922, broadcasting first to the Empire, then the Commonwealth from 1931'.

  • World Wide Web Creation

    According to the BBC. (2013) 'The creation of the world wide web in 1991 diversifies communication – much of it in English - on an unprecedented scale'. Using the WWW, to communicate gave English language the power to spread to parts of the world it had not yet reached, creating a diverse vocabulary of Englosh words.

  • English Language Today

    English has become an international language with new variations depeding on where in the globe it is spoken. New words continue to pour into the English language and the BBC. (2013) states 'the electronic revolution begins in 1972 with the sending of the first network email'. According to EnglishClub (no date cited) Today 'there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English'.

  • The Anglo-Saxon Invasions

    The Angles, Saxons and Jutes were Germanic tribes that ivaded England in the 5th century. Many english words had a germanic base because of these tribe invasions. According to the BBC (2013) 'Many native Britons take to their heels and retreat west to Cornwall, Wales and Cumbria'. This was due to the tribe invasions, the language of Cornwall, Wales and Cumbria then came into their own due to this. In England, the Celtic language was almost entirely replaced with Anglo-Saxon words.

  • Viking Invasions

    Towards the end of the 8th Century, the Vikings began invading England - this carried on until the 11th Century. The Vikings spoke Danish and this language has quite a large influence on English language. The BBC (2013) states that 'For example, the '-by' in names like Rugby and Grimsby means ‘farm’ or ‘town'. Much of the Dane language was absorbed into old English.