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Period: Jan 1, 1066 to
Origin and Diffusion Of Enlgsih Language
English is spoken by nearly half a bilion people. The distrubution exists becasue the people that lived in English colonies migrated and established new locations. The distrubution started in the seventeeneth century. It started in England and in 1066 the Germanic tribes invaded. -
Jan 3, 1066
Normans conquered England
In 1066 England was conquered by the Normans who spoke French. With little education the people continued to speak English. -
Jan 19, 1204
Reign of King John
England lost control of Normandy. They entered a long period of conflict with France. -
Jan 19, 1362
Changing of Offical language
People in England wished to speak English again, so this became the dominant language. Parliament enacted the Statue of Pleading in this year. -
Jan 19, 1476
First encouragement of Diffusion
Diffusion of the English language was encouraged in 1476 with the introduction of the printing press. Grammar books and dictionaries printed established the rules for the spelling and grammar of the English language, -
Independent Colonies
Immigrants to the Middle Atlantic colonies were very diverse. The early setterlers were mostly Quakers that came from the North of England. Scots and Irish went to Pennsylvania, New Jersery, and Delaware. The colonies attracted many German, Swedish, and Dutch Immigrants. The english language was spread throughout. -
The First English Settlement
The first English settlement was in Jamestown in North America in 1607. Nearly half came from Southeast England. They all spoke English which spread to the other settlements. -
Exposure
New Englanders received more exposure to changes in pronunciation due to England's main port. -
Western Movement
The diffusion of certain dialects were due to the Western movement. Colonistsfrom Viginia and othe colonies settled in the area of the Ohio River. -
Sovet Union
After World War II officals forced native speakers of other languages to learn Russian as a way of distrubuting culutral unity. It was taught as a second language in places that were Eastern European countries.
