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Jan 1, 1066
Norman Invasion
England was conquered by the Normans, influencing the French language upon the country. French was established as England's official language (for the next 150 years). The leaders/ upper class of England spoke French, however the lower class people continued to speak English because they lacked the knowledge of the French language. -
Jan 23, 1100
German Invasion
Invading tribes (Jutes, Angles, and the Saxons) pushed the Celts into Britain. The English language evolved within these three groups when they migrated to England. -
Feb 2, 1204
Conflict: England and France
England entered a long conflict with France after England lost control of Normandy. -
May 19, 1362
Statute of Pleading
To change the official language of court business from French and English, Parliament enacted the Statute of Pleading in 1362. -
Jan 19, 1476
Printing Press
In the 18th century, grammer books and dictionaries were established and taught in schools throughout the country of London to broadcast London based rules for spelling and grammer. -
First Permanent settlement by the English in NA
Jamestown was established as the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607. A majority of the settlers came and represented a diversity of social-class backgrounds. The the diffusion of the English dialect is dispersed because of the independent and isolated colonies in the 17th century. -
Diffusion of English
In the year 1899, Spain ceded to the United States. The English language has diffused to a multiple of places, expecially noticable in the Philippines. -
Classification of Dialects
Hans Kurath found the greatest diversity of dialects in the easter part of the country (vocabulary on farms)/. He divided the U.S. into three major dialect regions: Northern, Midlands, and Southern.
