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Jan 1, 1000
The Celts Arrive
Prehistoric Settlement2000 B.C. The Brisith Isles have been inhabited for thousands of years, but the first tribes [called the Celts], were the first people to do this. When they first arrived, they spoke Celtic. -
Jan 1, 1001
Tribes From Europe Invade
An Historical Geography of Europe Around 450 A.D. tribes from mainland Europe invaded, pushing Celts into Northern and Western parts of Europe (Cornwall, Scotland, Wales). -
Jan 1, 1066
Norman Invasion
Invasion of England, 1066 English today varies from the German language because of the invasion by the Normans in 1066. The Normans came from Normandy, France. Because of this, they spoke French. Therefore, when they came to England, they brought the French language with them. The leaders of England spoke French, but the majority of the people had a little education, so they spoke English. -
Jan 1, 1100
German Invasion
German Tribes Invasion The invading tribes were the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons. All came from either Denmark or Germany. These people brought a langauge similiar to English, which eventually molded this langauge to be what it is. The language was reconstructed because of migration and isolation. -
Jan 1, 1204
The Loss of Normandy
History of Normandy During the reign of King John, England lost control of Normandy and entered a period of conflict with France. As a result, people did not want to speak French, so they chose to speak English instead. -
Jan 1, 1362
Statute of Pleading
Pleading in English Act 1362 The Pleading in English Act 1362 often rendered Statute of Pleading, was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act complained that because the French language was much unknown in England, the people therefore had no knowledge of what is being said for them or against them in the courts, which used Law French. Therefore, the primary languge was changed to English. -
Jan 1, 1476
Invention of the Printing Press
Printing Press The diffusion of the dialect spoken in London and the university cities was first encouraged by the introduction of the printing press to England. -
Jamestown Colony
Jamestown, VA On May 14, 1607, the Virginia Company explorers landed on Jamestown Island to establish the Virginia English colony on the banks of the James River, 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. By one account, they landed there because the deep water channel let their ships ride close to shore; close enough to moor them to the trees. -
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
In September 1620, during the reign of King James I, around 100 English men and women–many of them members of the English Separatist Church–set sail for the New World aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship. The ship landed on the shores of Cape Cod, in present-day Massachusetts, two months later, and in late December anchored at Plymouth Rock, where they would form the first permanent settlement of Europea -
Bristish Take control of Ireland
Brisith Empire
Territories, colonies and provinces that would become part of modern Canada were under control of the English, and later British, Empire from the sixteenth century, when France also had claims in the area. However, the most populous areas of Canada in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes region, as well as much of the Maritime province were acquired under the Treaty of Paris of 1763. -
British Take Control of South Asia
History of Southeast Asia
During the 1500s and 1600s the Europeans were able to take control of the international trade of Asia, thereby diverting the profits from this trade to Europe. As a result, the Europeans became stronger while Asian empires and kingdoms became weaker. By the 1800s the Europeans were in a position to establish their authority over much of Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. -
Noah Webster Publishes Dictionary
Noah Webster
Born in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1758, Noah Webster came of age during the American Revolution and was a strong advocate of the Constitutional Convention. He believed fervently in the developing cultural independence of the United States, a chief part of which was to be a distinctive American language with its own idiom, pronunciation, and style. -
Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were several major gold rushes. -
The Philippines
The Philippines
When Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. in 1899 after losing the Spanish-American war, the English language began to diffuse there which also led to diffusion in other areas from there on. -
Diffusion of the English Language
Hague Conventions
American dialects arise from dialects brought by settlers and interaction with non-English languages. A way to describe this is through standard language. Standard language is a dialect that is well established and widely recognized as the most acceptable for government, business, education and mass communication. -
British Take Control of South Pacific
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km. -
England Becomes Independent
History of the UK
In 1801, Great Britain and Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Ireland effectively seceded from the United Kingdom to become the Irish Free State. Following the Second World War, in which the UK was an allied power, most of the territories became independent. The UK remains a strong economic, cultural, military influence today -
Philippines Gains Full Independence
Philippines History On July 4, 1946, representatives of the United States of America and of the Republic of the Philippines signed a Treaty of General Relations between the two governments. The treaty provided for the recognition of the independence of the Republic of the Philippines as of July 4, 1946, and the relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands. -
Classification of Dialects
Hans Kurath The most comprehensive classification of dialects in the US was made by Hans Kurath in 1949. He found the greatest diversity of dialects in the eastern part of the country. He divided the US into 3 parts: Northern, Midlands, and Southern - each of which contained a number of important subareas. -
British Take Control of South Africa
History of South Africa At this time in history, British took control of South Africa.
