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Period: 55 BCE to 600
England before the English
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44 BCE
Julius Caesar
Attempts to invade Britain (100-44 BC)
Initial Roman raids begin. -
410
Roman Legions Withdrawal begins
Invasions from: Picts- North, Scots- West, Jutes & Saxon- Southeast claiming more than half the country.
Celts were pushed out. -
Period: 450 to 1150
Old English- Anglo Saxon English
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597
St. Augustine Arrives in Britian
Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxon begins. -
Oct 10, 1066
Battle of Hastings
English aristocracy replaced by Norman aristocracy. English lost status and became language of lower classes.
Image (Hohenbary, 2019). -
Period: 1100 to 1500
Middle English
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Period: 1201 to 1399
Language Instruction Transition
French language is no longer being instructed to children of nobility. English replaced it. -
1204
Turning Point
King John lost hold of Normandy province to France -
Period: 1337 to 1453
Hundred Years War
The quest for control led to war between the French and English, eventually leading to English becoming the taught language as French was no longer needed. -
Period: 1348 to 1351
The Black Death
One third of British people die, lower class language (English) used more widely. -
1362
French replaced with English as language of the law
English is used in English Parliament for first time -
1385
English replaces Latin
Schools instruct in English with the exception of Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. -
1450
Great Vowel Shift begins
Image (Giancarlo, 2001). -
1476
Beginning of the End
William Caxton introduces the first English printing press which led to the standardization of the English language.
Image (Gao & Gurd, 2019). -
1492
America Discovered
Colonization began and the English language began it's struggle toward becoming a global language. -
Period: 1500 to
Early Modern English- Shakespearean English
Germanic at core has an extensive Roman vocabulary. Complexities of the Old English have disappeared. -
1509
Cutting Ties
Henry VIII cut links to Rome and Catholic Church. -
William Shakespeare's 1st plays
Shakespeare wrote poems and plays, adding over 2000 words to the language to enhance his writings. Shakespeare dies in 1616.
Image (Jimenez, 2020). -
Period: to
End of Great Vowel shift
Seven long vowels raised (where they were stressed in the mouth) and two dropped out, meaning they became double vowels (diphthongs). -
King James Bible Published
The Bible being published has a large impact on the English language, since Christianity was the predominant religion and more people now had access to it in written form. -
Period: to
Present Day English