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550
Baby steps
In approx. 550 the germanic accents find their spot in England, as Angles and Saxons visit England, thus forming the Anglo-Saxon dialect. -
Period: 550 to
The evolution of the englsih language
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Jan 1, 1066
A minor setback
In the year 1066, William the Conqueror became the king of England. He spoke French and because of that, the nobles spoke French as well. This limited the Englsih language, but not everyone wanted to speak French: the common man of England kept the English language as his mother tongue, thereby keeping English alive. The English language also adopted many French words, but mainly used them as synonyms for their own, preferred words. -
Jan 1, 1381
English prevails
During the 14th century, the English language surpassed that of the French, becoming the most spoken language, but it lacked popularity amongst writers. The Latin language also became part of the english language, thus making it extremely effective as a language, enabling everyone to thoroughly express themselves in short sentences.
In the year of 1381, for the first time in 300 years, an English speaking king is crowned, ensuring the survival of the language. -
Around the world in one language
Ever since the begining of English, or Anglo-Saxon, it has been borrowing words from other languages, and even creating new ones. By doing so, English has become a language with many nuances, and odd words, some even originating from the 6th century. This has made English an easy-to-learn language and English is also now one of the most spoken languages with more than 1 billion people speaking it worldwide. It also holds the record for the most words in a language, with and astounding 500k words -
An adapting language
At the end of the eighth century, Vikings start visiting England (Pillaging being one of many reasons) and ended up settling there. They soon become influential on the English language, as the Viking tongue is quite similar to that of the Anglo-Saxon. Many words, some examples being: Mother, father, house and gift are borrowed from the Viking language.
