The History of the English Language

By BaseballHound
  • Period: 301 to 400

    The Germanic Invasion of Britain (Old English)

    Three Germanic tribes invade Britain from northern Germany bringing with them the language of English
  • Period: 400 to 500

    Celtic retreat (Old English)

    The Celtic speaking natives of Britain retreat to the northern and western parts of Britain.
  • 673

    The birth of the monk Venerable Bede (Old English)

    A monk writes a book detailing the anglo saxon settlement in Britain and he details this book in Latin.
  • 700

    Oldest English Transcripts (Old English)

    The approximate oldest transcripts ever written in English are written on this date.
  • 1000

    The publication of Beowulf (Old English)

    The infamous Beowulf is written and publish, becoming very successful.
  • 1000

    The mixing of Scandinavian and English words (Old English)

    Scandinavian words such as skin, sister, die, and wish enter the English language.
  • 1066

    The Norman invasion (Middle English)

    The Norman's lead by William the Conquerer invades Britain and takes hold of it.
  • 1150

    Writing of oldest Middle English texts (Middle English)

    The old writings of middle English are written in this year.
  • Period: 1350 to 1400

    Chaucer Canterbury (Middle English)

    The infamous poet writes his stories.
  • Period: 1350 to 1400

    English becomes the dominant language in Britain (Middle English)

    Under King Edward the first English becomes the prominent language among all classes in England
  • 1399

    First monarch to deliver speech in English (Middle English)

    King Henry the fourth is the first royal figure to deliver his coronation in English.
  • 1440

    The printing press (Modern English)

    The printing press if first produced making language much more solidified.
  • 1492

    The discovery of North America (Modern English)

    North America is observed fully and agreed upon to exist.

  • Shakespeare's first play (Middle English)

    Shakespeare's writes and directs his first play.

  • The first English dictionary (Modern English)

    The first English dictionary dubbed Robert Cowdrey's Table Alphabeticall is published.
  • Period: to

    The American Revolution (Modern English)

    Due to a feeling of neglect from Britain, England's American colonies revolt with the intent to gain independence from British rule.
  • Period: to

    British Empire (Modern English)

    Britain's empire exceeds almost a quarter of the Earth's surface allowing the mixing of many languages into the English language.

  • The Oxford Dictionary (Modern English)

    The Oxford Dictionary what was considered the representative dictionary for english was published.