The History Of The English Language

The Celts

600 BCE

Long ago, Celtic tribes, called Britons, lived on this fertile island. Unfortunately, the Celts (pronounced /kelts/) lived in many tribes without one united army. This made them somewhat defenseless to larger armies. This made their island vulnerable to attack.

The romans

55 BCE

Roman soldiers successfully invaded the island in the year 43A.D. Romans spoke Latin. The Romans called the island Britannia, named after the Britons they found living there. The Romans built roads, walls, cities, and castles. Actually, they forced the Britons to do most of the construction work, and to farm the land and dig in the mines, laboring for the Roman empire. The Britons and Romans lived peacefully together most of the time.

THE ANGLO-SAXON

450

The civilized Celts still lived in tribes with no united army, and their island was still green and fertile. Neighbors still wanted it. Thus, around the year 450, Germanic tribes from across the water invaded. The Germanic invaders were the Angles and Saxons (called the Anglo-Saxons) and the Jutes. These barbaric Germanic pirates took control of Britannia, harming the Celtic Britons terribly, burning their homes and villages and killing or enslaving them. Examples of words: live, love, heaven.

The Vikings

800

The island suffered yet another invasion, bringing changes to the English language. In about 787, the Vikings invaded. The Vikings lived across the water, in Scandinavia (the Norsemen lived in Norway and the Danes lived in Denmark). These Scandinavian Vikings spoke another form of German and were excellent sailors. They invaded Britain, arriving on countless Viking ships. Pirates again! Examples of words: Eggs, cake, sky.

Norman French

1066

Still another invasion occurred in 1066. William the Conqueror was a French nobleman from Normandy, France. He led his Norman soldiers to defeat the English at the Battle of Hastings, in 1066. William the Conqueror was crowned King of England. For 300 years his followers, the Norman French, ruled England. They built great castles and cathedrals. For 300 years, every English king spoke French. All the English landowners were ordered to speak French, too. Examples of words:Please, justice.

Middle English(The Canterbury Tales book)

1400

THe canterbury tales book is the most famous book of stories in Middle English, by a certain person called Geoffrey Chaucer

Printing Press

1476

Early Modern English began soon after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany in 1436. With the printing press came books, instead of scrolls and manuscripts written by hand. William Caxton set up a printing press in London in 1476. The press brought greater consistency to the English language. Spelling rules emerged. Before the press there were at least 12 ways to spell the word egg, depending on the dialect. After the press, spelling was more consistent.

The Renaissance

1500

At about the same time as the invention of the printing press, a great Renaissance began in Italy and swept across Europe, reaching England by 1500. The Renaissance was a kind of rebirth, a time of fresh new thinking, a bright, hope-filled period. Renaissance thinkers included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, and many more. Artists, musicians, mathematicians, and scientists created marvelous sculptures, paintings, symphonies, calculations, formulas, and inventions.

William Shakespeare

1564

There are many important authors in Modern English, but one of the most famous writers is William Shakespeare(1564-1616)