-
Period: 400 to 1100
Old English
Example sentence:
"Ær þæm þe Romeburg getimbred wære iiii hunde wintrum 7 hundeahtatigum, Uesoges, Egypta cyning, wæs winnende of suðdæle Asiam, oð him se mæsta dæl wearð underþieded." -
449
Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain
The Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain, speaking similar Germanic languages and preferring to speak their own languages rather than the Celtic language spoken by the Britons. -
1000
Suspected Date of Beowulf's Writing
The exact publication date is not known, however it is the longest surviving piece of Anglo-Saxon literature. -
1066
The Norman Invasion
After King William the Conqueror conquered Britain, he created a Doomsday Book and the insertion of a vast vocabulary bank of French words in the English language. -
Period: 1100 to 1500
Middle English
Example sentence:
"Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;" -
1388
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
The exact date of publication is unknown, but it was somewhere in the late 14th century when French was still the primary literary language of those in power. He decided to write in English which led The Canterbury Tales to become one of the first major works of literature to be written in English. -
1400
The Great Vowel Shift Begins
This was a series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language, beginning in Southern England and today having influence effectively all dialects of English. -
1440
The Invention of the Printing Press
Invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg, which started the Printing Revolution. It also helped to stabilize the language. -
Period: 1500 to
Early Modern English
Example sentence:
"Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts!
yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to the
master's whistle. Blow, till thou burst thy wind,
if room enough!" -
Period: 1500 to
Modern English
-
The Discovery of North America
The discovery of North America by the Europeans helped to spread English further across the world. -
Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio
Shakespeare's first collected works allowed for many to read and preserve his plays, which would later have a huge impact on English literature and language. -
The First English Dictionary Published
Written by Samuel Johnson, a dictionary of the English language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. -
Lowth's Grammar
The publication allowed for the Middle and Upper Class people who wanted to speak English correctly to standardize their use of grammar. -
The American Revolution
This was a war for America to gain its freedom from England. It lasted from 1765-1783, ending with the final Battle of Yorktown in which, England surrendered and the United States of America gained it's independence. -
Period: to
Late Modern English
Example sentence:
"He straightened himself and saluted, watching her in silence, as she came forward with weakening limbs." -
Oxford English Dictionary Published
The first Oxford English Dictionary was the first dictionary which analyses the etymology of words and different meanings/nature of words.
