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449
Old English - Picture
Old English: 449 AD to as late as 1100. -
Period: 449 to Jan 1, 787
Anglo-Saxon Era
In around 450 AD, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes began to arrive in England and start their settlement. The native Britons began to retreat and fled to Cornwall, Wales and Cumbria in the west of England. The Anglo-Saxons were the first invaders known to have spoken the early stages of the English language, which is known as Old English.
Many words during the Anglo-Saxon era were borrowed from the Latin language. Some words that still exist today are purple. candle, sword, house and cucumber. -
Period: Jan 1, 787 to Jan 1, 1066
Viking Era - Pt. 2
The Danish dominance lasted until 1042 and the last Viking battle was in 1066.
About 1,800 Scandinavian words entered the language at the time. These include words such as, 'awkward', 'sister', 'you', 'husband', 'glitter', 'steak', 'tight' and 'angry'. -
Period: Jan 1, 787 to Jan 1, 1066
Viking Era - Pt. 1
In 787 the Vikings began to raid England, which continued until the 11th century. These Vikings came from countries such as Denmark and Norway and in less than a 100 years, the Danes ferociously conquered most of eastern England. By 878, the Anglo-Saxons fought back and the Danes were restricted in an area called the 'Danelaw' located around the north-east diagonal line from Chester to London. In the year 980, the Vikings struck back and England was ruled by a Danish king in 1016. -
Period: Jan 1, 1066 to Jan 1, 1200
Norman Era - Pt. 1
In 1066, William of Normandy conquers England, bringing in a new social and linguistic era to the country. The Normans came from Normandy in France and they spoke an earlier version of French, this becoming the high status language in England, used by the key positions of power. When the Normans arrived, it took a while for it to sink in and manuscripts were still written in Old English as late as 1100. -
Period: Jan 1, 1066 to Jan 1, 1200
Norman Era - Pt. 2
Many words were left behind by the Norman Conquest and English continued to evolve, especially in the grammar department. Slowly, the Old English habits began to die out.
These are some words that were added during the Norman Era:
liberty, accuse, bail, mayor, wage, reward and captain. -
Jan 1, 1100
Middle English - Picture
Middle English: 1100 to 1476. -
Period: Jan 1, 1200 to Jan 1, 1476
Middle English - Pt. 2
French was only spoken by the court, aristocracy and well-educated clergy, while Latin was used in education and the church. A sense of English national identity begins to emerge and children of the nobility adopts to English as their first language rather than second language. Hundreds of Old English words ceased to oblivion, but those alongside their French or Latin equivalent survived.
A few French words that entered the language at this time are: brooch, geometry, art, chess and salmon. -
Period: Jan 1, 1200 to Jan 1, 1476
Middle English - Pt. 1
The country witnesses a renewed interest in Greek, Latin and Arabic, but there was also a predominant increase in English literacy and universities were being built in Oxford and Cambridge. During this time, there were no more invasions occurring in England, although the relationship between France and England deteriorates with the Hundred Years War.
An amount of books were published in Middle English, a famous one called 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer. -
Jan 1, 1476
The Invention Of The Printing Press
The printing press was a major step in a standard writing system and in the production of printed resources in English. Before, the books have been written in English since the 9th century and after this discovery, books became more affordable and the spread of literacy makes publishing a profitable business.
The inventor of this revolutionary mechanism is Thomas Caxton and during the 15th century, the 'Great Vowel Shift' takes place, representing a major development in pronunciation of words. -
Jan 1, 1476
Early Modern English - Picture
Early Modern English: 1476 to 1760. -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
The Renaissance
The Renaissance is a time in European history (from the 14th to 17th century) where it's regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle ages and modern history. England finds a renewed interest in the classical languages and their literature, also leading to significant developments in studies related to science, medicine and arts. This is also the time of a great religious and political revolution and the discovery of the Americas. -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Invading Words
The 16th century is a time of great invention in language, due to writers struggling to find the right terms to describe the groundbreaking concepts and techniques they're developing. Since they aren't satisfied with ransacking the Greek and Latin, the English language began to raid more than 50 languages from around the world.
In addition to the stream of foreign terms, many new words are created by the use of prefixes (eg. sub-), suffixes (eg. -ful) and by cobbling together compounds. -
Jan 1, 1525
The English Bible
During the year 1525, the New Testament of the Bible was translated into English, all thanks to William Tyndale. The translation of the Bible meant that those who only spoke English were able to read it themselves. This of course outraged the Church and the first Bibles had to be printed elsewhere then smuggled into England. -
Period: Apr 23, 1564 to
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was one of the most well-known early writers/authors in Modern English and the first folio of Shakespeare's plays were published in 1623. Many words in English are first found in his plays and it is possible that he invented these words or took words that were only in spoken English and put them on print. -
Period: to
Colonisation Of The New World - 1600s
The Elizabethan age witnesses the rapid geographical expansion of English in the New World, with colonists coming in herds. They come from mainly the Midlands and the North, or are Irish or Scots Irish. Soon after, immigrants from across the globe swiftly follow, engulfing the language with new words from a variety of countries and nationalities.
In 1604, the first English dictionary is published, listing the meanings of 2,500 'hard words' called 'A Table Alphabeticall' by Robert Cawdrey. -
Period: to
Time Of The Lexicographer
Dispute over the state of the language rages in Britain during the 18th century.
A lexicographer craze surfaces, following the publication of Nathaniel Bailey's 'Universal Etymological English Dictionary' (1721) and Samuel Johnson's 'Dictionary of the English Language' (1755). In the field of grammar, Robert Lowth's 'Short Introduction to English Grammar' (1762) and Lindley Murray's 'English Grammar' (1794) quickly became standard works, influencing education in both England and the USA. -
Period: to
The Industrial Revolution
During this time, there is also a need for words and terms to describe the latest developments and concepts in both science and technology. In 1884, a project began to assemble the 'New English Dictionary', eventually becoming the Oxford English Dictionary. Meanwhile in America, the 'American Dictionary of the English Language' by Noah Webster appears in 1828 to help define the identity of the nation. These books introduced a range of spoken and non-standard English into written expression. -
Present Day (Modern English)
The English language has developed immensely over the last hundred or so years and the language has gone global during the 20th century, becoming known as a world language.
With the invention of the Internet, it exposes a wide range of English styles and linguistic experimentation. New technology also introduced new ways of English communication, such as 'text speak'. -
Modern English - Picture
