History of English

By kileighm
  • 601 BCE

    Old English

    The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. About half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots.
  • 5 BCE

    The Start

    The history of the English language started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during 5th century AD. At the time the inhabitants of Britain spoke Celtic language.
  • 1066

    Middle English

    William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors, aka The Normans, brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes.
  • 1440

    Early Modern English

    Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. This lead to the invention of printing

  • Late Modern English

    The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.