History of the English Language

  • 700

    Beowulf's Writing

    Beowulf is considered the highest achievement in Old English literature
  • 700

    the earliest manuscript records of Old English.

  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

    The Norman Invasion was in an important change in the English language. It mixed French with the English language.
  • 1387

    Canterbury Tales

    Canterbury Tales
    Geoffrey Chaucer wrote canterbury Tales in Middle English
  • 1440

    Invention of the Printing Press

    Invention of the Printing Press
    The printing press brought standardization to the English language
  • 1492

    The Discovery of North America

    The spoke English when they discovered North America
  • The first grammar of English

    William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Gramma is published.
  • Shakespeare's First Folio

    Shakespeare's First Folio
    Shakespeare wrote in Old English
  • The American Revolution

    The American Revolution
    A political revolution the occurred in colonial North America
  • Grammar

    William Hazlitt publishes A New and Improved Grammar of the English Language.​
  • Telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. This modernizes private communication.
  • Dictionary

    Webster's Third New International Dictionary is published.
  • Texting

    Texting
    Text messaging is introduced.
  • The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.

    David Crystal publishes The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.
  • 5th Volume of Dictionary

    The fifth volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English is published