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400
British Isles were invaded
In the 5th century the British Isles were invaded by Angles (northern Gernany), Saxons (Germany) and Jutes (Jutland/Denmark). -
Jan 1, 787
Two major influences
In the Anglo-Saxon period, there was to major influences on the language. Latin from the Christian missionaries and scholars and Norse from the Danish Vikings (787-1066). -
Jan 1, 1066
More than 90 per cent
When the Normans invaded Britain, more than 90 per cent of the words were of Old English origion and by the end of the Middle Ages, it has shrunk to about 75 per cent. -
Jan 1, 1470
Modern eye
Though very much influence by French and Latin, by ca. 1470 it has already become an Enligsh that appears quite familiar to the Modern eye. -
Jan 1, 1476
Language changes
The language changed when society changed, and the period from 1476 to the late 18th century was most definitely a time of changes. The English suddenly lacked words; new things, concepts, techniques and inventions required new words. -
Jan 1, 1476
First printing press
William Caxton set up the very first printing press, suddenly a book was no longer the product of many months of hard work. The printing press could now mass produce texts for mass circulation.
This meant that the considerable lack of uniformity in terms of spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, etc. as well as the problems with dialects and foreign loan words had to be dealt with. -
Jan 1, 1564
Two distinct factors dominated
Two distinct factors dominated the development of Modern English; Shakespeare's work and King James Bible (1611).
Shakespeare (1564-1616) is admired for the inventiveness and beauty of his language, and it will give us a fairly good idea of what Modern English was like. In the same way, the translation and printing of the King James Bible introduced a large number of words and idiomatic phrases who have stayed in the language ever since. -
The first proper dictionary was published
In 1755 the first dictionary was published by Samuel Johnson, followed by Robert Lowth's "A Short Introduction to English Grammar" in 1762 and John Walker's "Pronouncing Dictionary" in 1774. -
English is the most used language
English is also the most used language in the sciences. In 1997, the Science Citation Index reported that 95% of its articles were written in English. Even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. -
Doesn't speaks identiacal
The number of people who use English as a second - or even foreign language are now very much in majority. In 2004 there were three non-native speakers in the world for every one native speaker. It is obvious that the English they speak now cannot be identical with the English that started it all at first.