History of the English Language

When did English as a language begin?

When 3 Germanic tribes arrived in Britain in the 5th century after beating Rome and therefore going to conquer more land.

Which Germanic tribes arrived in Britain?

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

How did the Germanic tribes travel to Britain?

Across the North Sea from Denmark and Northern Germany.

Who inhabited Britain before the Germanic tribes?

The Celtic speakers who were psuhed out into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

How did the words English and England come along?

They were derived from the Angles who came from Englaland and spoke "Englisc"

When was old English spoken?

400-1100 AD

What was Old English?

The language derrived from the similar languages each tribe spoke, about half the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots.

When was Middle English spoken?

1100-1500

What was the Middle English period like?

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conqured England. The conquerors were called the Normans and spoke a version of French. The court and buisness class of England court began to speak this version of French causing a class division between the upper classes who spoke French and the lower classes who spoke English.

When was Early Modern English spoken?

1500-1800

The Great Vowel Shift (1500)

Towards the end of Middle English vowels started being pronounced shorter and shorter.

What caused large a shift in English?

Starting in the 16th century Britain began having contact with many other countries, this along with the Renaissane of Classical learning meant that many new phrases and words became a part of the Enlgish language.

How did the invention of printing affect English?

Language became standardized and books became cheaper allowing more people to learn how to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed as the dialect of London because that is where the majority of publishing houses were.

When was the first English dictionary published?

1604

When was Late Modern English spoken?

1800-Present

How does Late Modern English differ from Early Modern English?

There is a very different vocabulary, there are many more words in Late Modern English because of the need for more words to describe what was being created in the Industrial Revolution and the adaptaion of words and phrases from the languages of the people whose land England was conquering.

At the height of Britain's empire how much land did it cover?

1/4 of the earth's surface

When did American english start?

Around 1600 during the American colonization by England.

How does American English vary from British English?

Many prnunciations and words were "frozen" in time on the English colonies while the language changed in Britain. American English is much more similar to Shakespeare than British English. "Americanisms" are originally from Britain.

Why is American English the dominant language?

Because of their dominence of cinema, television, popular music, trade, and technology, although there are many varieties due to it being the international language.

What are the 3 dominations of English from the Germanic roots?

North, East, and West English

When did Rome inhabit Britain?

55BC to 449 AD (during which time Celtish was spoken)

When did the Roman withdrawl of Britain happen?

It was completed in 436BC

Why did Germanic tribes conquer England?

For the land