A Very Brief History of English

The history of English fascinates me. Here follows my very brief but hopefully reasonably factual account.

before 43 AD: England inhabited by the Celts. Various Celtic languages are spoken in the Isles.

43 AD: Romans invade and occupy England. Latin is used for administrative purposes.

~400 AD: Various Germanic tribes invade (collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons) and eventually expel the Romans. Old English (a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon) develops from the variants of Old German spoken by the invaders.

~600 AD: Christian missions to England introduce a wave of Latin and Greek loan words.

~900 AD: Vikings invade and cohabit with Anglo-Saxons in England. Many words are loaned from their language (Old Norse). Beowulf is composed around this period.

1066 AD: The Normans (from France) invade and conquer England. Their language (the Norman variety of Old French) is used in the courts and in educated circles for 300 years.

1362 AD: The use of French having declined, King Edward III officially addresses Parliament in English.

~1500 AD: Pronunciation of many words changes with the so-called Great Vowel Shift. Shakespeare lives and writes in what we call Early Modern English.

~1650 AD: Renaissance and industrial revolution. Many words from New Latin and Greek enter the language.

1755 AD: The first significant dictionary published. Modern English is born.

1776 AD: American revolution. American English starts to officially diverge from British English.

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Originally published on Quasiphysics.