Indo-European Language Family

Study Notes

The Indo-European language family stretches from northern India to western Europe, with almost half of the global population speaking an Indo-European language, including English.
English is an Indo-European language, specifically part of the Germanic branch, along with languages like German, Dutch, and Swedish.

In the 5th century, the Romans withdrew from England, allowing Germanic tribes from Denmark and northern Germany to settle and eventually replace the Celtic and Romano-British cultures.
The Germanic peoples developed a common cultural identity as Anglo-Saxons, and their language, Old English, emerged.

Old English is the earliest form of the English language, spoken by the Anglo-Saxons in their many kingdoms.
Old English is largely incomprehensible to modern English speakers, with only half of our most commonly used words coming from this Anglo-Saxon tongue.
Examples of Old English words still in use today include "water," "child," "ear," "talk," and "the."

The Viking invasions of the 8th century brought Old Norse, the ancestor of modern Scandinavian languages, to England.
Old Norse influenced English vocabulary, adding words like "sky," "bag," "law," "hit," and "they" to the language.

The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought Norman French to England, which eventually merged with Old English to form Middle English.
Middle English emerged around 100 years after the Norman Conquest, blending Old English and Norman French.
This merger introduced 30% of modern English words, mostly from French, particularly in the spheres of law, religion, and science.
The French connection also led to the presence of many synonyms in English, as seen in dictionaries.