History of the English Language PDF

The history of English language : The history of English language The history of English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded : Britain during the 5th century AD , The Angles , The Saxons The Jutes These tribes cross the North Sea from what today is Denmar...

The history of English language : The history of English language The history of English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded : Britain during the 5th century AD , The Angles , The Saxons The Jutes These tribes cross the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders – mainly into what is now Wales , Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from England and their language was called Englisc – from which the words England and. English are derived : Old English ( 450 - 1100 AD)  Invading Germanic tribe spoke similar languages , which in Britain developed into what we now  call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless , about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be , strong. and water , for example , derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100 Middle English ( 1100 – 1500 )  In 1066 William the Conqueror , the Duke of Normandy ( part of modern France ) , invaded and  conquered England. The new conquerors ( called the Normans ) brought with them a kind of. French , which became the language of the Royal Court , and the ruling and business classes For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division , where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again , but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (1340 – 1400 ) , but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to. understand today : Modern English Early Modern English ( 1500 – 1800 ) Towards the end of Middle English , a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation ( the Great Vowel Shift ) started , with vowels being pronounced shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This and the Renaissance of Classical learning ,. meant that many new words and phrases entered the language The invitation of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed , and the dialect of London , where most publishing houses were , became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was. published Late Modern English ( 1800 – Present ) The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. : Late Modern English has many more words , arising from two principal factors. The Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words.1 The British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth’s surface , and the.2. English language adopted foreign words from many countries Varieties of English From around 1600 , the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words “. froze” when they reached America Some expressions that the British call “ Americanisms “ are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain ( for example trash for rubbish , loan as a verb instead of lend , and fall for autumn ; another example , frame-up , was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood ganster movies) gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on.gangs and organized crime Spanish also had an influence on American English ( and subsequently British English ) , with words like canyon , ranch stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words ( through Louisiana ) , and West African words ( through the slave trade ) also. influenced American English ( and so , to an extent , British English ) Today American English is particularly influential , due to the USA’s dominance of cinema , television , popular music , trade and technology ( including the Internet ). But there are many other varieties of English around the world , including for example Australian English , New Zealand English , Canadian English , South Africa English ,. Indian English , and Caribbean English  A brief chronology of English A brief chronology of English Local inhabitants speak Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar BC 55 Celtish Local inhabitants speak Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman AD 43 Celtish. rule of Britain Local inhabitants speak Roman withdrawal from Britain complete 436 Celtish Local inhabitants speak Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins 449 Celtish Old English Earliest known Old English inscriptions 450- 480 Old English William the Conqueror , Duke of Normandy , invades 1066. and conquers England Middle English A brief chronology of English. Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English C 1150 English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in 1348 most schools 1362 English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the. first time Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales c1388. The Great Vowel Shift begins c1400 Early Modern A brief chronology of English English. William Caxton establishes the first English printing press 147 6. Shakespeare is born 156 4. Table Alphabetical , the first English , is published 160 1 The first permanent English settlement in the New World ( Jamestown ) 160. is established 7. Shakespeare dies 161 6. Shakespeare’s First Folio is published 162 3 The first daily English - language newspaper , The Daily Courant , is 170. published in London 2 Late Modern English A brief chronology of English. Britain abandons its American colonies 1782. Webster publishes his American English dictionary 1828