100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500

Old English Period (500-1100)

The Old English period began in 449 AD with the arrival of three Germanic tribes from the Continent:
the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They settled in the south and east of Britain, which was then inhabited
by the Celts. The Anglo-Saxons had their own language, called Old English, which was spoken from
around the 5th century to the 11th century.

Old English was a Germanic language, and as such, it was very different from the Celtic languages
spoken by the Britons. It was also a very different language from the English we speak today. It was a
highly inflected language, meaning that words could change their form depending on how they were
being used in a sentence.

Old English grammar also had a complex system, with five main cases (nominative, accusative,
genitive, dative, instrumental), three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and two numbers
(singular and plural).

The Anglo-Saxons also had their own alphabet, which was known as the futhorc.
The futhorc consisted of 24 letters, most of which were named after rune symbols. However, they
also borrowed the Roman alphabet and eventually started using instead.

The vocabulary was also quite different, with many words being borrowed from other languages
such as Latin, French, and Old Norse. The first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written is from
731 AD – a document known as the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which
remains the single most valuable source from this period.

Another one of the most famous examples of Old English literature is the epic poem Beowulf, which
was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. By the end of the Old English period at the
close of the 11th century, West Saxon dominated, resulting in most of the surviving documents from
this period being written in the West Saxon dialect.
The Old English period was a time of great change for Britain. In 1066, the Normans invaded England
and conquered the Anglo-Saxons. The Normans were originally Viking settlers from Scandinavia
who had settled in France in the 10th century. They spoke a form of French, which was the language
of the ruling class in England after the Norman Conquest.

The Old English period came to an end in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. However, Old English
continued to be spoken in some parts of England until the 12th century. After that, it was replaced by
Middle English.

Middle English Period (1100-1500)

The second stage of the English language is known as the Middle English period, which was spoken
from around the 12th century to the late 15th century. As mentioned above, Middle English emerged
after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the Normans conquered England.

As a result of the Norman Conquest, French became the language of the ruling class, while English
was spoken by the lower classes. This led to a number of changes in the English language, including a
reduction in the number of inflections and grammatical rules.

Middle English is often divided into two periods: Early Middle English (11th-13th centuries) and Late
Middle English (14th-15th centuries).

Early Middle English (1100-1300)

The Early Middle English period began in 1066 with the Norman Conquest and was greatly
influenced by French, as the Normans brought with them many French words that began to replace
their Old English equivalents. This process is known as Normanisation.

One of the most noticeable changes was in the vocabulary of law and government. Many Old English
words related to these concepts were replaced by their French equivalents. For example, the Old
English word for a king was cyning or cyng, which was replaced by the Norman word we use
today, king.

The Norman Conquest also affected the grammar of Old English. The inflectional system began to
break down, and words started to lose their endings. This Scandinavian influence made the English
vocabulary simpler and more regular.
Late Middle English (1300-1500)
The Late Middle English period began in the 14th century and lasted until the 15th century. During
this time, the English language was further influenced by French.

However, the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between England and France meant that English was
used more and more in official documents. This helped to standardize the language and make it more
uniform.

One of the most famous examples of Middle English literature is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey
Chaucer, which was written in the late 14th century. Chaucer was the first major writer in English,
and he e helped to standardize the language even further. For this reason, Middle English is also
frequently referred to as Chaucerian English.

French influence can also be seen in the vocabulary, with many French loanwords being introduced
into English during this time. Middle English was also influenced by the introduction of Christianity,
with many religious terms being borrowed from Latin.

Modern English Period (1500-present)

The third stage of the English language is known as Modern English, which began in the 16th century
and continues to the present day.

The Early Modern English period*,* or Early New English, emerged after the introduction of the
printing press in England in 1476, which meant that books could be mass-produced, and more people
learned to read and write. As a result, the standardization of English continued.

The Renaissance (14th-17th centuries) saw a rediscovery of classical learning, which had a significant
impact on English literature. During this time, the English language also borrowed many Greek and
Latin words. The first English dictionary, A Table Alphabeticall of Hard Words, was published in 1604.

The King James Bible, which was first published in 1611, also had a significant impact on the
development of Early Modern English. The Bible was translated into English from Latin and Greek,
introducing many new words into the language.

The rise of the British Empire (16th-20th centuries) also had a significant impact on the English
language. English became the language of commerce, science, and politics, and was spread around
the world by British colonists. This led to the development of many different varieties of English,
known as dialects.

One of the most famous examples of Early Modern English literature is William Shakespeare's
play Romeo and Juliet, which was first performed in 1597. To this day, William Shakespeare is
considered the greatest writer in the English language.

The final stage of the English language is known as Modern English, which has been spoken from
around the 19th century to the present day. Modern English has its roots in Early Modern English,
but it has undergone several changes since then.

The most significant change occurred in the 20th century, with the introduction of mass media and
technology. For example, new words have been created to keep up with changing technology, and
old words have fallen out of use. However, the core grammar and vocabulary of the language have
remained relatively stable.

Some Old English words of Latin origin that have survived into modern English include belt, butter,
chalk, chest, cup, fan, fork, mile, minster, mint, monk, pepper, school, sock, strop, wine.

Today, English is spoken by an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world, making it one of the
most widely spoken languages in the world.

https://langster.org/en/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-english-language-from-old-english-to-modern-
days#:~:text=English%20has%20been%20influenced%20by,tribes%20from%20Scandinavia%20and
%20Germany.