Maestra

History of the English Language
A short history of the origins and development of English
The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invadedBritain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britainspoke 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 "Englaland" and theirlanguage was called "Englisc" - from which the words "England" and "English" are derived. Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century.

Old English (450-1100 AD)The invading Germanic tribes 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 nowwould 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. Beowulf was written in Old English.

Middle English (1100-1500)
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In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part ofmodern 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 businessclasses. 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 (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to...