The history of the English language ^^

The Anglo-Saxons:

When: The end of the 5^th century and beginning of the 6th century.

Why: They settled for many centuries and influenced the British language a great.

How: They were mostly farmers so many words as shepherd, ox, earth and field are of Anglo-Saxon origin.

Scandinavian settlement:

When: The Scandinavian settlements started to come in the middle of the 9^th century.

Why: Many words such as take and they were originally borrowed from the Norse.

How: The Norse people settled for a long time and England even had a Danish king in the 11^th century

1066 and after:

When: After the battle of Hastings in 1066.

Why: William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson and English went through some huge changes.

How: About 10 000 words were introduced from the French upper class and elite, including many Latin words. This is one of the main reasons English has so many words in its vocabulary.

Standardization:

When: The late medieval and early modern periods.

Why: There were many dialects in the Middle English period, but the London standard quickly became superior, particularly in printed scripts.

How: Over time a marked change in the pronunciation of English occurred. The change is known as the Great Vowel Shift. With these changes, modern English became a reality.

Colonization and Globalization:

When: From the colonization started and still ongoing.

Why: The English language became a language of administration and diplomacy all around the world.

How: The English language spread throughout the whole world and became a global language, Britain also became an important trade centre, making it a “hotpot” where some words from different languages were melted into the English vocabulary.