Middle English (c. 1100 – c. 1500)
Norman Conquest The event that began the transition from Old English to Middle English was the Norman Conquest of 1066, when William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy and, later, William I of England) invaded the…
Old English (c. 500 – c. 1100)
Invasions of Germanic Tribes More important than the Celts and the Romans for the development of the English language, though, was the succession of invasions from continental Europe after the Roman withdrawal. No longer protected…
Before English (Prehistory – c. 500AD)
Indo-European The English language, and indeed most European languages, traces it original roots back to a Neolithic (late Stone Age) people known as the Indo-Europeans or Proto-Indo-Europeans, who lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia…
Early Modern English (c. 1500 – c. 1800)
Great Vowel Shift A major factor separating Middle English from Modern English is known as the Great Vowel Shift, a radical change in pronunciation during the 15th, 16th and 17th Century, as a result of…
English Language History
The history of the English language is a complex tapestry of gradual developments and short, sharp shocks, of isolation and mutual influences, of borrowings and obsolescences. I am unlikely to do it justice in this…