SOU Linguistics :: language change

first page of Beowulf manuscript, oldest known sample of Old English (circa 1000 A.D.)
visit Beowulf in hypertext

the basics

The evolution of English is truly remarkable. When Julius Caesar landed in present-day England in 55 A.D. and claimed the island for the Roman Empire, English did not exist. Pictish and Celtic were still the languages of the land.

Today, English is the most widely dispersed language on the planet, spoken by over 500 million people; English has the world's largest vocabulary, with over 600,000 words in the latest Oxford English Dictionary, which, although comprised of twenty volumes, only represents about one-half of our words; the lion's share of the world's business and scientific communication is conducted in English; and even the French, the most determinedly non-English-speaking nation in the world, is hearing the bulwarks creak every time a Frenchman orders le hot dog or buys a ticket to Lord of the Rings.

As much as English has changed since its humble origins in ancient Britain, our language's ancient history is still influencing how we use English today. For example, analysis of present-day English shows that the most common words used in English are words with an Anglo-Saxon origin.

milestones of English language development

55 B.C	Julius Caesar invades Britain and claims it for Roman Empire English does not yet exist Romans don't absorb Pictish or Celtic language, and vice versa Britain becomes a relatively peaceful land with a high standard of living for the times PDF map of Roman Britain
410	Goths invade Rome Romans pull out of Britain Celts and Picts regain control of Britain
449	Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade England and drive Celts and Picts into Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, northern Scotland, and Brittany the Saxons settle southern Britain, the Angles take most of the east, and the Jutes get a crumb—the Isle of Wight and a couple of coastal towns on the mainland Angles eventually get bragging right for lending their name to the whole country, Angeland, now England dialects of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes start mixing to produce what is now called Old English PDF map of Old English dialects
597	Pope Gregory sends St. Augustine to England as a missionary Anglo-Saxons embrace the Old Testament's stories of a bloody, vengeful Jehovah Christians introduce Latin words into the Anglo-Saxon language Christians build monasteries and horde wealth in them, which eventually catches the attention of the Anglo-Saxon's cousins to the east, the Vikings Click here to hear a WAV audio file of what Christians would have sounded like when they recited a prayer in Old English.
750	The Vikings (also called the Danes) begin to slash and burn across England in a ruthless invasion, eventually driving the Anglo-Saxons into the swamps of Cornwall PDF map of England in 750
878	King Alfred the Great rallies his Anglo-Saxon troops and retakes southern England and parts of the midlands Alfred is a patron of the arts and encourages the development of English through the arts and education Alfred and Danish king sign peace treaty called the Danelaw Vikings and Anglo-Saxons begin combining their closely related Germanic dialects to form one easy-to-use language Viking's inflectional endings on words are dropped, so English become more dependent on syntax and vocabulary PDF map of England circa 878
1042	Edward the Confessor, a Christian, assumes the English throne Edward has political ties to the Normans Edward and his queen produce no heir to the throne
1066	Edward dies the Saxons and Vikings beat each other up fighting over the throne the Normans successfully conquer a weakened England from their home in France centuries of French influence on English begins as French words flood the English language Middle English period begins PDF map of Middle English dialects
1100-1200	French is the language of the upper classes Latin is used by clergy English is used by peasants and commoners
mid-1300s	Plague ravages England, killing 30 percent of the population upper class Normans and clergy are decimated because they are concentrated in cities and monasteries death of so many French and Latin speakers give English an advantage English-speaking lay preachers start roaming the country to replace death of clergy, reinforcing English as a Christian language
1362	Middle English at its peak English replaces Latin as the language of the court system Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales, the first book written in English considered to be "artistic" Visit Harvard University's Chaucer website to learn more about Chaucer's use of Middle English.
1400s	the Great Vowel Shift transforms how English is pronounced hear examples of the vowel shift
1500s-1600s	the English Renaissance era of Modern English begins Shakespeare attempts to make English more "acceptable" Shakespeare adds upward of 10,000 words to English, including lots of Latin and Greek words, to express new ideas King James Bible is published, first widely distributed book written in Anglo-Saxon idiom children begin to be taught English using King James Bible the Bible's influence counteracts some of the French and Latin influences in English
1600s-1700s	the dictionary is invented dictionaries are called "hard words" books
1700s-1800s	typical English dictionary has up to 2,000 words Samuel Johnson puts out 2,300 page dictionary with innovations; he includes an etymology and usage example for words English has first written history of many words

advanced study

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What do English, Greek, Bengali, and Russian have in common? On the surface it might appear they are as different as languages can possibly be, but linguists have discovered that these languages and many, many more are all part of the Indo-European family of languages. Visit this website to learn more about Indo-European languages.