History of the English Language

600BC

The Celts

Little is known for certain about language at this time, the first languages we know about in the British Isles are the Celtic ones like Welsh and Scots Gaelic. These people probably settled here about 600BC, more than 2500 years ago.
English still has some borrowed Celtic words like corgi meaning 'little dog' from Welsh or whisky 'water of life' from Gaelic.

55BC

The Romans
In 55 BC there was an invasion by the Romans who spoke Latin. They gave Latin names to places, some of which are still used today. For instance any place name containing 'chester' is derived from its Roman name, it comes from their word for 'camp'- Manchester, Chichester, Colchester and Dorchester

This Latin influence can still be seen in words still in use today such as camp, candle and street.

450 AD

Anglo-Saxons
The first people who spoke the language which over time became English, conquered England in about the year 450.

These people were Germanic tribes that migrated from continental Europe to Britain, they brought many Anglo-Frisian dialects that soon became what is known as Old English

Many words from this time are still around in English: cow, house, bread and sword.

800 AD

Vikings
From about 800 AD the Vikings started to invade Britain. The Vikings came from countries like Denmark and Norway and spoke a language which later developed into Norwegian and Danish. The language the Vikings spoke left behind many words in English: you, husband, law and anger. Also places: Tenby and Grimsby in which the 'by' means village.

1000 AD

Beowulf is the longest epic poem in Old English, the language spoken in Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. It tells the story of a struggle between the hero, Beowulf, and a bloodthirsty monster called Grendel. Poems of this kind would often have been recited from memory by a court minstrel to the accompaniment of a harp. This fire-damaged manuscript is the only surviving copy of the story. It was written down in about 1000, but the poem may have been created by storytellers as early as the 700s.

Hwæt we garde-

   (Lo! We, of the Spear Dan-)

na ingear dagum, þeod cyninga

   (-es in days of yore, of those great kings,)

þrym ge frunon huða æþelingas elle[n]

   (of their power heard, how those princes deeds of valour)

fremedon.

   (accomplished.)

1066 AD

Normans

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066 the French dominated Britain.
The Normans transformed England, both culturally and linguistically. For over 300 years French was the language spoken by the most powerful people; royalty, aristocrats and high-powered officials, some of whom can't speak English at all. French was used in political documents, in administration, and in literature. Latin was still the language of the church and of scholars, but most of the general population speak English in their everyday lives.

Thousands of French words become embedded in the English vocabulary, most of which are words of power, such as…