Question | Answer |
Pre-0AD | varieties of Celtic languages, the roots of Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, Manx and Cornish were spoken in different dialects across England |
1st Century - 5th Century | some limited influence from Latin on the native language, but the major Latin influence of English was to come much later |
5th - 8th Century | The Celtic language was displaced except in Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and Ireland. Old English developed from the Germanic dialects, which varied according to where the different tribes were settled |
8th - 11th Century | The Vikings’ language was close enough to that of the inhabitants to allow communication, Vikings took over the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms |
11th - 14th Century | following the Norman invasion, there was a French-speaking power base – the court, the church and major landowners were mainly French-speaking, while the populace spoke English |
11th - 14th Centuries continued | by the twelfth century English was used by the upper classes and in 1362 was used for the first time at the state opening of parliament |
15th - 17th Centuries | William Caxton set up his press in 1746, many Greek and Latin texts were translated into English, there was a gradual acceptance of a standard form of English |
18th - 19th Centuries | Attempts to define the vocabulary and grammar of English led to prescriptive ideas about correctness, Latin was upheld as an ideal language and a model for English dictionary writers and grammarians tried to lay down rules |
19th century - present | In the nineteenth century colonial expansion and education extended access to written forms of English, media extended this process in the twentieth century |
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