Events that shaped the English Language.

HeY!
 Here are some events that shaped the English language to how it is today.




The Celts :
The Celts arrived around 700 years BC. They travelled all the way from present-day France. The Celts established trading centers, which would later become important cities. Yet apart from some place names, there are few Celtic words in today's English.


The Celts were either assimilated or forced westwards, into what are today Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Their descendants still speak Celtic languages: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.




The Anglo Saxons:
• Invaded 450 years AD.
• The Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
• Spoke Germanic dialects.
• Settled down, gave the land a name "Engla Land".
• Gave the language a name, "Englisc".      
1066 and after:
• 1066 - William the conqueror, defeated Harold Godwinson at the battle of Hastings.
• Big changes in the English language.
• The inflictional system of old English broke down and middle english became quite similar to the Englsih we see today.
• Got more words from Latin and French.
• Got 10.000+ words from the French, ruling and elite class.
• English is rich in synonyms, and this due to the "Marriage", of English and French, this is a consequence of the invasion in 1066.
Scandinavian Settlement:
• The Norse started to come in the middle of the 9th century.
• Settled down, mainly in the Northern and Southern areas in England.
• In the 11th century, England had a Danish King.
• Norse had a great influence on English. Basic words such as take and they are borrowed from Norse.
• Many words are hybrids; because Old English and Norse are both Germanic languages and they are quite similar.
• The influence of Norse is not seen in written English until after the Norman Conquest.
Standardization:
• Late medieval and early modern periods.
• London standard (dialect) became dominant, particularly in printed scripts.
• London standard = Prestige.
• London English was associated with knowledge.
• 16th century spelling became standardized.
Colonization and Globalization:
• Through colonization and exploration, the English language spread across the world.
• Became a language of administration and diplomacy on every continent.
• English is a world language.
• English has become the lingua franca of the world.




Notice that this is just notes ;)
xoxo The Waffleboy