the history of the english language begins around 500 ad with the arrival of three germanic tribes. these were the angles, saxons and jutes who crossed the sea from continental europe to settle in what became known as anglo-saxon england.
English is a member of the west germanic branch of the indo-European language family.
Anglo-Saxon England was divided into various kingdoms ruled by these settlers. after a period of strife between these kingdoms, all eventually came under the rule of king Æthelstan (ruled 924 – 939). this kingdom formed what would become known as England or old English, which was spoken until 1066 ad when the norman french invasions took place. the invaders spoke a form of old french which became known as norman-french or anglo-Normand, which greatly influenced the English language in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
old English went through its own stages of development, including the establishment of four major dialects, west Saxon (spoken in the kingdom of wessex), east saxon (kingdom of east anglia), norh thumberlandic (northumbria) and mercien (the midlands). it wasn’t until much later that these would be considered standardised forms.
as well as having an impact on old English, norman-french also had a significant influence on the English we know today. approximately 30,000 french words entered into the English language during this period (between 1066 and 1450).
modern English dates from around 1500. it is a mixture of old and norman-french with other influences such as German, which was widely spoken in areas such as Lancashire and Yorkshire; classical Latin; later greek; west African languages through the slave trade; dutch, Spanish and Portuguese during the Elizabethan era; and even a bit of old Norse thrown in for good measure! these can all be considered foreign influences on modern English.
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