Modern English Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world.

This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published.

Late Modern English (1800-Present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Grimm's Law

1. Jacob Grimm, 1827

German linguist attempted to explain why many Germanic words differed so systematically from their I-E cognates. His formulation (later refined) is called Grimm's Law or the First Sound Shift. High German underwent a Second Sound Shift, but that won't concern our study of English language history.

1. I-E stops gradually assumed new sounds bh --> b

dhh --> d

ghh --> g

ph --> f

th --> (theta)

kh-->h bh --> p

dh --> t

gh --> k

1. Verner's Law

   1. Karl Verner, 1875

Danish linguist wondered why not every I-E stop changed in the same way. His formulation established that Grimm's Law was consistent and could account for all known cognate evolution

1. Intermediate step in Stage 1 shift:

2. All voiceless stops changed once:

ph --> f

th --> theta

kh --> h

sh-->sz

2. Old English Phonology, Morphology and Syntax.

3. Grammatical categories of the Noun in Old English, Middle English and New English periods.

4. Grammatical categories of the Verb in Old English, Middle English and New English periods.

5. Main historical events of Old English and Middle English periods and their linguistic consequences.

500-1100: The Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) Period

The conquest of the Celtic population in Britain by speakers of West Germanic dialects (primarily Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) eventually determined many of the essential characteristics of the English language. (The Celtic influence on English survives for the most part only in place names--London, Dover, Avon, York.) Over time the dialects of the various invaders merged, giving rise to what we now call "Old English."

Late 6th century Ethelbert, the King of Kent, is baptized. He is the first English king to convert to Christianity.

7th century Rise of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex; the Saxon kingdoms of Essex and Middlesex; the Angle kingdoms of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. St. Augustine and Irish missionaries convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, introducing new religious words borrowed from Latin and Greek. Latin speakers begin referring to the country as Anglia and later as Englaland.

673 Birth of the Venerable Bede, the monk who composed (in Latin) The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (c. 731), a key source of information about Anglo Saxon settlement.

700 Approximate date of the earliest manuscript records of Old English.

Late 8th century Scandinavians begin to settle in Britain and Ireland; Danes settle in parts of Ireland.

Early 9th century Egbert of Wessex incorporates Cornwall into his kingdom and is recognized as overlord of the seven kingdoms of the Angles and Saxons (the Heptarchy): England begins to emerge.

Mid 9th century Danes raid England, occupy Northumbria, and establish a kingdom at York. Danish begins to influence English.

Late 9th century King Alfred of Wessex (Alfred the Great) leads the Anglo-Saxons to victory over the Vikings, translates Latin works into English, and establishes the writing of prose in English. He uses the English language to foster a sense of national identity. England is divided into a kingdom ruled by the Anglo-Saxons (under Alfred) and another ruled by the Scandinavians.

10th century English and Danes mix fairly peacefully, and many Scandinavian (or Old Norse) loanwords enter the language, including such common words as sister, wish, skin, and die.

1000 Approximate date of the only surviving manuscript of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, composed by an anonymous poet between the 8th century and the early 11th century.

Early 11th century Danes attack England, and the English king (Ethelred the Unready) escapes to Normandy. The Battle of Maldon becomes the subject of one of the few surviving poems in Old English. The Danish king (Canute) rules over England and encourages the growth of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature.

Mid 11th century Edward the Confessor, King of England who was raised in Normandy, names William, Duke of Normandy, as his heir.

1066 The Norman Invasion: King Harold is killed at the Battle of Hastings, and William of Normandy is crowned King of England. Over succeeding decades, Norman French becomes the language of the courts and of the upper classes; English remains the language of the majority. Latin is used in churches and schools. For the next century, English, for all practical purposes, is no longer a written language.