Editing History of English (section)

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{About|the history and evolution of the [[English language]]|the history of the English people|English people|the history of the English culture|Culture of England|the pedagogical field|History of the English language (education)}}
{{Graphical timeline

|title=Timeline of the English language
|align=right
|height = 50

|plot-colour= #FFF8DC
|from=2050
|to=400
|scale-increment=100

|bar1-from=450
|bar1-to=1075
|bar1-text=[[Old English]]
|bar1-left=0
|bar1-right=1
|bar1-color= #FFDAB9

|bar2-from=1075
|bar2-to=1450
|bar2-text=[[Middle English]]
|bar2-left=0
|bar2-right=1
|bar2-color= #FFA07A

|bar3-from=1450
|bar3-to=1800
|bar3-text=[[Early Modern English]]
|bar3-left=0
|bar3-right=1
|bar3-color = #FF7F50

|bar4-from=1800
|bar4-to=2000
|bar4-text=[[Late Modern English]]
|bar4-left=0
|bar4-right=1
|bar4-color = #FF4500

|bar5-from=350
|bar5-to=450
|bar5-text= ↓[[Ingvaeonic]]
|bar5-left=0
|bar5-right=1
|bar5-color = #FFF8DC

|bar6-from=2000
|bar6-to=2100
|bar6-text={{white| ↑Future}}
|bar6-left=0
|bar6-right=1
|bar6-color = #D2691E

|bar7-from=1066
|bar7-to=1071
|bar7-text=
|bar7-left=0.95
|bar7-right=1.05
|bar7-color =red

|bar8-from=1400
|bar8-to=1700
|bar8-text= 
|bar8-left=0.95
|bar8-right=1.05
|bar8-color =red

|bar9-from=1920
|bar9-to=2100
|bar9-text=
|bar9-left=0.95
|bar9-right=1.05
|bar9-color =red

|bar10-from=450
|bar10-to=550
|bar10-text=
|bar10-left=0.95
|bar10-right=1.05
|bar10-color =red

|bar11-from=860
|bar11-to=960
|bar11-text=
|bar11-left=0.95
|bar11-right=1.05
|bar11-color =red

|note1= {{small|'''1066:''' [[Norman Conquest]]; replacement of Germanic elite with [[Norman French]] speakers}}
|note1-at =1066

|note2= {{small|'''{{circa|800–950|lk=no}}:''' [[Viking]] invasions; assimilation of words from [[List of English words of Old Norse origin|Old Norse]] and simplification of Old English grammar}}
|note2-at =870

|note3= {{small|'''{{circa|1600}}:''' the [[British Empire]] helps spread English around the world}}
|note3-at=1600

|note4 = {{small|Growth of cinema, popular music, the Internet, and other English dominant media}} 
|note4-at =1925

|note5 = {{small|'''{{circa|450|lk=no}}:''' Settlement of [[Anglo-Saxon]] tribes in England speaking [[Germanic languages|Germanic dialects]]}} 
|note5-at = 460

|note6 = {{small|'''{{circa|1400–1700|lk=no}}:''' [[Great Vowel Shift]]}} 
|note6-at = 1405

}}
{{english language}}

[[English language|English]] is a [[West Germanic language]] that originated from [[North Sea Germanic|Ingvaeonic languages]] brought to [[Great Britain|Britain]] in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon migrants]] from what is now northwest [[Germany]], southern [[Denmark]] and the [[Netherlands]]. The Anglo-Saxons settled in the [[British Isles]] from the mid-5th century and came to dominate the bulk of southern Great Britain. Their language originated as a group of Ingvaeonic languages which were spoken by the settlers in [[England]] and southern and eastern [[Scotland]] in the early [[Middle Ages]], displacing the [[Common Brittonic|Celtic languages]], and, possibly, [[British Latin]], that had previously been dominant. [[Old English]] reflected the varied origins of the [[Anglo-Saxon kingdoms]] established in different parts of Britain. The [[Late West Saxon]] dialect eventually became dominant. A significant subsequent influence upon the shaping of Old English came from contact with the [[North Germanic languages]] spoken by the Scandinavian [[Vikings]] who [[Viking invasions of England|conquered and colonized parts of Britain during the 8th and 9th centuries]], which led to much lexical borrowing and grammatical simplification. The [[Anglian dialects]] had a greater influence on [[Middle English]].

After the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066, Old English was replaced, for a time, by [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], also known as Anglo-Norman French, as the language of the upper classes. This is regarded as marking the end of the Old English or Anglo-Saxon era, as during this period the English language was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman, developing into a phase known now as Middle English. The conquering Normans spoke a [[Romantic languages|Romance]] [[langue d'oïl]] called [[Old Norman]], which in Britain developed into Anglo-Norman. Many Norman and French loanwords entered the local language in this period, especially in vocabulary related to the church, the court system and the government. As Normans are descendants of [[Rollo|Vikings who invaded France]], Norman French was influenced by [[Old Norse]], and many Norse loanwords in English came directly from French. Middle English was spoken to the late 15th century. The system of [[orthography]] that was established during the Middle English period is largely still in use today. Later changes in pronunciation, combined with the adoption of various foreign spellings, mean that the [[English orthography|spelling of modern English words]] appears highly irregular.

[[Early Modern English]] – the language used by [[William Shakespeare]] – is dated from around 1500. It incorporated many [[Renaissance]]-era loans from [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek]], as well as borrowings from other European languages, including [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. Significant pronunciation changes in this period included the [[Great Vowel Shift]], which affected the qualities of most [[long vowel]]s. [[Modern English]] proper, similar in most respects to that spoken today,{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} was in place by the late 17th century.

English as we know it today was exported to other parts of the world through [[British Empire|British colonisation]], and is now the dominant language in Britain and [[Ireland]], the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and many smaller former colonies, as well as being widely spoken in [[India]], parts of [[Africa]], and elsewhere. Partially due to influence of the United States and its globalized efforts of commerce and technology, English took on the status of a global [[lingua franca]] in the second half of the 20th century. This is especially true in Europe, where English has largely taken over the former roles of French and, much earlier, Latin as a common language used to conduct business and diplomacy, share scientific and technological information, and otherwise communicate across national boundaries. The efforts of English-speaking [[Christian missionaries]] have resulted in English becoming a second language for many other groups.<ref>{{cite book|title=English Teaching as Christian Mision: An Applied Theology|date=27 April 2001|publisher=Herald Press|first=Donald|last=Snow|isbn=9780836191585}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=ESL: Creating a quality English as a second language program: A guide for churches|location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]|publisher=CRC Publications|date=1998|first=Susan E|last=Burke|isbn=9781562123437}}</ref>

Global variation among different [[English dialects]] and [[English accents|accents]] remains significant today.