History of English English first originated from West Germanic languages which was then brought to Britain in mid 5th - 7th century by a group of migrants AngloSaxons. English evolved as a group of languages which were spoken by the settlers in Britain and Scotland during the early middle ages. The English which we know today is not the only form of English, in fact, it’s the third stage of English language which is called modern English. History of English is divided into three stages. Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Old English The history of Old English is closely related to the history of Anglo-Saxon England. Old English was brought to Britain by Germanic invaders from northern Europe in the mid-5th century. It had a complex grammar system with three genders, five cases, seven classes of verbs, and various endings for number, tense, mood, and person It had many words that are still used in Modern English today, such as ‘house’, ‘bread’, ‘water’, ‘king’, ‘love’, etc. However, it also had many words that are no longer used or have changed their meaning over time. 1 Middle English The Middle English era was a time of transition between Old English and Modern English that was spoken and written in England from about 1100 to about 1500. Old English changed into Middle English mainly because of two historical events: the Norman Conquest of 1066 and the Black Death of 1348. The Norman Conquest brought a large number of French speakers to England, who influenced the vocabulary, grammar, and spelling of English. The Black Death reduced the population of England by about half, which led to social and economic changes that also affected the language. French had a heavy influence on Middle English, For example: anchor(anker) - The k was dropped due to French influence author(auctor) - The u was changed to th due to Latin influence doubt (doute) - The b was added due to Latin influence nephew (neuew) - The v was changed to ph due to French influence gentle(gentil) - The i was changed to e due to French influence Modern English Middle English transitioned to Modern English mainly because of the Great Vowel Shift, a radical change in pronunciation during the 15th, 16th and 17th Century. Another reason is the invention of printing. One of the main effects was that it helped to standardize spelling and grammar, as well as to spread literacy and education among people. During this era, the English language adopted foreign words from many countries. British English and North American English. The total speakers of modern English is estimated to be around 1 billion.
