The English language really started when the three Germanic tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. The tribes crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the population of Britain spoke a Celtic language. They were pushed west and north by the invaders – mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc – from which the words England and English are from.
The English language is divided into three categories:
Old English, which was spoken in 450 until 1100
Middle English, which was spoken in 1100 until 1500
Modern English, which was spoken from 1500 to present
Old English
The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not look or sound like English today! People today would havegreat difficulty understanding Old English.
About half of the most commonly used words in English today have Old English roots. For example, the words be, strong and water derive from Old English.
Middle English
In 1066 a part of modern France invaded and conquered England. They brought with them a kind of French, which became a language for the upper-class. For a part of time there was a class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper-classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is now called Middle English, and is still difficult for English speakers today to understand.
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