
- Entertainment & Pop Culture
- Geography & Travel
- Health & Medicine
- Lifestyles & Social Issues
- Philosophy & Religion
- Politics, Law & Government
- Sports & Recreation
- Visual Arts
- World History
- On This Day in History
- Biographies
- Top Questions
- Week In Review
- Infographics
- Demystified
- Image Galleries
- One Good Fact
- Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
- Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
- #WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.
- This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.
- Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.
- Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.
- COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.
- 100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.
- Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. Go ahead. Ask. We won’t mind.
- Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them!
- SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!
- Introduction & Top Questions
- Origins and basic characteristics
- Composition
- Back-formations, blends, and other types of word-formation
- Orthography
- Old English
- Middle English
- Transition from Middle English to Early Modern English
- Restoration period
- Age of Johnson
- 19th and 20th centuries
- British English
- American and Canadian English
- Australian and New Zealand English
- South Asian English
- African English

English language summary
- Facts & Related Content
- 7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
- Lay, Lie, Lied, Lain: When Do We Use Which?
- Elizabethan Vocabulary Quiz
- What Did You Just Call Me? Vocabulary Quiz
- Which English Words Have Native American Origins?
- Word Nerd Quiz
- Words with Negative Connotations Quiz
- More Articles On This Topic
- Additional Reading
- Contributors
- Article History
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Learn about the origins and basic characteristics of the English language
English language , Language belonging to the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European language family, widely spoken on six continents. The primary language of the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and various Caribbean and Pacific island nations, it is also an official language of India, the Philippines, and many sub-Saharan African countries. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (approximately 1.5 billion speakers), the mother tongue of more than 350 million people, and the most widely taught foreign language. English relies mainly on word order (usually subject-verb-object) to indicate relationships between words ( see syntax). Written in the Latin alphabet, it is most closely related to Frisian, German , and Dutch. Its history began with the migration of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from Germany and Denmark to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought many French words into English. Greek and Latin words began to enter it in the 15th century, and Modern English is usually dated from 1500. English easily borrows words from other languages and has coined many new words to reflect advances in technology.
Related Article Summaries

- Arts & Music
- English Language Arts
- World Language
- Social Studies - History
- Holidays / Seasonal
- Independent Work Packet
- Easel by TPT
- Google Apps
Interactive resources you can assign in your digital classroom from TPT.

Easel Activities

Easel Assessments
Unlock access to 4 million resources — at no cost to you — with a school-funded subscription..
history of the english language
All Formats
Resource types, all resource types, results for history of the english language.
- Price (Ascending)
- Most Recent

History of the English Language Timeline

History of the English Language Unit (Updated Links)

Etymology: History of the English Language and Word Formation (BUNDLE)

History of the English Language Timeline {Digital & PDF}

Also included in: Latin & Greek Roots - Core Knowledge 6th Grade - Bundle {Digital & PDF}

Linguistics: A History of the English Language - A Power Point Presentation

History of the English Language Texts and Activities, Gr 5-7 PRINT & TPT DIGITAL

- Easel Activity
Also included in: English Language History BUNDLE 2 Resources Texts and Activities PRINT & EASEL

Etymology: History of the English Language and Word Formation
Also included in: Etymology: History of the English Language and Word Formation (BUNDLE)

The History of the Latin and English Languages

History of the English Language

History of the English Language, No-Prep Lesson, Comprehensive, Editable

Also included in: Poetry, Art of Poetry Bundle, Exploring Poetry & the English Language, No-Prep

Early History of the English Language Unit IN SIX PARTS (Google Docs & Slides)

- Internet Activities
Also included in: THE BEOWULF UNIT -- A complete unit for teaching Beowulf over 4-6 weeks

DAILY SLIDES: Black History Month Hero of the Day Morning Meeting/ Mini Lessons

Also included in: DAILY SLIDES: Hero of the Day Morning Meeting/ Mini Lessons YEAR LONG BUNDLE

Black History Month - The ABC's of Black History

Dia de los Muertos Activities Day of the Dead History of Halloween Close Reading

Also included in: Nonfiction Reading Comprehension with Thanksgiving Holidays

CKLA Knowledge 7 Lesson Sheets - The History of the Earth

Also included in: CKLA Knowledge Lesson Sheets - FULL YEAR BUNDLE!

The History of Video Games Bundle (no prep/sub plans)

The Great Gatsby 200+ page Novel Study Resource BUNDLE - Print & Digital


CKLA Knowledge 7 Slides: The History of the Earth
Also included in: 1st Grade CKLA Knowledge Slides BUNDLE!

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin with Nonfiction Text

Also included in: Real-World Nonfiction Connections Bundle: Thoreau, Douglass & Chopin

DAILY SLIDES: Women's History Month Hero of the Day Morning Meeting/ Mini Lesson

Hispanic Culture Lesson: Story of Mexican Flag Reading ~ in English

Also included in: Mexico Unit! Growing Bundle: Geography, History, Hispanic Culture, Literacy ~Eng

DBQ Bundle of SIX Ancient History Document Based Questions

Map Skills LINKtivity®- Types of Maps, Map History, Reading Maps, Globes & MORE!

The History of Valentine's Day Reading, Questions, Color-by-Code

Also included in: Valentine's Day Activity BUNDLE
TPT empowers educators to teach at their best.
- We're Hiring
- Help & FAQ
- Terms of Service
- Trademark & Copyright
- Privacy Policy
- Student Privacy Policy
Keep in Touch!
Are you getting the free resources, updates, and special offers we send out every week in our teacher newsletter?

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Quiz 1: The History of the English Language

Terms in this set (36)
Students also viewed, language arts, assignment 14 quiz 2: the cons….

Language 806 Self Test 2

SOS Language Arts 800: Unit 6- Coordinating C…

Recent flashcard sets

Prokaryotes: Bacteris and Archaea

Unit 2: Lower Extremity ROM and Flexibility E…

Sets found in the same folder
Quiz 1: written language, quiz 2: the paragraph, quiz 1: understanding words (dictionary and t….

Other sets by this creator
European background of industry, the institution of slavery, the early missionary journeys, causes of the civil war, verified questions.
Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning of the italicized vocabulary word.
The religious pilgrims made a hegira to the holy shrine because...
Even if it were possible to remove all competition from society, would such an act be a good thing? Consider the effects of such a drastic action on sports, business, and education. Present your ideas in the form of a letter to Vonnegut. Open your letter with a general statement telling what you think of Vonnegut's satire.
Choose the answer that best describes the action or situation. ______ An animal that makes a strident sound a. butterfly b. monkey c. fish d. snake
Draw a line under each adverb. Write in the blank the type of word it modifies: V (verb), adj. (adjective) or adv. (adverb). _____ Our team firmly defended the championship trophy.
Recommended textbook solutions

Vocabulary for the High School Student

Glencoe Language Arts: Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 9

myPerspectives: English Language Arts, Grade 7

myPerspectives: English Language Arts, California (Grade 9, Volume 1)
Other quizlet sets, bbc session 3.
Private Pilot test 1
8 History of english language English ESL worksheets pdf & doc


IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
English originated in England and is the dominant language of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and various island nations in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is also an official language of India, the Philippines, Singapore, and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa.
Its history began with the migration of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from Germany and Denmark to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought many French words into English. Greek and Latin words began to enter it in the 15th century, and Modern English is usually dated from 1500.
This 42-slide PowerPoint includes a basic history of the English language and an explanation of the seven most common ways that words enter the English language (Borrowing, Onomatopoeia, Compound Word, Word Blend, Clipped Word, Proper Noun, and Acronym)For an Instructional Video version, click here. Subjects:
The history of the English language began with Old English, the earliest known version of the English language, in the 7th-century C.E., then evolved into Middle English by the...
true Vortigern invited the Anglo-Saxons to England. true The Norman Conquest brought the end of the Anglo-Saxon time period. false Cnut was an Anglo-Norman king. true Bede wrote a history of the English people. false "Widsith" was a modern English poem. false The "Wanderer" was a seaman. Bede a monk father fæder Norman king William Romans 55 B.C.-
6845 uses. tantana. Shakespeare's life and poems. This worksheet is dedicated to William Shakespeare- the most famous playwright in the English language. It consists of three different exercises. Answer key is given. 2864 uses. gexx. Mother Tongue (The history of the English Language)
The History of the English Language The waves of invasion and ultimate occupation by the Anglo-Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians marked the beginning of the evolution of spoken English starting in the fifth century. Although they had different dialects, they both spoke the same West Germanic language.
The History of the English Language You may discuss the following, but feel free to look further into the topic: · How did the language evolve? · Why did the English Language become so important? · Old, Early and Modern approaches to the language End of preview. Want to read all 2 pages? Upload your study docs or become a