The History of English language and famous landmarks in Great Britain

English is lingua franca

The three historical periods

- 499-1066 Old English

- 1066-1500 Middle English

- 1500-today Modern English

English is a Low West Germanic language

West Germanic tribes

Stonehenge

Roman Empire

Hadrian's Wall

Old English 499-1066

Anglo-Saxon language = Old English

Derive from Old English: be, strong, water…

Old Norse influenceof the Vikings: egg, cake, skin, leg, window

St Paul's Cathedral

Middle English 1066-1500

The Norman conquest -> French borrowings

e.g.: govern, government, prince, princess, duke

The Tower of London

Windsor Castle

The Palace of Westminster

Middle English 1066-1500

Anglo-Norman language = Middle English

New words added: country, coast, river, lake, mountain…

Geoffrey Chaucer is the poet of this age

King's College (1441)The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge

Other major events

- 1476 William Caxton establishes the first English printing press

- 1380 John Wycliffe’s Bible manuscripts

- The /a/ and /o/ change

OE: /ba:n/ ME: /bo:n/ bone

OE: /ba:t/ ME: /bo:t/ boat

- The Great Vowel Shift

Modern English 1500-today

- William Shakespeare

- Continuously assimilating foreign words

Buckingham

Palace Blackpool Tower

The White Cliffs of

Dover

West Germanic tribes