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Did you know that English is recognized as an official language in a total of 67 different countries, as well as 27 non-sovereign entities? And how about this—modern English is Germanic at its core despite the borrowing of other foreign words or phrases, including many in French. So just how did the English language evolve, and what historic events helped enrich its vocabulary?
Click through the following gallery and find out more about the most spoken language in the world.
The story of the English language begins in the 5th century. As the Roman Empire retreated from the shores of Britain, the island was left defenseless from marauding German tribes—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
These northern barbarians, collectively known as Anglo-Saxons, brought all sorts of languages with them. But it was the various dialects of the same Germanic language that formed what we now know as Old English.
The Celtic language most Britons spoke was gradually lost, surviving in only a few corners of the island, places like Wales, Scotland, and Cornwall, in southwest England.
To communicate, the Anglo-Saxons used a runic alphabet. Examples of this ancient tongue can be found in the inscriptions they left on runestones.
In 567, Pope Gregory I dispatched St. Augustine and 40 monks to Britain to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
Æthelberht of Kent became the first Anglo-Saxon king to be baptized, after which the monks successfully evangelized many of the inhabitants. Augustine would ultimately become the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
Besides introducing the pagans to the Gospel, St. Augustine and his missionaries brought with them the liturgy and language of the Church—Latin.
The Christianized English eventually adopted the Latin alphabet. An example of this linguistic transition is found in the heroic poem 'Beowulf.' Originating between 650 and 800 CE, 'Beowulf' was written in a mixture of Carolingian and Uncial script, a manuscript style used by Latin and Greek scribes.
Christianity introduced new ideas and more complex words. Then in the late 700s, the Vikings invaded. As they advanced inland, these Norse-speaking Scandinavians posed an ever greater threat to Anglo-Saxon language and culture.
A savior arrived in the form of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great. Alfred successfully defended the kingdom against the Viking hoards and in doing so preserved the West Saxon dialect, which was thoroughly Germanic.
Alfred subsequently decreed the West Saxon dialect, or Old English, as the standard "King's English."
Despite victory over the Vikings, large-scale immigration of Norse-speaking peoples to England had led to Old Norse being spoken in the areas of Scandinavian settlement. Meanwhile, other parts of Britain continued to use Celtic languages. The kingdom was a tongue twister of spoken words.
Three hundred years later, William, Duke of Normandy decided he wanted a piece of the action and promptly invaded England.
As William the Conqueror, he defeated the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. William took the throne and thereafter Great Britain was under Norman rule.
The Normans spoke French. Over the next three centuries or so, English lost up to 85% of its Anglo-Saxon words. English was now a complex infusion of Old Norse and French words. French was the preferred tongue of officialdom. Nobles and high-ranking members of the Church conversed in the language and even English monarchs, including Richard I (pictured), spoke French as their first language.
French may have been the official language of the hierarchy, but English, or more precisely Middle English, remained the language of the people.
It took a medieval-era catastrophe to profoundly change the English language, and British society in general.
The outbreak in 1346 of bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, decimated the European populace. About a third of England's population, anywhere between 25 and 50 million people, died. The French-speaking aristocracy and ruling elite were close to being wiped out. This left commoners with a powerful voice in society, with English reemerging as the language of power and reason.
With the death of so many French speakers, English was now widely spoken across the kingdom. However, French was still being used as legal speak to the point where commoners demanded to be heard in their own language during courtroom proceedings. This lead to the passing of the Pleading in English Act 1362. Courts across the realm were now obliged to conduct hearings in the English language.
By the end of the 14th century, Middle English was replacing French as the medium of instruction in schools. Authors began writing in English, much to the delight of audiences who knew little or no French or Latin. One of the first great works of literature to be penned entirely in English was Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales,' which appeared as a collection of stories between 1387 and 1400.
French was by now being dropped by aristocrats, including those who spoke the language. And when bad blood between the French and the English spilled over into the Hundred Years' War, it was unwise to even utter the odd oui or non. Henry IV, who reigned between 1399 and 1413, was the first English king whose mother tongue was English (rather than French) since the Norman Conquest.
The introduction in Europe of Johannes Gutenberg's movable-type printing press in the 1450s sparked an information revolution. In no time at all, thousands of printed works flooded the continent.
In Britain, William Caxton was the first person to introduce a printing press to the country, and was also the first English retailer of books.
Caxton translated Recueil des histoires de Troye ('A Collection of the Histories of Troy') from French into English and published it in 1475—the first book to be printed in English. He also produced the first printed version of 'The Canterbury Tales,' in 1476.
The astonishing period of history known as the Renaissance was essentially a European mainland cultural movement. But it also left its imprint on Britain, too.
William Shakespeare introduced over 1,700 new words into the English vocabulary. Many words were borrowed into English from Greek and Latin, but the Bard of Avon originated many familiar phrases, including "love is blind," "wild goose chase," and "good riddance."
The King James Bible appeared in 1611, translated for the first time from Latin into English, a move seen as prizing the scriptures away from the Catholic Church.
A landmark event in the history of the English language was the publication in 1755 of 'A Dictionary of the English Language.'
Published in two volumes, 'A Dictionary of the English Language' ran to 2,348 pages and comprehensively defined 42,773 entries and had quotations to illustrate their usage.
Besides tools, weapons, clothing, food, and medicine, the Pilgrim Fathers also unloaded from the Mayflower in 1620 the English language. The use of English in the United States is a result of British colonization of North America.
But it was the expansion of the British Empire that truly exported the English language. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time. Today, English is recognized as an official language in a total of 67 different countries, as well as 27 non-sovereign entities.
Sources: (Listverse) (Britannica) (ABC School of English) (Christian History Institute) (Canada.ca) (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)
See also: The rise and fall of the British Empire
What historic events shaped the English language?
The circumstances and influences that helped English evolve
LIFESTYLE History
Did you know that English is recognized as an official language in a total of 67 different countries, as well as 27 non-sovereign entities? And how about this—modern English is Germanic at its core despite the borrowing of other foreign words or phrases, including many in French. So just how did the English language evolve, and what historic events helped enrich its vocabulary?
Click through the following gallery and find out more about the most spoken language in the world.