HISTORY

How English came to be

English is a mixed language: Germanic at its core, with words from Latin, Old Norse, French and from all over the world. A short trip through 2,000 years – tap a word to hear it.

🇩🇪 Good to know if you speak German: because English grew out of Germanic languages, you’ll recognize many basic words right away – house/Haus, water/Wasser, bread/Brot, mother/Mutter.

1. before 43 AD

   Influence: Celtic

   Celts in Britain

   Before there was English, people in Britain spoke Celtic languages – relatives of today’s Welsh. What stayed in English are mostly names of rivers and places.

   🔊 These names come from Celtic:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 Thamesthe river through London🔊 Avona river name – it means “river”🔊 Tamara river in southwest England🔊 Kenta region in southeast England

2. 43–410

   Influence: Latin

   The Romans

   The Romans ruled Britain for almost 400 years. Their Latin shaped towns and roads – many place names ending in “-chester” go back to the Latin “castra” (camp). Words like “street” (Latin strata) and “wall” (Latin vallum), however, had already been borrowed from Latin by the Germanic tribes on the continent.

   🔊 These words and names go back to Latin:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 Manchestera city in northern England🔊 Winchesteran old city in southern England🔊 streeta road in a town🔊 walla solid side of a building or around a place

3. from about 450

   Influence: Germanic

   Angles, Saxons and Jutes: Old English

   Germanic tribes from today’s northern Germany and Denmark came to Britain. Their languages became Old English – that’s why English and German are closely related. The word “English” comes from the Angles.

   Fæder ūre, þū þe eart on heofonum … (Vaterunser auf Altenglisch / the Lord’s Prayer in Old English)

   🔊 These words come from Old English (Germanic):

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 housea building people live in🔊 waterwhat you drink🔊 breadfood made from flour🔊 motheryour female parent🔊 day24 hours

4. 597

   Influence: Latin

   Christianity and Latin

   With Christianity, new Latin words for the church, school and learning came into Old English.

   🔊 These words came from church Latin:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 schoolwhere children learn🔊 candlewax that gives light🔊 priesta church leader🔊 bishopa senior church leader

5. from 793

   Influence: Old Norse

   The Vikings

   Vikings from Scandinavia raided England and settled in the north and east. Their Old Norse was so close to Old English that many everyday words were taken over – even “they”.

   🔊 These words come from Old Norse:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 skythe space above you🔊 eggwhat a chicken lays🔊 theymore than one person🔊 taketo get something in your hand🔊 windowglass in a wall🔊 knifea tool for cutting

6. 1066

   Influence: French

   The Normans: French arrives

   William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings. Afterwards the ruling class spoke French – to this day the animal often has a Germanic name (cow, pig), but the meat on the plate a French one (beef, pork).

   🔊 These words come from French:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 beefmeat from a cow🔊 porkmeat from a pig🔊 courtwhere a judge works🔊 judgethe person who decides in court🔊 governmentthe people who run a country

7. about 1100–1500

   Influence: English + French

   Middle English and Chaucer

   English became everyone’s language again – now full of French words. Around 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote “The Canterbury Tales” and showed that great literature could be written in English.

   Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote … (Chaucer, „The Canterbury Tales“)

   🔊 These words came in from French:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 animala living creature🔊 beautifulvery nice to look at🔊 countrya nation🔊 peoplemen, women and children

8. about 1400–1700

   Influence: Sound change

   The Great Vowel Shift and printing

   The long vowels changed: “house” used to sound roughly like “hoos”, “bite” like “beet”. At the same time, William Caxton started printing books in England in 1476 – spelling became fixed before pronunciation had finished changing. That’s why English spelling and sound often don’t match.

   🔊 The pronunciation of these words changed:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 housea building people live in🔊 biteto cut with your teeth🔊 namewhat someone is called🔊 knighta soldier on a horse in the Middle Ages

9. 1500–1650

   Influence: Latin and Greek

   The Renaissance, Shakespeare and the King James Bible

   Scholars brought in thousands of words from Latin and Greek. William Shakespeare (around 1600) made many words popular – for some, he is the earliest known written source – and the King James Bible of 1611 shaped the language for centuries.

   🔊 These words came from Latin and Greek – or became known through Shakespeare:

   Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

   🔊 educationlearning and teaching🔊 atmospherethe air around the earth🔊 skeletonall the bones of a body🔊 eyeballthe round part of the eye

10. 1755 / 1828

    Influence: English

    Dictionaries: British and American

    Samuel Johnson published his great dictionary in 1755. In the US, Noah Webster’s dictionary of 1828 made simpler spellings popular – that’s why it’s “color” instead of “colour” and “center” instead of “centre”.

    🔊 Webster made these American spellings popular:

    Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

    🔊 colorred, blue, green …🔊 centerthe middle🔊 theaterwhere you watch plays🔊 programa show or a plan

11. 1600 to today

    Influence: Many languages

    Words from all over the world

    Through trade, sailing and the British Empire, English took in words from all over the world – and still does: from Hindi, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, German, Japanese and many more.

    🔊 These words come from Hindi, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, German and Japanese:

    Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

    🔊 shampoosoap for your hair🔊 cookiea small sweet cake🔊 canyona deep valley🔊 algebramath with letters🔊 kindergartena school for small children🔊 karaokesinging along to music

12. today

    Influence: Worldwide

    English as a world language

    Today about 1.5 billion people speak English – most of them as a foreign language. And new words keep appearing, often through the internet.

    🔊 These words are new in English:

    Hover over the words to see what they mean (on your phone: tap). Guess first!

    🔊 selfiea photo of yourself🔊 emaila message by computer🔊 podcastan audio show🔊 emojia small picture in a message