Buzz
Just as people have tales to share, words too carry their own stories. Much like nations, languages come with their own unique histories. They are marked by peculiarities and anomalies that trace back to specific events in their evolution, passed down from our ancestors to us. The English language, in particular, is full of these fascinating oddities. Irregular spelling and unpredictable pronunciation are just a few of the strange aspects of English that make it particularly challenging for non-native speakers to master.
This is hardly unexpected, as English has evolved more than most languages, encountering countless changes along the way to what we know today. There's a saying that goes, “English is several tongues in a trenchcoat pretending to be one language.” But despite its complex nature, English has become the universal language, essential in fields like business, commerce, science, and technology. This list explores the key historical milestones that shaped the language into what it is now.
10. The Arrival of the Anglo-Saxons
When the Romans departed from Britain in the 5th century, the island was left vulnerable to invasion by Germanic tribes from across the sea. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—together known as the Anglo-Saxons—arrived from what is now northern Germany and Denmark. The Germanic dialect they brought laid the foundation for Old English. As they displaced the native Britons (known as the Welsh 'Brython') and settled the land, the Celtic language ('Brythonic') they spoke was gradually replaced, surviving today only in place names like Devon, Leeds, York, and Avon.
The top 100 most frequently used words in contemporary English have their roots in Anglo-Saxon. Compare the German words vater, mutter, bruder, and sohn with their English counterparts father, mother, brother, and son. Approximately a quarter of our modern vocabulary is derived from Anglo-Saxon, encompassing everyday words such as be, sleep, night, sing, food, strong, house, water, and earth. At its core, modern English remains Germanic, despite incorporating various foreign words and expressions over time.
Numerous remarkable sagas and poems were crafted in Old English, with the most renowned being the epic Beowulf. Old English may seem like an unfamiliar tongue to us today, as evident in its opening lines:
Hwæt! Wé Gárdena in géardagum þéodcyninga þrym gefrúnon hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum, monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas.
Initially, the Anglo-Saxons used a runic alphabet, which was more suited for carving inscriptions on stones. However, with the arrival of Christian missionaries who introduced the Latin alphabet, this cumbersome system was replaced, enabling the creation of long epic tales such as Beowulf.
9. The Conversion of England to Christianity
In the year 595, Pope Gregory I took the significant step of sending a group of 40 monks, led by Augustine, a Benedictine prior and future saint, to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Their mission was successful, and Augustine set Canterbury as his primary seat. Alongside spreading the Gospel, the missionaries also introduced the Church's liturgy and language—Latin—into Britain.
During the Roman occupation, the Anglo-Saxons became familiar with a handful of Latin terms, especially those related to military, government, commerce, and travel. For example, the Latin word 'castrum', meaning military camp, evolved into the suffix '-chester' in place names like Manchester and Lancaster. Additionally, words associated with practical life, such as 'cook', 'kitchen', and 'mill', were also adopted.
Christianity brought with it a host of new vocabulary, mostly religious in nature, including terms like 'pope', 'archbishop', 'shrine', 'mass', 'offer', and 'martyr'. In later centuries, the influence of Christianity spread further, enriching the English language with legal terms such as 'legal', 'prosecute', and 'custody', as well as medical terms like 'lunatic' and 'ulcer'. This period marked the beginning of English's extensive borrowing of words from other languages.
8. The Viking Raids
In the 9th century, the Vikings began their raids along the coasts of the British Isles, likely in search of new lands to accommodate Scandinavia's rapidly expanding population. Over the next hundred years, many Vikings settled in Britain, with the Danes alone numbering 35,000—equivalent to the population of London at that time.
As the Anglo-Saxons were being driven back, it seemed that their language and culture might follow the fate of the Celts. However, England found its champion in King Alfred of Wessex, the only English ruler to earn the title 'the Great.' In 878, he triumphed over the Danes at the Battle of Edington. A treaty with the Danish king Guthrum allowed the Danes to settle in the northeastern region, from London to Bedford, known as Danelaw. We can trace their settlements through place names with suffixes like -by (village, e.g., Thornby, Whitby), -thorpe (outlying farm, e.g., Copmansthorpe), and -kirk (church, e.g., Ormskirk).
The peaceful interactions between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings led to a blending of their languages. Everyday English absorbed words from Old Norse, such as husband, sister, ugly, happy, berserk, anger, cake, and take. We also owe our pronouns—he, him, her, they, them, and their—to the Vikings. Additionally, the days of the week are named after Norse gods: Ty, Wodan, Thor, and Freya.
Alfred, who had a deep love for learning, aimed to educate his people by translating Latin texts into Old English. He famously said, 'Geðenc hwelc witu us ða becomon for ðisse worulde, ða ða we hit nohwæðer ne selfe ne lufodon ne eac oðrum monnum ne lefdon' ('Remember what punishments befell us in this world when we ourselves did not cherish learning nor transmit it to other men'). His version of Old English, the West Saxon dialect, was distinctly Germanic. Of the 10,000 words preserved in Old English, only about 600-700 were borrowed. Many monks likely thought that translating great Latin works into this obscure language was a pointless endeavor.
Despite opposition, Alfred succeeded, and his efforts led to the West Saxon dialect becoming the 'King’s English' standard until the 11th century. Without his influence, English might have faltered in the face of Viking invasions.
7. The Norman Conquest
In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, launched an invasion of England to claim the crown that had been promised to him by King Edward the Confessor, in opposition to Harold Godwinson. William triumphed over King Harold’s army in the Battle of Hastings and ascended to the throne. The Norman conquerors introduced profound changes to Anglo-Saxon society, particularly influencing the language, which evolved from Old English to Middle English.
The French-Norman nobility settled in England, bringing with them their customs and manners, as well as making French the language of the royal court and the elite. They regarded Old English as a coarse dialect, suitable only for the lower classes and peasants. The commoners referred to the animal as a 'cow,' but when it was served to their French-speaking masters, it was called 'beef' (beouf). Similarly, 'sheep' became 'mutton' (mouton), 'calf' became 'veal' (veau), and the humble 'pig' was transformed into 'pork' (porc).
During the Norman period, English lost up to 85% of its Anglo-Saxon vocabulary as French rose in prominence. French words became widespread in areas such as politics (government, cabinet, Parliament, minister), military affairs (army, military, commander), and law (court, jury, bailiff, tribunal). Today, around 30% of English vocabulary comes from French. A writer of the time lamented, 'Children in school, contrary to the usage and custom of other nations, are compelled to drop their own language and to construe their lessons and other tasks in French.'
King John’s loss of the family lands in Normandy in 1204 severed the connection between the Anglo-Norman nobility and France. Over time, they began to identify more as English rather than French. As a sense of unity emerged in England, France increasingly became viewed as a foreign land. In 1295, King Edward I declared that the French king had 'his detestable purpose, which God forbid, to wipe out the English tongue.'
Many Normans took up the English language to effectively communicate with their subjects, while many commoners grew more familiar with French. However, French remained the official language of England for the next 300 years.
6. The Black Death
In June 1348, a sailor arriving in Weymouth from Gascony, France, unknowingly brought with him the deadly bacteria Yersinia pestis, carried by infected fleas. This disease would devastate England, killing possibly a third of the population, between 25 and 50 million people. The Black Death was the most terrifying disaster medieval Europe experienced and brought about drastic societal changes, including shifts in the English language.
The bubonic plague showed no mercy, striking both the rich and poor, nobles and peasants alike. It took lives across all ages and genders. The French-speaking elite and aristocracy were almost completely wiped out, leading to a profound societal upheaval. With a massive labor shortage and vast stretches of land left untended, the surviving peasants recognized their newfound bargaining power and began demanding higher wages. The common people’s language, English, began to rise in prominence as it gained importance in society. As French speakers dwindled, English started to claim its place. The Black Death, in a twisted turn of fate, ultimately saved the English language from disappearing.
What kind of English did the people speak? They would have pronounced words very similarly to how they were written. In their speech, 'steak' would rhyme with 'bleak,' 'tears' with 'bears' (not 'beers'). There were no silent letters like 'k' or 'g.' The 'l' before letters like 'f,' 'v,' 'k,' and 'm' was pronounced (e.g., 'calf,' 'halve,' 'folke,' 'palmer'). The 'gh' in words like 'thought' would be pronounced like the 'ch' in the German 'ich,' and the final 'e' would sound like a schwa (ə).
Although the pronunciation of words was already undergoing changes, by the time of the Renaissance, the long vowels had evolved to their modern sounds in what became known as the 'Great Vowel Shift.'
5. The Statute of Pleading
Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English Poetry, likely spoke French as he was part of the upper class. However, English was starting to reassert itself as the national language, and the government recognized the need to adapt. One major issue was that commoners complained they couldn’t follow court proceedings, as legal matters were conducted in French.
In 1362, the Statute of Pleading in English Act was passed, allowing legal proceedings to be conducted in English. The Parliament that enacted this law opened with a speech by the Chief Justice in English, marking the first time since the Norman Conquest that the native language was used in an official setting. This marked the beginning of the gradual shift toward using English in government and bureaucracy.
By the time Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales (1387–1400) in Middle English, English had become the dominant language in schools, overtaking French as the language of instruction. To understand the changes in English since the time of Beowulf, here’s how The Canterbury Tales begins:
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Authors began to write for audiences who no longer understood French or Latin. The aristocracy began to set aside their previous disdain for English, and even those who spoke French started to appreciate works written in English. Moreover, the growing tension between England and France, culminating in the Hundred Years War, made speaking English a symbol of English identity. Henry IV (1367–1416) was likely the first king to favor Middle English as his preferred language.
4. Caxton’s Printing Press
In the 1450s, Johann Gutenberg from Mainz, Germany, revolutionized European technology by introducing printing with movable type. This sparked an information revolution as thousands of printed books flooded Europe. The wealthy English merchant William Caxton recognized the growing demand for English literature and saw the potential for profit in the book business.
Caxton translated Recueil des histoires de Troye (A Collection of the Histories of Troy) from French to English and published it in Bruges, Belgium, in 1475. This marked the first book printed in English, followed by The Game and Playe of the Chesse, also translated from French.
Caxton returned to England in 1476 and established his own printing press in Westminster. At that time, English varied greatly across the country, making it difficult for people from different regions to understand each other. Caxton recounts this story: 'And one of (the merchants) named Sheffelde, a mercer, came into a house and asked for food; and especially he asked for eggs. And the good wife answered that she could speak no French. And the merchant was angry, for he also could speak no French, but wanted to have eggs, and she understood him not. And then, at last, another said that he would have ‘eyren.’ Then, the good wife understood him well.' Lo, what should a man in these days now writes, 'eggs' or 'eyren'?
To address this issue, Caxton harnessed the power of his printing press to spread a standardized form of English. This version of Middle English, predominantly spoken in London and surrounding areas, became known as the 'King’s English.' Caxton’s initiative marked the beginning of English’s evolution into a national language, poised one day to dominate the world.
3. Expansion of the British Empire
The 15th century ushered in the age of discovery and exploration, leading to the colonization of new lands by Europeans. As a growing naval power, England quickly caught up with Spain and Portugal in seizing these opportunities. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the British Empire controlled vast territories across North America, Africa, India, and Australia. At its height, Britain governed a quarter of the world’s land and population, spreading the English language to these far-flung regions.
However, Britain’s linguistic influence extended beyond just the spread of English. Interaction with distant cultures introduced numerous new words to the English vocabulary. Arabic contributed algebra, zero, zenith, giraffe, gazelle, sultan, caravan, and mosque, to name a few. African languages enriched the language with terms like chimpanzee, goober, gumbo, impala, jumbo, mamba, zebra, and zombie. From Chinese, we received the word tea, a quintessential British beverage, while Sanskrit brought us avatar, karma, and yoga. And there are many more.
When the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Britain, their version of English began to evolve in unique ways that set it apart from British English. American English adopted words from Native American languages such as skunk, bayou, hickory, squash, raccoon, and tepee, as well as from Spanish, including bronco, avocado, canyon, siesta, and plaza—words that often referred to things not found in Britain. As the United States rose to global prominence, American English spread worldwide through schools, business, popular culture, Hollywood, and, more recently, the Internet. Today, it’s not the King’s English that the world speaks and spells, but American English.
From the humble beginnings of a language spoken by remote tribes in the forests of northern Germany, to becoming the global lingua franca, English has truly embarked on an extraordinary journey.
2. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary
In 1604, Robert Cawdrey published the first English dictionary, “A Table Alphabeticall,” which contained 2,543 'hard words' borrowed from Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and French. While it wasn’t particularly practical, it paved the way for other dictionaries that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1755, Samuel Johnson released his two-volume Dictionary of the English Language, intending it to be 'a dictionary by which the pronunciation of our language may be fixed, and its attainment facilitated; by which its purity may be preserved, its use ascertained, and its duration lengthened.' Although the dynamic nature of the language made it impossible for Johnson to 'fix' English permanently, his dictionary succeeded in establishing standardized spellings and usage for future generations of writers.
Johnson’s Dictionary set the standard for effective lexicography. It defined 42,773 words, each accompanied by quotations to demonstrate its usage. Johnson didn’t shy away from including slang terms such as bum, fart, piss, and turd. The dictionary also contained curiosities like belly-god ('one who makes a god of his belly') and amatorculist ('a little insignificant lover'), as well as insults like fopdoodle ('a fool; an insignificant wretch'), bedpresser ('a heavy, lazy fellow'), and pricklouse ('a term of contempt for a tailor').
Until the release of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1884, Samuel Johnson's dictionary served as the definitive reference for both writers and speakers. Its influence on the English language endures even today.
1. The English Renaissance
The English language was inevitably shaped by the Renaissance, a period of cultural and intellectual rebirth that spread across Europe. Between the late 15th and 17th centuries, during the rule of the Tudors and Stuarts, English evolved from a humble spoken tongue into a sophisticated literary language, constantly enriched by new words, phrases, and a more refined grammar and syntax.
This era witnessed the emergence of exceptional writers and poets, none more significant than William Shakespeare. The renowned Bard from Avon contributed over 1,700 new words to the English lexicon, many of which are still in use today: words like alligator, bedroom, eyeball, fashionable, gossip, hurry, lonely, manager, traditional, and worthless. Shakespeare also coined many familiar expressions, and when we say, 'Love is blind,' 'Good riddance,' or 'Wear your heart on your sleeve,' we are quoting him.
The King James Bible (KJV), completed in 1611, is another masterpiece that has enriched the English language. It marked the pinnacle of a long struggle to translate the Scriptures from Latin into English, breaking the Catholic Church’s monopoly on biblical interpretation and making the holy text accessible to ordinary people. The Bible's majestic prose continues to be quoted, often without people realizing its origin, even in modern secular times.
When we 'put words into someone’s mouth,' notice the 'handwriting on the wall,' fear the 'signs of the times,' move 'from strength to strength,' or spot a 'fly in the ointment,' we are, consciously or unconsciously, drawing from the King James Bible. This translation popularized 257 such idioms, many of which were adapted from William Tyndale’s earlier English translation. It also contributed around 40 new words, including backsliding, scapegoat, longsuffering, and peacemaker.
Around 10,000 to 12,000 loanwords made their way into English, primarily from Greek and Latin, but also from other European tongues, further softening the Germanic nature of the language. Spelling began to be standardized (e.g., dette/debt, doute/doubt, indite/indict, quire/choir, faute/fault), while the Great Vowel Shift was underway, making words sound more familiar to modern listeners (e.g., shape/sheep, may/me, meen/mine, maat/mate, oot/out, hus/house).
