What is the history of the English language? This question can be answered by looking at different stages and movements in language history, and many of these changes were influenced by outside forces. The earliest British English was based on Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Norse languages. This variety became more diverse during the Norman invasion in 1066 AD; it then developed into Middle English after 1100 AD. One reason for this change is that many Norman French words entered the language during this time-including new pronouns like 'you', 'thee', and 'thou'. The Middle English period was ended abruptly by a wave of dialectal simplification which wiped out most regional vocabulary differences around 1500 AD. Due to this, people began to use the language they were most familiar with. From there, the English language continued to change. From 1500 AD to 1600 AD, English was influenced by Anglo-French words that arrived by way of the Elizabethan era. After the 16th century, English developed into Early Modern English after words from Germanic languages became popular. This period ended by 1800 AD with the usage of Standard English spelling and many grammatical changes that would later be standardised in English orthography (the spelling of words). These changes were influenced by political power struggles between monarchs who wished to brand their own culture onto their subjects (hence Anglicisation), and those who tried to save cultural heritage (Gaelicisation). During the 18th century, many words were derived from French, German, and Scandinavian languages. This can be noticed in the word "mobile", which is an example of a French word that came into English through the Normans (in 1180 AD) and became popular because people wanted to sound more cultured. The etymology has no relation to the meaning of this word; it was "invented" (derived) for this usage by Norman French speakers who wanted to sound like themselves. During this time period, political influence was again used to favour certain groups amongst English-speaking lands; this can be seen in the anglicisation of Irish English. Despite this, human migration was also influencing the English language during this time period. After 1755 AD, many Germans moved to England because of the Seven Years' War (sometimes called the French and Indian War) in North America. As a result, German words like "dance" ("tanzen") became English; however, once immigration levels started to drop again after 1760 AD, English speakers began to speak Standard English again. During this time period (1500-1800), the English language was also affected by its close proximity with Latin during the scholarly Renaissance; new words were derived from Latin and Greek to describe science-related topics like "oxygen" (1774) and "singularity" (1757). Although this relationship affected the English language, there were also influences from Old Norse which became more noticeable during this time period. For example, the word "thief" (Old Norse: "thief") was changed to "thieven" (Old English: "theofian") before returning to its original form in Modern English. Words like this were influenced by the Scandinavian immigration of the 11th century. At that time, England was less unified than it is today; it consisted of many ethnic groups who came for political reasons and who chose to remain in England instead of returning home. 81eaaddfaf 29
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