History of the English Language

AngloSaxon

A term used to describe the Englishspeaking citizens of Britain from the

middle of the fifth century until the
time of the Norman Conquest. The
Anglo-Saxons came from Germania.

The languages spoken in Germania

were from the Indo-European family
of languages, which developed from
a single language about five
thousand years ago in an area that is
unknown.

Examples of Old English Words

Day = Dge
Father = Feder
Fish- Fisc
Foot = Ft
Grey = Grg

The language is constantly

changing by adding slang
words.

Latin

Greek

Latin is a member of the

Italic branch of the IndoEuropean language family.

24.6% of the
English
Language, has
been borrowed
from Greece.

In many different countries, the

study of Classical Latin language and
literature is taught in schools and
universities.

Middle
English

They were the first

Europeans to
create the
alphabet.
Examples of English Words
Derived from Latin:
Villa (Latin) = Villa, village,
villager
Alta (Latin) (meaning tall, high,
deep) = Altitude, Alto,
Altimeter

Examples of
English Words
Derived from
Greek:
Chroma (color)=
achromatic
Modern English
Demose
(people)=
Democracy

Later Middle English

has many French
influences.
Middle English is the
language spoken
and written in
England from about
1100 to about 1500.

Began in the 16th

century
Neologisms
are being
added as
well.
Example:
fashionista

References:
Baker, P. (2012, January 1). 1. The Anglo-Saxons and Their Language. Retrieved
November 14, 2014, from http://wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/genintro.html

Enhance My Vocabulary. (n.d.). EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. Retrieved

November 16, 2014, from http://www.enhancemyvocabulary.com/wordroots_latin.html

Enhance My Vocabulary. (n.d.). English Vocabulary Derived from Greek.

Retrieved from http://www.enhancemyvocabulary.com/word-roots_greek.html

Lawrence, L. (2012). Ancient Scripts: Greek. Retrieved from

http://www.ancientscripts.com/greek.html

Mastin, L. (2011). The History of English - Late Modern English (c. 1800 - Present).
Retrieved from http://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_late_modern.html

McGillivray, M. (n.d.). Engl401 | Lessons | Old English Spelling and Pronunciation

1. Retrieved November 14, 2014, from
http://www.ucalgary.ca/uofc/eduweb/engl401/lessons/pronunc1.htm

Middle English History. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from

https://www.uta.edu/english/tim/courses/4301w00/mehist.html

Miliotis, C. (n.d.). Greek Influence In The English Language. Contribution to

Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.hellenicnest.com/Greekwords.html

The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. (2014, January 1). Middle English

language. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/381302/Middle-English-language

Thompson, I. (2014, October 23). Latin . Retrieved November 14, 2014, from
http://aboutworldlanguages.com/latin