History of the English Language

English is the world's third most common language in terms of native speakers and is second language to hundreds of millions more. This high number of speakers is a relatively recent phenomenon, but the history of the language is long and rich.

The origins of Old English

The earliest versions of English developed from dialects of Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon, which were brought to England by Germanic peoples. Among these settlers, there were many sub-dialects, but the Late West Saxon eventually claimed the most speakers. This dialect is what was later labeled as "Old English," which is the earliest written form of English and is used for the famous poem, "Beowulf."

Shifting to Middle English

Middle English is a bit more difficult to identify because it is really a series of changes within the Old English language. Two waves of immigration led the language to gain a more simplified form of grammar. It also allowed English to borrow words from Scandinavian and Anglo-Norman languages, which expanded the English lexicon and created an openness to borrowing from other languages.

Modern English is here to stay

The distinguishing feature of Modern English relative to previous iterations of the language is the Great Vowel Shift, which was completed by the mid-1500's. The shift was, as the name implies, a change in the way in which vowels are pronounced and primarily applies to long vowels. There is considerable debate regarding the exact cause of this shift, but it is responsible for both modern pronunciations and the awkward spelling of English words.

English grew from a minor, regional language into serving as one of the most spoken languages in the world. This amazing transition is largely due to the organic, fluid growth of the language, and it is likely that the language's growth is not yet finished.