Events that shaped english

The Anglo-Saxons

When? The 5th- or 6th century

Why? They went to England and settled there.

How? They gave England the name "Engla land" ("land of the Angles") - Englisc. Most of the Anglo-Saxons were farmers, and so the Old English language related to farming. Therefor the Anglo-Saxons brought words such as sheep, sheperd, ox, earth and field. Other words that traces back to the Anglo-Saxons and the Old English are you, is, the and that.

Scandinavian Settlement

When? The middle of the 9th century 

Why? They came in large numbers and settled mainly in the nothern and eastern areas in England.

How? First of all, in the 11th century they had a Danish king. Second off all, the English language was influenced by the Norse language. The Norse language brought words such as take, they and gates to the English language.

1066 and after 

When? 1066 and after

Why? After the battle of Hastings in 1066 the English language changed. The system of old English broke down and Middle English took over. The middle English is quite similar to the English we speak today. The amount of words increased by almost 10,000 words due to the great number of loanwords from French and Latin.

How? French and Latin added 10,000 new words to the Middle English language that already had 40,000 words.

Standardization

When? In the late medieval and early modern periods
Why? There were many different dialects in The Middle English period and the government wanted to standardize the language with a standard dialect.
How? The London Standard English was approved to be the standard of written English. Over the time a marked change in the pronunciation of English occured and this change is known as the Great Vowel Shift.

Colonization and globalization

When? 15th century and after
Why? The englishmen colonized big parts of the world and took land all over the globe.
How? English became a world language after the English language spread across the globe because of the colonization and exploration of the englishmen. The English language has, and still will be, influenced by loanwords from other languages.