Origins of English

• The origins of the English language can be traced back to when Germanic tribes invaded Britain and Old English was formed


  The fifth century
• The Normans invaded Britain, bringing a form of French that helped shape Middle English


  1066
• Formation of Modern English

  1. Due to the advent of modern printing and colonialism in the 16th century

  2. Britain’s first colonial ‘adventure’ brought English to the New World

  3. British colonisation and imperialism spread English to Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific Islands

  4. As the language travelled, it mixed with other local languages creating new varieties of English, such as pidgins and creoles
• By the early 20th century


  Britain’s political, economic, and industrial powers began to lessen, and the USA emerged as a political and economic superpower
• USA’s prominence and power


  Helped spread English further around the world
• World started working together via international organisations


  English was chosen as one of the world’s official working languages
• USA’s cultural prominence


  Helped spread English through movies, advertisements, music, and broadcasting
• Final spread of English

  Primarily thanks to the internet
• The invention of the internet is widely accredited to two American men, so naturally, the language of the internet is English
• By the mid-1990s, an estimated 80% of the internet’s content was English; however, that number sits closer to 50% today
• Today, English is recognised as an official language in 67 different countries
• The status of the language in each country can vary greatly, with some countries using English purely for administrative and educational purposes and others using it as their official majority language