What is the history of English?

Tue Mar means Tuesday, March.

English has developed for more than 1,400 years. The earliest form of English is a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Britain by Anglo-Saxon immigrants in the 5th century, collectively known as Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman Conquest of England; this was the period when the language came under French influence. Early Modern English begins with the introduction of the printing press to London in the late 15th century, where the King James Bible was printed and the great shift in vowels began.

Early Modern English

The next period in the history of English is Early Modern English (1500-1700). Early Modern English is characterized by the "Great Vowel Shift" (1350-1700), inflectional simplification and language standardization.

The Great Vowel Shift affected the influence of stress in Middle English. This is a chain shift, meaning that each shift triggers a subsequent shift in the vowel system. Mid-autumn and open vowels are raised, and closed vowels are broken into vowels. For example, the word "bite" was originally the word for "beet" today, and the second vowel in the word "about" is the pronunciation of the word "boot."

Because English retains many spellings from Middle English, the Great Vowel Shift explains many spelling irregularities and also explains why English vowel letters are pronounced differently from the same letters in other languages. Very big.