What is the history of the English Language?

The origins of the English language lie in today’s England and the arrival of Anglo-Saxon tribes from Central Europe to the British Isles in 400 AD. Their language, now known as “Old English“, was soon adopted as the common language of this relatively remote corner of Europe.  With the Viking invasions, Old English got mixed up with the Old Norse, the language of the Viking tribes. Old Norse ended up giving English more than 2,000 new words, including “give” and “take”, “egg”, “knife”, “husband”, “run” and “Viking”. Until the 18th Century, British and American English were remarkably similar with almost no variance. Immigration to America by other English peoples changed the language by 1700. The author of the first authoritative American English dictionary created many changes. The “-re” endings became “-er” and the “-our” endings became “-or”. Spelling by pronunciation and personal choice from Webster were influenced. English is considered to be a universal language and is one of the official languages of the United Nations.

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