| Middle English 1100-1500 In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy part of modern France , invaded and conquered England | Inflections of ' ' v : dates v 3rd person singular dating v pres p verb, present participle: -ing verb used descriptively or to form progressive verb--for example, "a singing bird," "It is singing |
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| effective date n noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc | The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc — from which the words England and English are derived |
It was the language of the great poet Chaucer c1340-1400 , but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.
1| In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is | Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century |
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| Varieties of English From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English | Old English 450-1100 AD The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English |
| Modern English Early Modern English 1500-1800 Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation the Great Vowel Shift started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter | dateline n noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc |
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| The Germanic Family of Languages English is a member of the Germanic family of languages | date n noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc |