International English Language Day – April 23, 2027

History of International English Language Day

The origin of the English language started when three Germanic tribes invaded Britain during the 5th century A.D. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes crossed the North Sea from what is known as modern Denmark and North Germany today. Upon their arrival, most people from Britain spoke the Celtic language. The invaders pushed them aside, forcing them to migrate to the west and north, which is now known as Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.

From 450 A.D. to 1100 A.D., the Germanic tribes developed the Old English language — the archaic version of the English that’s universally spoken today. The demise of Old English was seen in 1100 A.D. William the Conqueror— the Duke of Normandy — invaded England, which started the country’s linguistic division. Later on, the lower class spoke English and the upper class spoke French. This division evolved into a melting pot of language, then called Middle English — Old English added with French words — which eventually became Britain’s dominant language in the 14th century.

The rise of Modern English happened at the beginning of the 16th century when the language had a distinct shift in pronunciation. This shift is called the ‘Great Vowel Shift’ where vowels in the English language were pronounced shorter and shorter. Printing of texts and books started in this era, which standardized modern English as a staple in Britain. In 1604, the first English language dictionary was published.

The main difference between today’s English language and 16th-century Modern English is the vocabulary. Two factors contributed to this: the Industrial Revolution and the Global British Empire. The Industrial Revolution called for the need to use more words. On the other hand, this was also the height of the British Empire’s colony which covered a quarter of the world’s territories, forcing them to inevitably adopt foreign words in their vocabulary.