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In order to understand the English Language and what it might look and sound like in the future, we must first understand where it came from...
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The beginnings of English
The history of the English language started with the departure of the Romans (who used Latin) and the arrival of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes who crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. Most of the Celtic speakers who were already in Britain were pushed west and north into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Latin returned to Britain later with Christianity, and along with the invading Vikings from Scandinavia, brought new vocabulary. So it is fair to say that the English Language began as a real 'hodge-podge' of different languages. 
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Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1066 the Normans invaded England from Northern France. French became the official language of the Royal Court, government and business. For many years the common people spoke English and the richer ruling classes spoke French and wrote in Latin. By the 14th century English was being used by everybody and Literature written in English was becoming popular. The most famous was Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote Canterbury Tales .
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Early Modern English - (1500-1800)
This period of the evolution of English began with the influence of Shakespeare. His plays and poems introduced many new words and phrases to the English language. The King James Bible was completed in 1611 and was the first bible not written in Latin. This meant ordinary people could now read the 'word of god' themselves which meant it was a direct threat to the power of the Catholic Church. The first printing presses were used in China and Korea hundreds of years before they became popular in Europe in the 1500s. Printing books meant that they became much cheaper and allowed far more people access to reading materials. So that everybody could understand all this new literature, spelling and grammar needed to be the same everywhere, so the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published in an effort to further organize all the different dialects of English that existed at that time. Beginning in the 17th Century great advances in science and technology were being made by English speaking scientists. So, it wasn't too long before they started using English to communicate information about their new discoveries and paved the way for English to become the universal language of science that it is today. |
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Late Modern English (1700-1900)
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Influenced by Shakespeare, religion and science the English language was expanding and became even richer with the growth of the British Empire. English was on it's way to becoming the world first global language. The most famous of the early dictionaries was written by Dr Johnson and containing over 40 000 words, took 9 years to write, and was completed in 1755. The first Oxford English Dictionary took 70 years to produce and was completed in 1928. However it has been continually updated and revised many times because one of the great characteristics of the English language is that new words appear often and become part the everyday language because of the people that use it.
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American English
It is true that Britain took the English language around the world but it was American English that made it popular. From almost the very beginning the people who migrated to America began to use a separate dialect of English. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Spanish also had an influence on American English along with French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade). American English became increasingly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet).
World Englishes
There are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English, Caribbean English. More recently many forms of Asian, European and South American are being recognized as separate and distinct forms of English. Students were once faced with the choice of learning American English or British English, whereas today people are much more concerned about speaking in a way that they can simply be understood by others from whatever nation they come from.
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Internet English
The internet has had a huge impact on the English language. Firstly, it brought with it a whole new vocabulary including completely new words alongside some old words that had not been used for a long time. As well as the new words new phrases were needed to describe users online experiences. Secondly, the Internet (including mobile phone text messaging) has introduced completely new ways for people to communicate with each other which need new styles and methods to convey information. Grammar, punctuation, spelling and phraseology have all been affected by this new medium. Thirdly, these new forms of English are becoming frequently used in peoples daily lives and have truly entered into the English language.
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Worksheets
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English Today
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Future of English
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