History of English: Modern English
See also: History
of English | Pre-English
| Old
English | Middle
English
Modern or Contemporary English
Modern English Period (ca. 1500-present)
| 1500-1650 | Early Modern English develops. The Great Vowel Shift gradually takes place. There is a large influx of Latin and Greek borrowings and neologisms. |
| 1552 | Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, publishes the Book of Common Prayer, a translation of the church's liturgy into English. |
| 1611 | King
James Bible published, which has influenced English writing
down to the present day.
|
| 1616 | Shakespeare
dies. Recognized even then as a genius of the English language. Wove
native and borrowed words together in amazing and pleasing
combinations.
|
| 1700s | Classical
period of English literature. The fashion for borrowing Latin and Greek
words, and coining new words with Latin and Greek morphemes, rages
unabated. Elaborate syntax matches elaborate vocabulary (e.g. writings
of Samuel Johnson).
The rise of English purists, e.g. Jonathan Swift, who decried the 'degeneration' of English and sought to 'purify' it and fix it forever in unchanging form. |
| 17th-19th centuries | British
imperialism. Borrowings from languages around the world.
Development of American English. By 19th century, a standard variety of American English develops, based on the dialect of the Mid-Atlantic states. Establishment of English in Australia, South Africa, and India, among other British colonial outposts.
|
| 19th century | Recognition (and acceptance) by linguistic scholars of the ever-changing nature of language. Discovery of the Indo-European language family. Late in century: Recognition that all languages are fundamentally the same in nature; no "primitive" or "advanced" languages. |
| 19th-20th centuries | Scientific and Industrial Revolutions. Development of technical vocabularies. Within a few centuries, English has gone from an island tongue to a world language, following the fortunes of those who speak it. |
| 20th century | Communications revolution. Spread of a few languages at the expense of many. Languages of the world begin to die out on a large scale as mastery of certain world languages becomes necessary for survival. Classification and description of non-Indo-European languages by linguists continues, in many cases in a race against the clock. |
| 1945-present | American
political, economic, military supremacy. Borrowing patterns continue.
English has greater impact than ever on other languages, even those
with more native speakers. Becomes most widely studied second language,
and a scientific lingua franca.
By the 1990s, preferences begin to shift in many places from British to American English as the selected standard for second language acquisition. The twin influences of British and American broadcasting media make the language accessible to more and more people. Hollywood and the pop music industry help make English an irresistible medium for the transmission of popular culture. Even long-established European cultures begin to feel linguistically and culturally threatened, as English comes into use in more and more spheres and large numbers of English borrowings enter their languages. New waves of immigrants to the U.S. Linguistic diversity increases where the newcomers settle, but immigrants repeat the pattern of earlier settlers and lose their language within a generation or two. The culture at large remains resolutely monolingual (despite the fears of cultural purists). But as ever, the language continues to absorb loanwords, continually enriched by the many tongues of the newcomers to these shores.
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