English language: 5 Things You Should Know

Question: The word “English” comes from the Angles, a tribe from what is now Germany and Denmark. How did their language reach Britain?

Answer: English began as a Germanic language brought by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the 400s. That’s why everyday words like “house,” “bread,” and “water” have close German cousins.

Question: After 1066, English farmers raised “cows” and “pigs,” but nobles ate “beef” and “pork.” Why do the animal and meat names differ?

Answer: The Norman Conquest of 1066 put French speakers in charge of England for centuries. English absorbed about 10,000 French words, especially for law, government, and fine living.

Question: In Chaucer’s time, “name” was said like “nah-muh” and “bite” like “beet.” Why does English spelling no longer match its sounds?

Answer: Between 1400 and 1700, the Great Vowel Shift changed how English vowels were pronounced. The printing press had already fixed many spellings, leaving words spelled for sounds no one says anymore.

Question: Words like “eyeball,” “bedroom,” and “swagger” first appear in writing in Shakespeare’s plays. How did he grow English?

Answer: Shakespeare is credited with the first recorded use of over 1,700 words, built by stretching, joining, and reinventing English. His work shows that English has always been flexible, letting speakers build new words from old parts.

Question: English began on one small island, yet today about 1.5 billion people speak it. What spread English around the world?

Answer: The British Empire carried English to every continent, and American influence in the 1900s kept it spreading. Today non-native speakers outnumber native speakers, so English truly belongs to the world.