ORIGINS OF ENGLISH Earliest form of English is

ORIGINS OF ENGLISH

Earliest form of English is Old English (OE). � Derived from the Germanic language of Anglo-Saxon. � Emerged in the 5 th century, around 449 AD. � Used for over 600 years but constantly changing. � By 1100, it looked and sounded very different. �

The Romans in Britain The Romans arrived in Britain in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. � The native of Britain that time were the Britons (Celts). � The Romans brought with them Latin. � The influence of the Romans was considerable – major roads were built, theatres and place of worship. � Britain was beginning to look like the Roman Empire. �

The Latin was established as the language of officialdom. � It was also spoken by the upper – class native inhabitants of cities and towns. � The Latin began to decline in use with the arrival of the Anglo – Saxons. �

The Arrival of the Anglo – Saxons. th At the beginning of the 5 century the Romans withdrawn to Rome. � By 410 AD, the last Roman legion left. � In 449 AD, the Saxons came to Britain along with 2 other groups, the Angles and the Jutes. � The Saxons came from north-west Germany, the Angles from the Danish mainland island the Jutes from northern Denmark. � Collectively, these groups are known as �

� They came relatively in small group and continued to arrive throughout the 6 th century and decided to stay in Britain.