The document provides a brief history of the English language from its origins with the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons in the 5th century AD to its current status. It discusses how Old English evolved and was influenced by French and other languages. The grammar, tenses, punctuation and ongoing growth of vocabulary in English are also summarized. Key events like the Norman conquest in 1066 and the standardization of spelling in the 16th century that shaped the modern English language are highlighted.

1. A Brief History of the English Language
It is not an easy task to count the number of people who use English on an everyday basis. While
English is a very widespread language, very few people actually know about its history.
The English language was born during the 5th
century AD when the Angles, Jutes and Saxons
arrived in Britain from Germany. The Angles spoke a language called, "Englisc" which later
became, “English”. In fact, the French word used for the English language, “Anglais,” is derived
from this word. These new-comers not only occupied this territory but also kicked out native
Celtic speaking people into Scotland and Ireland. These Germanic tribes spoke very similar
languages and they soon became combined into something now called Old English, which was in
use from roughly 450-1100 AD. Old English was very different from modern English that is used
now. Still, much of today’s language originates from Old English.
The next major time period in the history of the English language was from 1100 to 1500 AD.
When William entered Britain in 1066, he mixed English and French. Elite classes started
speaking French whereas lower classes selected Old English as their language of choice. English
once again became the dominant language in Britain around 1400 AD but until that time, most
people spoke a mixture of English and French.
From 1500 to 1800 AD, English transformed into the language we know today. The spelling of
words was standardized and many books were published during this time. In 1604 when the first
English dictionary was published, it gave a standard of spelling for Modern English.
We are currently in the Era of Late Modern English wherein words are shortened and added to
English dictionaries. Different types of words spoken throughout our daily routine have been
officially recognized and the vocabulary of English has increased continuously.
What other languages make up the English language?
The English language was born during the time of the Anglo-Saxons. After the Romans
withdrew from Britain, the British managed to shift towards western parts of England. When the
Anglo-Saxons captured the eastern parts of England during 4th
century, they also proceeded
west. They spoke the old form of what we now call ‘English’.
Many different languages have been combined to influence and even make up English. The basic
Anglo-Saxon language was composed of dialects from western Germany. The German-Saxons
and the Jutes from northern Denmark added aspects from their languages to form “Old English’.
When the Northmen came to Britain in the 800’s, the language they spoke was similar to that of
Anglo-Saxon but was different for two reasons. One reason was because Old Norse words were

2. included in English, some of them very basic. Secondly, the complicated conjugations and
declensions were rejected. William arrived in England in 1066. He was a follower of Northmen
but he added French to English. In fact, he cast English aside and introduced French as the
language of Britain. The natives did not agree with him and they continued to converse in
English. But for a short time, the English language transformed into a mixture of old English
and French.
After that, English suffered a great deal and many aspects from other languages were added to it.
Present-day English is a mixture of Latin, Greek and some American Indian languages, as well
as Australian Aborigine languages and some languages from Africa & India. On the other hand,
the process of creating new words and using old words for new purposes is now in fashion.
The grammatical structure of the language (grammar, tense, punctuation, conditionals,
vocabulary, etc.):
English grammar is actually the method of arranging words in English while speaking or
writing. Grammatical variations exist in English due to regional and societal factors. Some of the
agents diverge from standard grammatical structure but not necessarily in all cases. Although big
variations exist between grammar in British, American and Australian English, the basic
structure remains the same throughout.
Tenses are the building blocks on which English grammar is built. Proper tenses of verbs are
required based on whether the speaker is referring to the past, present or future.
Present Tense:
The present tense is divided into four forms that include the present indefinite, present
continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous. When we write about a person going
to the market in the present indefinite tense, we write, “He goes to the market”. When the same
event is described while the action is being carried out, it can be said, “He is going to the
market”. In the present perfect, we would write “He has gone to the market” and in the perfect
continuous, the same action would be written as, “He has been going to the market since
February”.
Past Tense:

3. The past tense also has four parts with the same names, just with past replacing present. If the
same actions occurred in the past, they would be written as, “He went to the market”, “He was
going to the market”, “He had gone to the market” and “He had been going to the market for last
five weeks”.
Future Tense:
Something expected to happen in future can be written as, “He will go to the market”, “He will
be going to the market”, “He will have gone to the market” and “He will have been going to the
market for two days”.
Conditional Tenses:
The status of the conditional mood in English is similar to that of the future tense. Conditionals
are based on specific situations or circumstances. Conditionals are written so that if a condition
is true, then the expected result will occur. Examples of the four main conditionals are, “If he
goes to the market, he buys bread,” “If he needs more bread, he will go to the market,” “If he
needed bread, he would go to the market,” and, “If he had gone to the market earlier, he wouldn’t
have needed to get bread now.”
Punctuation:
Different types of punctuation are used to write English properly.
The following are some examples:
The Apostrophe is used where and object is owned or possessed by someone, i.e. David’s Pen.
Brackets like ([ ], ( ), { }, ) are used for explaining and commenting on things like:⟨ ⟩ Alexander
(the younger)..." Colon and semi-colon are written where an enumeration is initiated. The semi-
colon ( ; ) is often used to break up listings with commas: "We saw a group of people: Mark, who
was leading them and Nelson, the carpenter was also with them; all the others were unknown to
us."
Commas are applied to separate sentences for the purpose of explanation; i.e. He, despite
wearing a coat, was still very cold. Other important punctuations are a period (.) used at the end
of sentence, a question mark (?) used at the end of a question, and a slash (/) used to show that
the words written on either side of it can be used.
Vocabulary
It is not easy to estimate the amount of words in the English language. This is an issue of
definition rather than accounting. One reason this is so difficult is because the English language

4. is always adding new words. Archaic, dialectal, and regional types of words cannot be added as
English but these can still be used in conversation.
How can proficiency be achieved through realizing your weaknesses and working to
improve those areas under the supervision of a competent teacher?
English is undoubtedly a universal language. Language is used in industry, offices, travel, and
wherever educated people live. It is a major source of communication; therefore, the ability to
speak English is very important. Unfortunately, many people lack this proficiency and are
required to take guidelines from an English Teacher. How will he or she tell us what our
weaknesses are in English? The next few lines will describe this.
A good teacher will guide you in following ways:
Reading English:
No matter what your field is, you should spend time reading English literature. Reading in
English will increase your vocabulary and help fix some common mistakes. If you have
problems with grammar, you can be aided by a proficient teacher and also through reading books
specifically dealing with grammar.
Listening to English:
Your teacher will recommend that you watch English programs as they can help improve your
English language proficiency. News programs like BBC or CNN can be a good source of
listening. English Movies with subtitles are also helpful if you do not know how the spoken
words are spelled. Furthermore, listening to English songs is not only fun but will also help to
expand your vocabulary.
Get used to writing:
Your teacher will also aide you in improving your writing skills. Time spent writing in English
will help you get rid of some weaknesses.
English Conversation:
Whenever you speak in English, your confidence will be boosted. In this way you can become
more aware of your own weaknesses, which can then be discussed with your teacher. Remember

5. even proficient English speakers struggled with the language at the initial stages. So don’t lose
hope!
Shawn S. Haider is an English Teacher and English proficiency test expert. He prepares students for
TOEFL, IELTS, YDS, and general English for all levels. You can contact him at info@improveeng.com
or visit www.improveeng.com