What is English?
History of the English Language
A short history of the origins and development of English
The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded
Britain
during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is
Denmark
and northern
Germany
. At that time the inhabitants of
Britain
spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by th ...