English Origins

English began in England, right? Wrong. Actually, the English language had its name long before the country.

English was first brought to what is now known as England in the fourth century AD, when the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes arrived from Denmark and Germany. Several centuries later, England became known by its current name, which means " land of the English ".

Since then, the English language has flourished. Now the internationally accepted language of business, English is becoming more important as world trade increases. The links below lead to information about the origins of the English language, as well as more recent developments.

Old English Period

• Dictionary of Old English / Old English Corpus.
• Online Old English.

Middle English Period

• Online Medieval and Classical English Library.

Early Modern English

• King James English Bible.
• The Plan of an English Dictionary.
• The Preface to The Dictionary of the English Language.

Present-Day English

• American English Dialect Society Web Page.
• English Phonological Atlas of North America.
• Iowa Passes "English Only" Measure .
• U.S. English.