The earliest form of English is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon (AD 550- 1066).
2. Old English developed from a group of Germanic dialects in Beihai, which were originally used by Germanic tribes in frys, Lower Saxony, Jutland and the southern coastal areas of Sweden.
3. From the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons settled in England, and the Roman economy collapsed. In the 7th century, the Germanic language of Anglo-Saxons ruled Britain, replacing the language of Roman Britain: ancient Brittany, a Celtic language and Latin, was brought to England and occupied by the Romans.
4. Old English is divided into four dialects: Anglo dialect and Saxon dialect, Contos dialect and West Saxon dialect. After the educational reform of King Alfred in the 9th century and the influence of Wessex Kingdom, West Saxon dialect became the standard written language.
5. The epic Beowulf was written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem Song of Cadmond was written in Northumberland. Modern English mainly comes from Mercia, but Scottish comes from northumberland. Some short inscriptions in the early days of Old English were written in runes.
6. In the 6th century, Latin letters were adopted and written in the form of semi-informal letters. Including the rune letters Wynn and thorn, and the modified Latin letter ETH? d？ , and ash.
Extended data:
The spread of modern English
1. By the end of18th century, Britain spread English through its colonial and geopolitical advantages.
Business, science and technology, diplomacy, art and formal education all make English the first truly global language.
English has also promoted international communication all over the world. England continued to form new colonies, and later these colonies developed their own language and writing norms.
English is used in parts of North America, parts of Africa, Oceania and many other areas. After gaining political independence, some newly independent countries with many indigenous languages choose to continue to use English as the official language to avoid the political and other difficulties inherent in treating any indigenous language as another language.
In the 20th century, the growing economic and cultural influence of the United States and its superpower status after the Second World War, as well as English broadcasting companies such as the BBC, led to the faster spread of the language on the earth. In the 2nd/kloc-0th century, English was more widely used and written than any other language.
Baidu Encyclopedia-English