The Legacy of Origin and Development of English Language

Abstract

The English language functions as a lingua-franca in the world facilitating communication among different nations. The purpose of this review paper is to ascertain the origin of English language and how it developed all over the world by a majority of nations. The study is based on the review of literature available on the history of the language. From the literature it was found that English language originated in Britain in the 5 th century when the Germanic tribe named Angels who invaded from ‘Englaland’ using a language called ‘Englisc’ from which the words ‘England’ and ‘English’ derived. Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Late Modern English were the periods that gave rise to the development of English language. English was a flexible language to adapt many of the vocabulary of other languages and the British Colonization was a major reason for the spread of the language across the world. However, the evolution of English language is so complex that the primitive English language that existed is almost non-existent today