who created the english language?

Answer 1

English is a rich language drawn from many sources. Its basic root is Germanic as the Angles (from which England and English as words come) and Saxons came from Germany and invaded what was a Celtic country.

We have elements of French as a result of the Norman Conquest, Scandinavian because of the Viking settlements, Latin from Romans...

Add to this the roving nature of the British (because not just English people were involved in building the Empire) and words enter English from all over the world.
Bungalow and pyjamas have Indian roots

It's fascinating to start to investigate the origins of the language. A good place to start for research is
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/

Even within England, there are many different forms or dialects; try comparing Geordie (from North East) with Scouse (Liverpool). The most widely understood version is Received Pronunciation or "BBC English", mainly beacuase it was the form used in broadcasting for many years.

If you search the Routes of English website, you can find out how American and Australian English have evolved and differ from "The Queen's English." You will also see how close is modern English to the forms used in Tudor times, because that is shortly after Caxton brought the printing press to England and spelling and the written form became codified and a common form used.

Another important factor was the spread of the Church of England during colonisation. The forms and cadences of the Authorised Version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer helped to shape the use and understanding of English.

Hope this is useful, am a specialist English teacher, so hope have stayed relevant. Have fun searching that bbc site!

Answer 2

Old English, Middle English and Modern English are terms used by modern scholars to segment a continuum of language change which begins sometime after the 5th-century Germanic settlements in Britain. 'Old English' (or 'Anglo-Saxon', as it is sometimes called) is generally taken to cover the period c600-1100 AD. The Old English language or Anglo Saxon, is believed to have originated in the period between 600 - 1100 AD by the Germanic Settlers who went to Britain from Europe. They are from what is called the Low German languages which includes:
Afrikaans, Dutch, English, and Flemish. The Low German Language in turn came from West Germanic Language, a branch from the Indo European Language.
English is relatively new, in comparison to the Chinese Language which have been in used for 4000 years, making it 2500 years older. There was already a kingdom in China in the 21st Century, with its first dynasty called The Xia Dynasty. Some Chinese Dictionaries even put it as early as 2205 BC.

Answer 3

The language is created by everyone who uses it. Languages evolve over time; just see how fast the dictionary is growing!
You are creating the English of tomorrow just by asking that question.

Answer 4

English did not evolve out of Latin, French, Greek, Italian or any other extant or documented European language.

English evolved out of the ancestor of the Low German languages (Frisian, English, Dutch, Niederdeutsch). It is purely a Germanic language in its grammar and core vocabulary. It acquired a certain amount of vocabulary from Norman French and Scandinavian.

EDIT: Prof. Lee (below) is incorrect about Chinese versus English. Just as Modern English has evolved from older forms, Modern Chinese (Mandarin) also evolved from older forms. Modern Mandarin is actually about the same age as Modern English. The language he is talking about 2500 years ago is Old Chinese, which is NOT Mandarin, but the ancestor language of the dozen or so Modern Chinese languages. Old Chinese is about the same age as Proto-Germanic, so the modern Chinese languages are about as diverse as the modern Germanic languages.

Answer 5

No one really created English, that's why it's a natural language. It just kind of coalesced over the centuries.

Answer 6

Various other languages.............

As time progressed there were invasions of England etc (by the Normans & Saxons and so on.....)..... people brought over different languages, then someone else invaded so another language came over - but some people kept bits of the first one and it just kinda merged n mingled.

More specifically......... Old English came about from the Anglo-Saxons - then that obviously developed and was slightly adapted.

It's roots are mainly from Latin, Celtic, German and a bit of French.

Answer 7

It evolved from Latin, Greek, Italian, and a sprinkling of others things. As did we. That's why people who think they're English, and speak an English language, are actually an amalgam of many different cultures and societies (DNA examination can prove that), and for some reason, such an idea really bothers members of the BNP etc., who think its ever so important that we isolate ourselves and pretend we don't all come from many different places throughout ancient history.

Answer 8

Probably the English

Answer 9

The British people are Anglo-Saxons, that is of German descent and the English language is therefore an Anglo-Saxon language (a language with German roots).

Answer 10

The English language evolved from German and is still evolving not to everyones liking however.