英語史年表シリーズ.Mugglestone 編の英語史書 pp. 415--28 に,"A CHRONOLOGY OF ENGLISH" と題する詳細な年表が掲げられている.これまで本ブログで挙げてきた年表シリーズのなかでも最も長いものである.とりわけ近現代の外面史が詳しく,20世紀後半などはひたすら旧植民地の独立の時期だなとあらためて実感.
c1500 BC | First evidence for some languages of the Indo-European group. |
c1000-500 BC | Emergence of Proto-Germanic. |
c300--200 BC | Break-up of Proto-Germanic. |
c45--c410 | Britain becomes part of the Roman Empire, forming the Roman colony 'Britannia'. |
c410 | Collapse of Roman Empire; Romans leave Britain. |
449 | Traditional date for the invasion of Britain by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. |
597 | Arrival of Roman mission in England and introduction of Christianity. |
601 | Augustine becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury. |
664 | Synod of Whitby. |
670s | Presumed date of composition of Cædmon's Hymn. |
c700 | First surviving written evidence of Old English. |
c700--20 | Lindisfarne Gospels written (in Latin). |
731 | Bede completes his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (in Latin). |
735 | Death of Bede. |
757(--96) | Reign of Offa as King of Mercia. |
780s | Period of Scandinavian invasion begins. |
793 | Sacking of the monastery at Lindisfarne by Scandinavian invaders. |
849 | Alfred born in Wantage, Oxfordshire. |
870s | Scandinavian settlement in England. |
871(--99) | 1 Reign of Alfred as King of Wessex. |
2 Production of translations of, for example, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, Gregory's Pastoral Care. | |
878 | Battle of Edington, in which Alfred triumphs over Vikings and agrees on areas of Scandinavian settlement (later to be known as the 'Danelaw'). |
from c890 | Production of Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. |
899 | Death of Alfred. |
937 | Battle of Brunanburh. |
from c950 | Benedictine Reform. |
c950(--970) | Glosses to Lindisfarne Gospel added (in Old English) by Aldred, Provost of Chester-le-Street in Northumbria. |
c955 | Birth of Ælfric. |
c970s | Exeter Book and Vercelli Book copied. |
990s | Ælfric writes his Catholic Homilies. |
991 | Battle of Maldon. |
c1000 | Copying of Junius (or Cædmon) manuscript and Beowulf manuscript. |
1005 | Ælfric becomes Abbot of Eynsham in Oxfordshire. |
c1010 | Death of Ælfric. |
1016(--35) | Reign of the Danish king Cnut over England. |
1066 | Battle of Hastings; William I (the conqueror) reigns over England (until 1087). |
1086--7 | Compilation of the Domesday Book, the first survey of the nation's land resources. |
c1122 | The Peterborough Chronicle is copied, and the First Continuation begins. |
1154 | Peterborough Chronicle ends. |
c1170s | The Ormulum. |
1172 | Henry II becomes King of Ireland. |
1204 | Loss of Normandy; England becomes the sole remaining home of Norman English. |
1215 | Magna Carta. |
c1225 | Ancrene Wisse. |
1258 | Proclamation of Henry III: first Royal Proclamation issued in English since the Norman Conquest. |
1284 | Annexation of Wales. |
c1300 | Cursor Mundi. |
1330--80 | Evidence of East Midland influence on language of London; evidence of limited standardization in manuscripts written in London. |
1337(--1454) | Hundred Years' War with France. |
1340 | Dan Michel's Ayenbite of Inwyt completed. |
c1343 | Birth of Geoffrey Chaucer. |
1348 | First outbreak of the Black Death. |
1362 | Statute of Pleading; English becomes the official language of the law courts. |
1380s | Wycliffite Bible (first complete Bible in English). |
1381 | The Peasants' Revolt. |
1387 | John Trevisa completes English translation of Ranulph Higden's Polychronicon (1327). |
c1395 | Second version of the Wycliffite Bible in English. |
1400 | Death of Geoffrey Chaucer |
1417 | Signet Office begins issuing the king's letters in English. |
1422 | Brewers' Guild of London decides to switch to English as language of proceedings and accounts. |
1425 | First surviving Paston letter. |
1430 | Chancery adopts East Midland koiné as its written form. |
c1450 | Death of John Lydgate. |
c1470 | Death of Thomas Malory. |
1475 | Printing of The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye by William Caxton in Bruges---the first book to be printed in English. |
1476 | William Caxton sets up his printing press in Westminster and publishes the first printed books in English. |
1485 | Henry VII becomes the first Tudor King after Richard III is killed at the Battle of Bosworth. |
1489 | French no longer used as the language of Parliament. |
1490 | Caxton's Eneydos published (with prologue remarking on variability of English). |
1491 | Death of Caxton; succeeded by Wynkyn de Worde, who moves his printing press to Fleet Street. |
1492 | Christopher Columbus arrives in West Indies. |
1497 | John Cabot reaches Newfoundland, providing the first English contact with Canada. |
1525--6 | Publication of William Tyndale's New Testament in English. |
1534 | English Reformation (Henry VIII breaks with the Catholic Church). |
1535 | Publication of Miles Coverdale's Bible (the first complete Bible to be printed in English). |
1536 | First act of union between England and Wales. |
1542 | Andrew Boorde, Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge, illustrates regional dialects. |
1549 | Book of Common Prayer. |
1562 | John Hawkins starts British slave trade. |
1564 | Birth of Shakespeare. |
1565 | Lawrence Nowell, Vocabularium Saxiconum, first Old English glossary; included northern English words. |
1567 | Thomas Harman, A Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors, first glossary of the 'canting language' or dialect of the underworld. |
1577(--80) | Francis Drake circumnavigates the world. |
1585 | Thomas Herriot, a scientist, visits Roanoke in America to gather information on the flora, fauna, resources, people, and languages. |
1586 | Publication of William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar, the first grammar of English. |
1600 | Founding of the East India Company. |
1600(--) | English begins to be used in records of legal proceedings. |
1603 | Union of the Crowns; James VI of Scotland succeeds to the English throne, as James I, after death of Elizabeth I. |
1604 | Robert Cawdrey, A Table Alphabeticall, the first English-English dictionary, translates 'hard words' and inkhorn terms into 'common' English. |
1607 | Jamestown in Chesapeake Bay founded in North America---the first successful British colony. |
1611 | The Authorized Version of the English Bible (the 'King James' Bible), attempts to resolve questions about Englishing the Word of God. |
1616 | Death of Shakespeare. |
1619 | Alexander Gil, Logonomia Anglica, first vernacular grammar to treat English dialects systematically. |
1623 | Publication of the First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays. |
1653 | Publication of John Wallis's Grammatica linguae Anglicanae. |
1655 | Britain ousts the Spanish from Jamaica and extends its influence and language into the Caribbean and to West Africa. |
1660 | 1 Restoration of the monarchy. |
2 Royal Society of London founded, in part, as the first English language academy. | |
1670 | Hudson's Bay Company formed. |
1710 | Copyright Act. |
1711 | Publication of Greenwood's Essay towards a practical English Grammar. |
1712 | Publication (anonymously) of A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue; in a Letter by Jonathan Swift, which proposes the foundation of an Academy to regulate English usage. |
1713 | Having defeated the French, the British exile French-speakers from Atlantic Canada. A later attempt by France to maintain colonies in present-day Illinois failed, and their defeat at Battle of Quebec in 1759 ensures dominance by English speakers in the west. |
1714 | Death of Queen Anne: all chances of setting up an English Academy lost. |
1715 | Elisabeth Elstob published the first grammar of Old English. |
c1745 | Publication of Ann Fisher's New Grammar (Newcastle upon Tyne), the first grammar to be published by a woman. |
1747 | Samuel Johnson published the Plan for his Dictionary. |
1752 | Britain (and its colonies) move from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, losing 11 days between 2 and 14 September. |
1755 | Publication of Samuel Johnson's two-volume Dictionary of the English Language. |
1757 | In India, the British military victory at Plassy institutes English dominance in South Asia that will last until 1947. In the hands of expatriate and native soldiers and bureaucrats, English becomes the language of government. |
1762 | Publication of Robert Lowth's Short Introduction to English Grammar. |
1770 | Botany Bay, Australia, discovered by James Cook. |
1775 | War of American Independence begins. |
1776 | Declaration of American Independence. |
1780 | Publication of Thomas Sheridan's General Dictionary of the English Language. One main object of which, is, to establish a plain and permanent standard of pronunciation. |
1783 | US Declaration of Independence formally recognized by the British. |
1783 | Noah Webster's American Spelling Book (the 'Blue-backed Speller') published. |
1787 | Abolitionists in Britain establish Sierra Leone in West Africa and settle 2000 freed slaves there. They employ English in governing themselves and the indigenous peoples. |
1788 | Establishment of a penal colony near present-day Sydney begins to form the distinctive English of Australia. |
1789 | Publication of Noah Webster's Dissertations on the English Language, which advocated the institution of a national American standard of usage. |
1791 | Publication of John Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language. |
1793 | A delegation from Britain arrives in China to open trade relations. 'Pidgin English' begins to emerge as a trade language. |
1795 | Publication of Lindley Murray's English Grammar, adapted to the different classes of learners. Over 1.5 million copies would be sold by 1850. |
1800 | Act of Union with Ireland. |
1801 | Union with Ireland begins. |
1803 | Purchasing the huge central portion of what is now the USA, the US government ensured the extension of English throughout much of the American west. |
1806 | British establish control of South Africa (English becomes the official language in 1822). |
1810 | William Hazlitt publishes A New and Improved Grammar of the English Tongue. |
1821 | Liberia is supported by the USA as a place of re-settlement for freed slaves. All who arrive in Monrovia as part of this 'colonization' effort are English speakers. |
1825 | Opening of the Stockton to Darlington Railway. |
1828 | Publication of Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language. |
1830 | Opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. |
1832 | Passing of the First Reform Bill. |
1837 | Death of William IV; accession of Queen Victoria. |
1840 | 1 In England, introduction of the Penny Post on 10 January; by the end of the year 168 million letters have been posted (compared to 76 million in 1839) |
2 The Treaty of Waitangi was the foundation document in the establishment of exclusive British sovereignty in New Zealand. | |
1842 | Foundation of the London Philological Society. |
1844 | First telegraph line established between Baltimore and Washington. |
1845--48 | The annexation of Texas and the defeat of the Mexican army extends the USA westward to California. Vast numbers of migrants to the west, especially after the gold rush of 1848, overwhelm the institutions of Spanish culture. |
1850 | Public Libraries Act. |
1854--6 | Crimean War. |
1858 | Proposal for A New English Dictionary (later known as The Oxford English Dictionary) made by the London Philological Society. |
1866 | Atlantic Cable completed, linking Valencia, Ireland and Trinity Bay, Newfoundland by submarine cable. |
1867 | 1 Second Reform Bill (extending franchise to all those who could demonstrate ownership of property worth ?7). |
2 Canada given self-government. | |
1869 | Alexander Ellis publishes the first volume of his On Early English Pronunciation in which he defined 'received pronunciation' for the first time. |
1870 | In England and Wales, Elementary Education Act passed, providing compulsory elementary education for all children. |
1872 | Education in Scotland made compulsory until the age of 14. |
1873 | Founding of the English Dialect Society. |
1876 | Introduction of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. |
1877 | Invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison. |
1881 | Education in England and Wales becomes compulsory until the age of 19. |
1884 | First fascicle of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (later OED) published, covering the words A-Ant. |
1888 | The British East Africa Company is established to oversee the development of British interests in Kenya, Zanzibar, and Uganda. |
1889 | Publication of fifth volume of A. J. Ellis's On Early English Pronunciation: The Existing Phonology of English Dialects. |
1892 | Publication of Joseph Wright's Grammar of the Dialect of Windhill. |
1896 | The English Dialect Society disbanded. |
1897 | Founding of the first regional dialect organization, The Yorkshire Dialect Society. |
1898(--1905) | 1 The Spanish-American War extends US dominance from the continent of North America and into Puerto Rico and the Philippines. |
2 In England, publication of The English Dialect Dictionary and English Dialect Grammar, edited by Joseph Wright. | |
1899(--1902) | 1 The South African War (Boer War) concludes with the British in control of present-day South Africa. |
2 First magnetic sound recordings. | |
1901 | 1 Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signals, sent between Poldhu, Cornwall and Signal Hill in Newfoundland. |
2 Australia is transformed from a colony to a commonwealth. Among the first laws passed was the Immigration Restriction Act which required all prospective immigrants 'to write out at dictation and sign in the presence of the [custom's] officer a passage of fifty words in length in a European language directed by the officer.' This language incorporated the 'dictation test' used in Natal in 1897 to exclude most Indians from South Africa. | |
3 Death of Queen Victoria. | |
1906 | First public radio broadcast. |
1907 | New Zealand becomes a dominion of the British Empire. |
1910 | The Union of South Africa becomes a dominion of the British Empire. |
1914(--18) | The First World War (UK), World War I (US) |
1918 | The Englishman Sir Evelyn Wrench and the American Alexander Smith Cochran found the English-Speaking Union, to encourage partnership between the UK, its dominions, and the USA. [There is currently an English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth (HQ: London) and of the United States (HQ: New York).] |
1919 | The German colony of Tanganyika in East Africa is ceded to Britain, and Kamerun in West Central Africa is divided between France (Cameroun) and Britain (Cameroon). |
1920 | Kenya becomes a British colony. |
1921 | Ireland achieves Home Rule and is separated from Great Britain. Gaelic is made an 'official' language in addition to English. |
1922 | Foundation of British Broadcasting Company (BBC). |
1925 | The Afrikaans language gains official status alongside English in South Africa. |
1928 | Completion of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. |
1931 | The British Commonwealth is formed, and South Africa becomes a dominion of the British Empire. |
1934 | The British Council is founded, with its headquarters in London, as a vehicle for British cultural diplomacy and teaching English as a foreign or second language. |
1935 | The Philippines becomes a self-governing Commonwealth in association with the USA. |
1936 | The Republic of Ireland severs all constitutional links with Great Britain. |
1937 | In Wales, a new constitution for the festival the national Eisteddfod makes Welsh its official language. |
1939--45 | The Second World War (UK), World War II (US). |
1945 | Signing of the United Nations Charter and the decision to make the headquarters of the UN in the USA gives English an unprecedented importance as a language of diplomacy. |
1946 | 1 The Philippines gains its independence from the USA. |
2 Transjordan gains its independence from the UK as Jordan. | |
1947 | 1 India is partitioned into Pakistan and India and is freed from British control. The constitution provides that English remain the language of national government for only fifteen years. The approach of that date results in riots led by those fearing the dominance of Hindi and the loss of power for their own language communities. English remains as the most important of India's 'national languages' even though few learn it as a mother tongue. |
2 New Zealand gains its independence from the UK, and joins the Commonwealth. | |
1948 | 1 In England, the Survey of English Dialects is founded. |
2 Burma gains its independence from the UK, and declines membership of the Commonwealth. | |
3 Ceylon gains its independence from the UK as Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth. | |
1949 | 1 The Linguistic Survey of Scotland founded. |
2 Newfoundland becomes a province of Canada. | |
3 Two new Guinea territories are combined by the United Nations as an Australian mandate, the UN Trust Territory of Papua and New Guinea. | |
1952 | Puerto Rico (see 1898) becomes a Commonwealth in association with the US, with Spanish as its first and English its second language. |
1953 | The creation of the United States Information Agency (USIA) and its overseas arm, the United States Information Service (USIS). |
1955 | About this time, the number of speakers using English as an additional language surpassed the number who had learned it as a first language. |
1957 | 1 The New Zealand-born lexicographer Robert W. Burchfield becomes the editor of a Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (eventually published in four volumes 1972--86). |
2 The Gold Coast (as Ghana) and Malaya gain their independence from the UK. | |
1960 | Nigeria becomes independent from the British and Somalia from the British and Italians. |
1961 | 1 South Africa becomes a republic, leaves the Commonwealth, and adopts Afrikaans and English as its official languages. |
2 The British colony of Cameroon divides, part joining Nigeria, part joining the ex-French colony of Cameroun, to become the Republic of Cameroon, with French and English as its official languages. | |
3 Sierra Leone, Kuwait, and Cyprus gain their independence from the UK | |
4 In England, 1961--72, publication of the Basic Material of the Survey of English Dialects. | |
1962 | 1 Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda gain their independence from the UK. |
2 Caribbean English becomes the vehicle for popular culture, especially calypso, Rastafarianism, and raggae. | |
1963 | 1 Nigeria becomes independent as part of the wave of 'decolonizing' that took place throughout the former British colonies. West African Pidgin English emerges as a major and widely spoken regional language. |
2 Kenya gains its independence from the UK. | |
3 Malaya unites with the newly independent colony of Borneo to become Malaysia. | |
4 In Wales, the first public protests by the Cyndeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) take place, seeking a fuller use of Welsh in the Principality. | |
1964 | 1 Malta gains its independence from the UK. |
2 Tanganyika and Zanzibar (as Tanzania), Nyasaland (as Malawi), and Northern Rhodesia (as Zambia) gain their independence from the UK. | |
1965 | Gambia, the Maldives, and Singapore gain their independence from the UK. |
1966 | Barbados, Basutoland (as Lesotho), Bechuanaland (as Botswana), and British Guiana (as Guyana) gain their independence from the UK. |
1967 | 1 In the UK, the Welsh language Act gives the Welsh language equal validity with English in Wales, and the Principality is no longer deemed to be part of England. |
2 Aden gains its independence from the UK as South Yemen. | |
1968 | 1 The Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects is founded. |
2 Swaziland, Mauritius, and Nauru gain their independence from the UK. | |
1969 | English and French become the official languages of Canada. |
1970 | Fiji and Tonga gain their independence from the UK. |
1971 | Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial States (as the United Arab Emirates) gain their independence from the UK. |
1972 | 1 Martin Cooper makes the first public call on a personal, portable cell phone. |
2 East Pakistan secedes and becomes Bangladesh. | |
1973 | The Bahamas gain their independence from the UK. |
1974 | 1 The Cyngor Yr Iaith Gymraeg/Council for the Welsh Language is set up to advise the Secretary of State for Wales on matters concerning the Welsh language. |
2 Grenada gains its independence from the UK. | |
1975 | Papua New Guinea gains its independence from Australia. |
1976 | The Seychelles gains its independence from the UK. |
1977 | In Quebec, Loi/Bill 101 is passed, making French the sole official language of the province and banning public signs in other languages. |
1978 | 1 In England, Publication of The Linguistic Atlas of England. |
2 Dominica, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu gain their independence from the UK. | |
1979 | St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (as Kiribati) gain their independence from the UK. |
1980 | The UK government averts a fast to the death by Gwynfor Evans, leader of Plaid Cymru (the Welsh National Party), by honouring election pledges to provide a fourth television channel broadcasting in both Welsh and English. |
1981 | Antigua (as Antigua and Barbuda) and British Honduras (as Belize) gain their independence from the UK. |
1982 | Canada's constitution, until then kept in London, is 'patriated' to Ottawa. |
1983 | St Kitts and Nevis gains its independence from the UK. |
1984 | 1 Brunei gains its independence from the UK. |
2 David Rosewarne identifies 'Estuary English'. | |
1990 | South West Africa gains its independence from South Africa as Namibia. |
1991 | 1 Tim Berners-Lee launches the World Wide Web. |
2 The Marshall Islands and Micronesia gain their independence from the USA. | |
1994 | Text messaging introduced. |
1996 | South Africa ratifies a constitution in which English becomes one of the eleven 'official' languages. |
1997 | Hong Kong is returned to China and becomes the last of the colonies in Asia to be freed from British sovereignty. |
1999 | A Survey of Regional English proposed. |
2000 | The European Union fosters bilingualism as a goal. In 2000, the largest of the then fifteen member states were estimated to have the following mother tongues: German (24%), French (16%), English (16%), Italian (16%), Spanish (11%). Once the population speaking these languages in addition to the mother tongue were added in, the figures show: English (47%), German (32%), French (28%), Italian (18%), and Spanish (15%). |
2003 | Text messages sent in the UK pass 20 billion. |
2004 | The British Library 'Collect Britain: English Accents and Dialects' website launched. |
2005 | The British Broadcasting Corporation 'Voices' project launched on 17 January. |
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