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who invented English?

was there a group of people that created the language or was it something that happened over time with no specific group of people? meaning the people that added to the language are did not exist at the same time.
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KiwiBird · 36-40, F
AI ChatGPT...Who Invented English?

No single person invented English — it evolved over thousands of years from several earlier languages.

Here’s the simple version:

1. Started with the Anglo-Saxons (5th–7th century)

English began when three Germanic tribes invaded Britain:

Angles

Saxons

Jutes


They brought their languages, which blended into Old English.

2. Shaped by Vikings (8th–11th century)

Norse-speaking Vikings settled in Britain and mixed their language with Old English.
This added words like sky, knife, egg, window.

3. Transformed by the Normans (from 1066)

The Normans spoke a type of French.
After they conquered England, French heavily influenced English — especially words about law, government, and culture.

4. Evolved into Middle → Modern English

Over time, the language kept changing naturally.
Writers like Chaucer and later Shakespeare used forms of English that eventually became what we recognise today.


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So who “invented” English?

No one.
It’s the result of:

Germanic tribes

Norse influence

Norman French

Centuries of gradual evolution


Think of English as a big soup made from many languages over 1,600+ years.