英语是一种使用很广泛的语言，英语的历史真正起源于公元5世纪其他民族到达英国。
The history of the English language really started when other peoples arrived in England during the 5th century.
Old English
The invading Germans spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English.Old English didn't sound or look like English today.Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English.However，about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots.
Middle English
In 1066, the Norman invaded and conquered England.They also brought with them a kind of French，which became the language of the ruling and business classes.For a period, the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French.In the 14th century, English became dominant(占优势的) in Britain again, with many French words added.This language is called Middle English.
Late Modern English
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary.Late Modern English has many more words, resulting from two main factors：firstly, technology development created a need for new words；secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language used foreign words from many countries.
Now there are many other varieties of English in the world, such as Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.
