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Since languages are always changing, it is difficult to pinpoint when a particular form of language developed. It also depends on whether you are referring to Modern English, Middle English, or Old English. So here are the basics for all three stages:

English developed from the languages of Germanic tribes around the 4th century AD. It was really a collection of dialects at this point, and the tribes brought these dialects to the British Isles in 449 AD. These people took a handful of words from the Celts who were already living there. Many of the most common words used today were used in this time, and the dialects are collectively referred to as Old English.

Vikings invaded and English took on a few Norse words, and some of the grammar changed (many inflections for cases were dropped). Possibly the most influential change happened with the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. French-speaking invaders made their way to Great Britain and became the nobility. Enormous amounts of French vocabulary was added to the English language. This stage was Middle English.

Modern English formed during the Renaissance, around the mid-16th century.

Examples from each stage of English are Beowulf for Old English, Canterbury Tales by Chaucer for Middle English, and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare for Modern English. Most English speakers cannot simply pick up a copy of Beowulf and understand it easily, although they might be able to understand several particular words. The Canterbury Tales might be a bit easier, but still difficult to discern at times. Romeo and Juliet is relatively understandable for the average English speaker.

So the answer could range from about 1600 years for very old, though hardly recognizable forms of English to about 500 years for something closer to the form of English we use today.

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11y ago
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1w ago

Modern English as we know it today has been spoken for around 500 years, originating from Middle English which formed around the 12th century. However, Old English dates back to the 5th century with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons to England.

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