Leicester (birthplace of the English language)
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the East Midlands, you could almost call this ‘the county of firsts’. It’s the birthplace of the English language, the birthplace of Sir David Attenborough, the birthplace of the vegan movement, and even the birthplace of the motor car.
Although today Leicester city residents often have roots outside England, 2000 years ago this was the beginning of the English language (the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouche may sound French, but it’s Saxon English).
Scholars say the name is kind of half Old English and old Viking (due to Danish settlers) for ‘ash tree settlement’.
Fun Facts About the English Language
English has one of the largest vocabularies of any language (the letter ‘e’ makes up 11% of all words). You likely know the phrase ‘the quick brown jumps over the lazy dog’ is a pangram (uses every letter of the alphabet – often used for typing students, back in the day!)
The longest English word at present is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters). This means ‘a lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine silica dust, usually found in volcanos’.
Just like French and Italian, English used to use grammatical gender (so different words whether you were referring to a male or female) but that was later dropped. English is the official language for international air travel, which is why all pilots have to know the language before qualifying.
There used to be 27 letters in the alphabet. The one that was dropped was the ampersand (& sign).
English grew from a mix of Germanic dialects brought to Britain after the Romans, then changed through contact with other languages. Towns like Leicester mattered because they sat on routes where people met and speech shifted.
Leicester’s long timeline helps explain the claim. Under Rome, the settlement was known as Ratae (often given as Ratae Corieltauvorum). Latin influenced local life, even after Roman rule ended. Later, Anglo-Saxon settlement brought Old English to the Midlands, including the Mercian variety. After that came Viking activity and settlement in large parts of eastern and northern England, then the Norman Conquest in 1066, which added Norman French to the mix.
So why does Leicester get singled out? Because the East Midlands shows a strong blend: Mercian Old English foundations, plenty of Norse influence in the wider region, and later Middle English forms that travelled well. Leicester didn’t create English on its own, but it sat close to borders, markets, and travel corridors where change happened quickly.
Place names around Leicester give clues
Place names are like fossils. They don’t tell the whole story, but they can show which languages shaped a region over time.
Across the East Midlands, you often see Norse-linked endings such as -by and -thorpe. In Leicestershire, examples include Asfordby, Quenby, and Frisby-on-the-Wreake. Names like these connect to Scandinavian settlement patterns in parts of the Danelaw.
Old English elements also appear widely, including endings such as -ton, -ham, and -ley (meaning things like farm, homestead, or clearing, depending on the element). Even Leicester’s own name carries traces of earlier layers, including a link to Roman forts and towns through -cester (from Latin castra).
The Lost Words is a beautifully illustrated guide for children by a writer and artist, dedicating to preserving words that are being lost in modern dictionaries, replaced by words of slang or referring to computers.
To ensure words like ‘dandelion’ and ‘otter’ always remain. And children learn that blackberries are fruits, not phones!
Showaddywaddy: The Rock n Roll Band from Leicester!
70s group Showaddywaddy are from the very un rock-n-roll city of Leicester! Unusually, this band had ‘two of everything’ – singers, bassists, drummers and guitarists). First finding fame on the TV show New Faces, they were know for their hits including ‘You Got What It Takes’.
They still perform at clubs around England (under a mostly different line-up, as Dave Bartram left the band after 38 years). Though they likely don’t dance as fast! He remains the band manager.
Recently, Romeo Challenger (the Antiguan drummer you may remember would sing ‘Come on little darling, take my hand’ from his drumkit in the hit song Under the Moon of Love, recently donated money to a Salvation Army shop, after it found and returned stolen merchandise from the band.
He said later the shop staff’s honesty meant that ‘it was only right for us to give the proceeds back’. The charity shop owner thanked him for using the find, to help local homeless people.
Another Famous Singer from Leicestershire
Engelbert Humperdinck was also from these parts. His exotic looks may suggest Indian heritage, but his name was made up, created by his manager to make him sound more exotic. His real name is Arnold!
