Dexa/Everything Everywhere Daily

Language of the Normans

The Normans, who spoke a version of French, significantly influenced the English language after their conquest of England. For about 300 years, the ruling elite communicated in Norman French, while the common folk continued with Old English. This led to a merging of languages, with many French terms related to law, government, and culture becoming integral to English vocabulary.

In this clip
From this podcast
Everything Everywhere Daily
The French Origins of English
Related Questions
- Which statement accurately describes the relationship between Old English and Modern English? 1. Old English and Modern English sound exactly the same. 2. Old English and Modern English use all of the same letters of the alphabet. 3. Beowulf was originally written in Modern English and translated into Old English. 4. Modern English was heavily influenced by the French language, and Old English is a Germanic language.