English Language Change from 1066 AD to 1500 AD

English Language Change from 1066 AD to 1500 AD

1. Changes to words and sentences

   • Normans abandoned Old Norse (Viking) for French
   • Norse influence caused grammatical change
     • Inflections (endings) to word roots
   • Pronounciation changes
     • Inflections sometimes dropped
       • Some words sounded like other words
         • Rigid sentence structure implemented to combat this
           • Subject + Verb + Object

2. Norman French influence

   • Influenced language in royal court, church, law and education
   • Words borrowed from French
   • Words for meat introduced instead of animal name
     • Pork (porc)
     • Beef (boeuf)
     • Mutton (mouton)
   • Words respelt using French conventions
     • îs > ice
     • cwçn > queen
   • Influence waned by 14th century

3. Language and contexts

   • Anglo-Norman was spoken language of court, administration and culture
   • Latin was written language of church and official records
     • Domesday book used Latin to emphasise legal authority
   • Peasantry and lower classes spoke Old English
     • Considered by Normans as lower class language
     • 95% of population

4. New words

   • 10,000 words moved from Norman into English
     • 75% are still in use today
   • Abstract nouns introduced
     • Ending in:
       • -age
       • -ance/ence
       • -ant/ent
       • -ity
       • -tion
     • Starting in
       • con-
       • pre-
       • ex-
       • trans-
       • de-
   • Tradesmen
     • Humble trades kept anglo-saxon names
       • Baker
       • Miller
       • Shoemaker
     • Skilled trades adopted French names
       • Mason
       • Painter
       • Tailor
       • Merchant
   • Synonyms
     • Infant/child
     • Battle/fight
     • Labour/work
     • Desire/wish
     • Conceal/hide
     • Aid/help
     • Odour/smell
   • French and Old English combined
     • French 'gentle' + Germanic 'man' > gentleman
   • Examples
     • Crown and Authority
       • Prince
       • Count
       • Duke
       • Some Anglo-saxon words remained
         • King
         • Queen
         • Earl
         • Lady
     • Government and administration
       • City
       • Government
       • Parliament
     • Court and law
       • Jury
       • Accuse
     • War and combat
     • Authority and Control
       • Serf
       • Obedience
     • Fashion and high living
       • Mansion