2. Vocabulary of Middle English Period.

Because of the fact that ruling class of Middle English Period were the Normans, the Northern dialect of French ( later it was called Anglo-Norman dialect) influenced English vocabulary very much, but not English grammar. That’s why there were a lot of French borrowings in M.E. Period. These borrowings were connected with queen or king surrounding (“guard”, “prince”, “servant”, “court”). Other French borrowings were connected with religious life (confess, player, chapel, religion) and military life (victory, banner, soldier). The names of animals were English, but the meat of home animals was French (ox, cow- beef; sheep-mutton; pig-pork)

3. Rising of London dialect.

At the beginning of the Middle English period there were 3 languages:

English, (Anglo-Saxon), French (or Anglo-Norman), Latin in 11-15 centuries.

The aborigines spoke different English dialects but none of English dialects was used as a state language. The state language was Anglo-Norman because it was language of nobility, parliament, king’s surroundings and so on. Latin was the language of church and science. From the middle of the 13-d cent. English widened the fields of its application. The first state document, written in English, was “Leaflet” by Henry III (1258). It was written in London dialect that was closer to the South-Western dialect, but had some elements from of East Midland dialect. Later (in 1362) London merchants petitioned to conduct legal proceeding in English. The Parliament adopted the petition. During that period, they began to use English at schools, very seldom it was used during Parliament’s debates. In the 14th century there still were three main groups of dialects in Eng­lish: Northern, Midland and Southern. A special position among the dialects belonged to the dialect of London, which after the Norman Conquest became the capital of England. London is situated on the Thames thus it lies on the boundary line between the Midland and the Southern dialects. In the 13th century London dialect was a mixture of Midland and Southern elements; with the latter prevailing. As time passed, Midland elements grew at the expense of Southern ones.

Towards the end of the 14th century London dialect became influential in other parts of the country. This was due to the growth of the importance of London as an economic and political centre.

London's geographical position was extremely favorable for a quick growth of its political importance and its role as the birthplace of a national language. Many roads along which England's internal trader was conducted crossed in London. Owing to the great depth of the Thames, sea ships could easily reach London and it became a centre of the country's trade with the Europian continent. London's role as a trade centre at­tracted many people from different parts of the country and paved the way for elements of other dialects to penetrate into London English. Thus, London dialect, which became the base for the national English language, was a complex formation, reflecting various influences connected with social and political life of the period. It contained, alongside East Midland, also South-Eastern (Kentish) and partly South-Western elements. Towards the end of the 14th century London dialect became the base for the national language. By the later half of the 15th century London dialect had been already used in writing throughout the country except in the extreme north. The introduction of printing in 1476, with London as the publishing centre, greatly strengthened the influence of London dialect. Strong local differences in spoken English remain to this day, especially among less educated classes. But throughout the Modern period written English has been surprisingly uniform.

But by the end of the 15-th сentury London dialect occupied the leading position, because it was the dialect of administrative and governmental centre.

The London dialect of the 15 с. involved the features of different dialects. But the base for London dialect was East-Midland dialect. There was no such linguistic conception as language (norm) standard at that period. That’s why there were a lot of variants used in the language.

In the 15 c., after the War between Red and White Roses, when absolute monarchy was established the dynasty of Tudors was established too. The absolute monarchy made state institutions more centralized. This fact enabled to separate state language from dialects. The dialects became as oral dialects.