The Influence Of The Modern English Language

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The Modern English language has a rich history, it develops and changes like many other world languages. The English language has mainly been influenced by Latin, Germanic and French over a period of two thousand years. The English Lexicon includes words from over 120 countries, however Latin, Germanic and Latin account approximately less than 30% each. The English language is second to none in the variety and amount of lexical words. The most penetrating influence on English in history is French during the Middle English period after the Norman conquests. This research explores the historical, and the importance and influences French has had on Social and Linguistic forms on Modern day English.

The Influences of the French Language on the English Language
Old English period begins around the 5th Century with the first Germanic tribes known as the Jutes, Angles and Saxons. The Germanic tribes came mainly from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The Anglo Saxon language was uncomplicated and contained roughly 50000 to 60000 words. Old English grammar is very similar in intonation, word order and forms to modern day German, for instance, the use of pronouns, nouns, adjectives and verbs (Baugh and Cable, 2002). The beginning of the Middle English period and the end of Old English begins in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of England. The Normans were descendants of the Vikings who established themselves in Northern France in the 8th Century, they were known has the