Sarre Anglo-Saxon cemetery accounts attribute this change to the widescale invasion of Germanic language tribes from northern Europe, namely the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Archaeological and toponymic evidence shows that there was a great deal of syncretism, with Anglo-Saxon culture interacting and mixing with the Romano-British culture. The Old English term "Kent" first appears in the Anglo-Saxon period, and was based on the earlier Celtic-language name "Cantii". Initially applied only to the area east of the River Medway, by the end of the sixth century it also referred to areas to the west of it. The Kingdom of Kent was the first recorded
Anglo-Norman language French was not standardised as an official administrative language of the kingdom of France. Middle English was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman and, later, Anglo-French. W. Rothwell has called Anglo-French 'the missing link' because many etymological dictionaries seem to ignore the contribution of that language in English and because Anglo-Norman and Anglo-French can explain the transmission of words from French into English and fill the void left by the absence of documentary records of English (in the main) between 1066 and c. 1380. Anglo-Norman morphology and pronunciation can be deduced from its heritage in English. Mostly, it is done in comparison