History of English History of English English is a West Germanic language that originated from Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain in the mid 5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-Saxon settlers from what is now northwest Germany, west Denmark and the Netherlands, displacing the Celtic languages that previously predominated. The Old English of the Anglo-Saxon era developed into Middle English, which was spoken from the Norman Conquest era to the late 15th century. A significant influence on the shaping of Middle English came from contact with the North Germanic languages spoken by the Scandinavians who conquered and colonized parts of Britain during the
Influence of French on English from the 1066 conquest that proto-English became massively impregnated with Old French, then modern French. It should be noted, however, that only French influenced English in the centuries following the conquest. The reverse contribution of English to French was only real from the eighteenth century. The arrival of William the Conqueror and his barons significantly changed the linguistic situation in England. Norman was essentially imposed in the upper layers of society. The Anglo-Saxon dialects were supplanted by Norman in the circles of the court and aristocracy, justice and the Church. The influential circles, who came from Normandy and settled in