h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have information on the Norse invasion of England.

Old English is spoken up till around 1100 a.d. at which time England is conquaered by the Norse French. For the next two-ish centries all offical business was conducted in Norse French. (not Paris French, there is a difference.) The English, now called middle English, survived among the common people. All Nobles spoke French.
At this time, the language was taking in lots of words from French. examples: venison, beef, veel. there are hundreds other but these are interesting because the animal names stayed the same. deer, cow, calf. Shows a border between the common people who raised the animals and the nobles who ate and prepared them.

This is all for now, but I'll get some more in about a day or so.

Dorian

I suggest you use some of the information in the Old English Entry that aired on the front page today. Heres the A695478
I read through it, and it has many good pionts on Old English.

Dorian

"Old English is spoken up till around 1100 a.d. at which time England is conquaered by the Norse French"

Don't you mean Norman French. Norse referes to the Norsmen, that is the Vikings from what is now Norway and Denmark.

The Norman Invasion took place in 1066 with William the Conqueror, the last time that England was succesfully invaded. Prior to that the predominant language was Anglo-Saxon, sometimes called Old English, with Norse languages spoken in the North inherited from the Vikings. Initially Norman French was only spoke by the nobility and cleargy. As the Norman conquest began to take hold more people began to speak the language and Anglo-Saxon fell into disuse although some Anglo-Saxon words survive to this day, mostly of the four letter variety.

A little know fact is that Norman French is still used in England to-day. When the House of Commons sends a bill to the House of Lords for their consideration, the House of Lords send it back written in Norman French which then has to be translated back into modern English. Just the House of Lords exerting the independance.

Isn't our system of Government wonderful!

Stuart

I've remarked on that fact, many a time. Although being in the states, my government is a little more insane than the english one.
Did you know that I can be successfully sued for running over a person's hand, when they are trying to slash the tier of my auto.
F**(Ked isn't.

Dorian