Anglo-Norman Language

Anglo-Norman Language

Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French, is the name traditionally given to the dialect of the langue d'oïl, that was used in England and, to a lesser extent elsewhere in the British Isles, during the Anglo-Norman period.

When William the Conqueror led the Norman invasion of England in 1066, he, his nobles, and many of his followers from Normandy, but also those from northern and western France, spoke a range of Oïl dialects (Northern French dialects). One of these was Norman. Other followers spoke varieties of the Picard language or western French. This amalgam developed into the unique insular dialect now known as Anglo-Norman French, which was commonly used for literary and eventually administrative purposes from the 12th until the 15th century. It is difficult to know much about what was actually spoken, and certainty about the dialect is restricted to what was written. But it is clear that Anglo-Norman was to a large extent the spoken language of the higher social strata in medieval England.

It was spoken in the law courts, schools, and universities, and in due course amongst at least some sections of the gentry and the growing bourgeoisie. Private and commercial correspondence was carried out in Anglo-Norman or Anglo-French from the 13th to the 15th century, though its spelling forms were often displaced by continental spellings. Social classes other than the nobility became keen to learn French: manuscripts containing materials for instructing non-native speakers still exist, dating mostly from the late 14th century onwards.

Although Anglo-Norman and Anglo-French were eventually eclipsed by modern English, they had been used widely enough to influence English vocabulary permanently. Thus many original Germanic words, cognates of which can still be found in German and Dutch, have either been lost or, more often, exist alongside synonyms of Anglo-Norman French origin. Grammatically, Anglo-Norman had little lasting impact on English, although it is still evident in official and legal terms where the noun and adjective are reversed, for example attorney general, which in New High German is Generalanwalt, literally meaning "general attorney": the spelling is English but the word order (noun then adjective) is French. Other such examples are heir apparent, court martial, and body politic.

Nowadays, the Royal coat of arms still features in French both the motto of British Monarchs and the motto of the Order of the Garter : "Dieu et mon droit" (French for "God and my right"), "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (French for "Evil to him who evil thinks").

"Dieu et mon droit" was first used by King Richard I in 1198 and adopted as the royal motto of England in the time of Henry VI. The motto appears below the shield of the Royal Coat of Arms.