Middle English

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Middle English (abbreviated to ME) refers to the variations of the English language that were spoken in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century, roughly coinciding with the High and Late Middle Ages. The Middle English dialects evolved from Old English under the influence of Anglo-Norman French and Old Norse. They were eventually replaced in England by Early Modern English, in Scotland by Early Scots, and in Ireland by the Fingallian language and the Yola language. The four main dialects in England were Northern, East Midland, West Midland, and Southern. Overall, Middle English exhibited significant regional variation in its vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and orthography. During the Middle English period, many Old English grammatical features either became simplified or disappeared altogether. Noun, adjective, and verb inflections were simplified by the reduction (and eventual elimination) of most grammatical case distinctions. Middle English also saw...

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