Middle English

This chapter shows the extent of changes in the English language brought about by the events described in the previous two chapters. A direct line can be traced from the reduction to schwa of the vowels a , o , u , and e in inflectional endings to the decay of those endings and the simplification of English grammar. Case and gender distinctions were lost in nouns and adjectives, and many strong verbs became weak. At the same time, the influx of French vocabulary and to a lesser extent borrowings from Latin brought obvious Romance elements into the language. Still, the language remained English, and its four dialects all retained vocabulary and structures in everyday use that clearly descended from the dialects of Old English. The dialect of London, the capital city, became the emerging Standard English.