by Achae

It is during the reign of John where the French nobles in England are forced to make a choice. They must return to France or remain an Englishman. This creates strife between the working class (who mainly spoke English) and the nobles (who mainly spoke French). With the fear of losing land, many of the French nobility left England. Over the years, more French nobles were brought in so the King would have favorable opinions. It is not until Edward I that English is reestablished in England. Slowly the language gained prominence in the upper-class. Consequently, French lost its popular appeal, despite numerous mandates for it to be formally spoken and written. After the 100 Years War, the French language fell into further disuse. The disdain for the French and their language can still be seen today.

The reign of Henry V marks the turning point where English is used in writing. Chaucer, a great poet, chose to write in English. Many wanted to emulate his style, and the English language took off. Thanks to the French influence, English also acquired many French terms. Those words, even today, are seen to have literary value.

The triangle of Oxford, Cambridge, and London formed an area which used "standard" English. This did not mean English was uniform in things such as spelling, however. The push for that came later.

Due to the assimilation of other languages, English can work at three levels of diction - the popular, the literary, and the learned. The popular diction is often an English term. The literary diction is often from a French term. The learned diction is often from a Latin term.

Consider the words:

Rise (English root)

Mount (French root)

Ascend (Latin root)

And again:

Fear (English)

Terror (French)

Trepidation (Latin)

What other triplets can you think of?