English Language Development during the Middle English

The Middle English period, which spanned from 1150 to 1500, had significant
events that led to the development of English language. Beginning with the Norman
Conquest, which occurred in 1066, had a significant influence on the English language
because it brought Norman French terminology into English. The language was also
influenced by the Hundred Years' War between England and France, which began in
1337. More authors started writing in English after 1362 when it was proclaimed the legal
system's primary language. Geoffrey Chaucer authored The Canterbury Tales in Middle
English about the year 1380, displaying French influence through countless French
borrowings. These events and changes played a crucial role in shaping Middle English
and laid the foundation for Modern English.

There have been numerous changes done to the internal structure of the English
language as a result of the key events that occurred during the Middle English. There was
a reduction in the inflectional ending system. Many word endings that indicated the
relationship between the components in a sentence were lost in Middle English. The word
order patterns were rearranged. While in Old English gender was used to indicate
grammatical relationships, this was lost in Middle English, and non-living objects acquired
a more neutral sense. There were only two ways to indicate plurality in Early Middle
English: s or es. The distinction between the single and the plural was lost in weak
declensions. Prepositions, word order, and conjunction were more frequently used to
create obvious word relationships in sentences. Additionally, verbs changed during this
time. Lastly, there was significant borrowing from French, which influenced the
vocabulary and spelling of English.