Difference between revisions 27974120 and 28034283 on enwiki

The '''Anglo-Norman language''' is the name given to the variety of [[Norman language|Norman]] spoken by the [[Anglo-Norman]]s, the descendants of the [[Normans]] who ruled [[England]] following the [[Norman Conquest of England|conquest]] by [[William I of England|William of Normandy]] in [[1066]]. This [[langue d'oïl]] became the official language of England and later developed into the unique insular dialect now known as the Anglo-Norman language.

Anglo-Norman was the spoken language of the Norman [[nobility]] and was also used in the courts, to compile official documents, to write literature, and for commercial purposes.  The lower classes were keen on learning Anglo-Norman;  some early textbooks for non-native speakers still exist.  

The name is something of a [[misnomer]]: the specifically Anglo-Norman traits of the language found in England are neither overwhelmingly dominant, nor are they the only dialectal elements which are discernible in documents written in [[French language|French]] in England. Moreover, the use of so specific a label tends to lead to unsustainable assumptions about the variety's unity and [[homogeneous|homogeneity]]. It is far safer to think in terms of a range of speakers from various dialectal backgrounds, by no means all [[Norman language|Norman]]; since their speec(contracted; show full)== External links ==
*[http://www.anglo-norman.net/ The Anglo-Norman hub - a project to produce an AN dictionary.]  Contains articles and corpus texts.

[[Category:Oïl languages]]
[[Category:Medieval languages]]

[[de:Anglonormannisch]]
[[fr:Anglo-normand (langue)]]