The Norman Conquest and English Spelling: A Lost Story of Diacritics
2025-07-07
This article explores how the Norman Conquest profoundly impacted English spelling. After 1066, French became the official language, and scribes carried over French writing conventions into English, resulting in letter combinations representing single phonemes, like "sh" and "th." The Renaissance saw French develop a system of diacritics through printing and standardization, while English retained the spelling conventions established during the Norman period. This explains why English lacks widespread use of diacritics today.