Lecture 9 Middle English Dialects

The Early Middle English (ME) dialects had developed from respective OE dialects:

1) The Southern group included the Kentish and the South-Western dialects, the latter was the continuation of not only the OE West Saxon but also the East Saxon dialect, that in the 12^th -13^th c. made the basis of the London dialect

2) The Midland group of dialects ( a descendant of the OE Mercian) included West Midland and East Midland dialects.

3) The Northern dialects ( a descendant of the OE Northumbrian) also included several provincial dialects, e.g. the Yorkshire, the Lancashire and Scottish.

In Late Middle English we find the same grouping of local dialects but the relations among them changed. It may be explained by more intensive inter-influence of the dialects, penetration of Scandinavian loans, spread of French borrowings. But the most important event was the rise of the London dialect (the 12-13^th c.) as the prevalent written form of language. The early ME records show that the London dialect was fundamentally East Saxon but later records indicate that the speech of London became more mixed, and East Midland features prevailed. The explanation lies in the history of the London population.