Characteristics:
* Transitional period: Middle English marked a transition between Old English and Modern English.
* Norman influence: The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought a massive influx of French words into the language, enriching the vocabulary.
* Sound changes: Significant changes occurred in pronunciation and grammar, making Middle English sound quite different from Old English.
* Less inflections: Middle English saw a simplification of grammatical inflections (endings of words).
* Regional variations: Different dialects developed in various regions of England, leading to a wide range of pronunciation and spelling variations.
Key Facts:
* Dates: Generally considered to span from the late 12th century to the late 15th century.
* Literature: A significant body of literature was written in Middle English, including works like Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales* and Langland's *Piers Plowman*.
* "The language of the people": Middle English became the common language of the people, replacing Old English, which was largely confined to written texts and scholarly circles.
* "The language of Shakespeare": While Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English, the transition to Modern English was gradual, and some features of Middle English persisted into Shakespeare's time.
Examples of Middle English:
* "Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote" (from Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales*)
* "And forthy, love, I praie thee, take my hede" (from *The Pearl*)
* "I have a gentil hart, and full of love" (from *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*)
Understanding Middle English:
While it may seem foreign at first, Middle English is not entirely incomprehensible. With a bit of effort and study, you can start to pick out words and phrases you recognize. There are resources available to help you learn more about this fascinating period in the history of the English language.