(I) In 1066 the Norman invasion of England brought the tremendous impact of the French language to England. (II) For two centuries, French was the language of the English nobility, while English remained the language of the peasants. (III) English is now the principal language of twelve countries and official language in over a dozen more. (IV) It was only in the 14th century that English finally became the most important language in England, with the London dialect as standard. (V) However, as late as 1700, there were only 8.5 million English speakers.