The status of English

When 13^th century English speakers decided to speak English, the victory of English as the spoken language was produced. It was quite difficult for English to get importance as vernacular; and much more difficult if we think that English coexisted with French and Latin in England.

And at the beginning of this period, the situation of English language was not a good one. French was still the most prestigious of the European vernaculars, and Latin was universally used for serious works.

There were people who thought that Latin would continue to be used, but history was against them, as the emergence of the middle class –which previously had spoken English- contributed to its declination, as they did not leisure time nor interest in learning Latin. So, vernacular won the struggle against Latin, proving to be as good as the latter.