Norman French

Norman-French, the tongue in which several formal proceedings of state are still carried on. The language, having remained the same since the date of the Conquest, at which it was introduced into England, is very different from the French of this day, retaining all the peculiarities which at that time distinguished every province from the rest. A peculiar mode of pronounciation (considered authentic) is believed to have been handed down and preserved by the officials, who have, on particular occasions, to speak the tongue. Norman-French was the language of our legal procedure till the 36 Edw. 3.