<P> Anglo - Norman was never the main administrative language of England: Latin was the major language of record in legal and other official documents for most of the medieval period . However, from the late 12th century to the early 15th century, Anglo - Norman French and Anglo - French were much used in law reports, charters, ordinances, official correspondence, and trade at all levels; they were the language of the King, his court and the upper class . There is evidence, too, that foreign words (Latin, Greek, Italian, Arabic, Spanish) often entered English via Anglo - Norman . </P> <P> The language of later documents adopted some of the changes ongoing in continental French and lost many of its original dialectal characteristics, so Anglo - French remained (in at least some respects and at least at some social levels) part of the dialect continuum of modern French, often with distinctive spellings . Over time, the use of Anglo - French expanded into the fields of law, administration, commerce, and science, in all of which a rich documentary legacy survives, indicative of the vitality and importance of the language . </P> <P> By the late 15th century, however, what remained of insular French had become heavily anglicised: see Law French . It continued to be known as "Norman French" until the end of the 19th century even though, philologically, there was nothing Norman about it . </P> <P> One notable survival of influence on the political system is the use of certain Anglo - French set phrases in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for some endorsements to bills and the granting of Royal Assent to legislation . These set phrases include: </P>

When did french stop being spoken in england