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Leicestershire is as landlocked county in the East Midlands. It’s not very touristy, but has a lot of ‘firsts’. It was birthplace to the English language, the vegan movement (Donald Watson) and even the motor car (whether that’s good or bad is not clear).
It’s also where Sir David Attenborough grew up on campus at Leicester University. And also where rock band Showaddywaddy was formed!
The English language did not appear suddenly in one particular town or county. Instead, it developed over many centuries through the interaction of different languages and cultures. Germanic-speaking settlers arrived in Britain after the end of Roman rule, bringing varieties of speech that developed into Old English.
Later, Scandinavian settlers introduced Old Norse influences, while the Norman Conquest brought French and Latin influences. Over time, these languages interacted with local speech varieties, creating the foundations of the English spoken today.
Leicestershire was at the centre of many of these historical processes. Its location in the East Midlands placed it close to important Anglo-Saxon and Viking settlements. Leicester itself became a major centre of population, administration, trade, and religion. The surrounding countryside preserved local forms of speech that provide valuable evidence of how English evolved.
Old English was not a single uniform language. It consisted of several major dialect groups, including Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon, and Kentish. Leicestershire was located within the broad area associated with the Mercian dialect.
The language of Mercia was particularly significant because the Midlands eventually became an important centre of English cultural and literary activity. Words, grammatical forms, and pronunciations associated with Midland speech contributed to later varieties of English.
Some areas of Leicestershire sound French like Ashby-de-La-Zouch. But actually this is an old English name, not from over the pond!
