What were some influences that caused language to change from Old English to Middle English to modern English? How is our language today similar and different than Old or Middle English?

Good clear answers and obviously more knowledgeable than me, but i would like to add that when I taught English as a foreign language I would, once students had achieved a sufficient level, have introduced the idea of two types of English side-by-side, one of a perhaps more ‘educated’ and certainly more Latinate, and another more ‘homely’ which echoes the more Anglo-Saxon tradition, so regal/kingly, maternal/motherly. I have come across translations from other languages that are clearly from one tradition and from the other, and if a choice is to be made I far prefer the Anglo-Saxon, even though it’s not so posh.

And yes, I did encourage students to be Anglo-Saxons.

I could also add that I have a notion that Norman children were brought up very largely by Anglo-Saxon servants, and when they wandered into the kitchens looking for something to eat they would have used the language. By the time the courtier Geoffrey Chaucer was writing I’m sure Normans were cheerfully bilingual and getting to like English.

Explanation:

i believe it is he has been given the drum as a joke.

you didn't provide the passage.

explanation:

seeing as this is your first question on i can see why you may have not known that you need to provide the passage.

without the passage, or even the name of the passage, we can not read the passage, therefore we can not determine when or how the pacing effects the tone.

however, you can either repost this question (providing the passage this time)

or you can comment below what the passage is, and i'll you to the best of my ability!