The vast majority of the population would have had little or no contact with French at all, and would continue to speak Old English

A bilingual class would have emerged, consisting of the aristocracy, senior clergy, and merchant traders and settlers

A few English would have learned French for the purpose of social advancement

Baronial staff would have had to learn English in order to mediate between their lords and local communities

French-speaking clergy would need to acquire English in order to carry out their mission to the people

There was an enormous amount of intermarriage between Normans and English: their children would have grown up bilingually