Some linguists have proposed that it arose, in part, from contact with the British Celtic languages in the early phase of Anglo-Saxon settlement, or Old Norse during the Danelaw period.
[6][7] The late attestation of the rule and the paucity of northern texts in Old English means that dating its formation, and explaining its origin, with any degree of certainty is difficult.
[1] Graham Shorrocks notes that a similar use of the historic present occurs in some dialects of north Germany, citing Gordon (1966) and Wakernagel-Jolles (1971).
[8] Due to similarities between the Northern Subject Rule and structures found in Welsh, Breton and Cornish, some linguists have proposed a Celtic origin for this feature.
Linguists supporting this proposal include Eric Hamp, Hildegard Tristram,[9] Juhani Klemola[10] and David White.