Abstract
It is usually assumed that English lost its inherited system of number and gender agreement in nominal expressions due to the influence of Brittonic L2 speakers in intense contact. Previous research has sketched two possible linguistic scenarios for this loss: simplification of Old English agreement morphology by imperfect adult L2 learners or, alternatively, calquing of the agreementless Brittonic system onto L2 English. The evidence from two Brittonic varieties, Welsh and Breton, discussed here shows that throughout its history Brittonic never lacked agreement in nominal expressions. This leads us to assume that if the loss of agreement in English was driven by Brittonic L2 speakers it is probably the former scenario that best captures what happened.