French borrowings in the modern english language

Contents

Introduction

French borrowings in the modern english language

Conclusion

Biblography

Introduction

A foreign language is not just a

subject learnt in the classroom…

it is something which is used for

communication by real people

in real situations .

We live in Belarus and our native language is Belarusian .

Almost all the words are native in our language . But some of them are borrowed from other la

n guages, though they got their meanings, spelling, according to the Belarusian la

n guage .

I have been learning English since the first form, so English is the third la n

guage in which I can communicate a little .

Since the sixth form I began to study German, comparing pronunciations of the words, grammar rules, spelling it b e came easier for me to learn these languages . And I am sure that it is easier to learn several languages comparing them.

Last year I took part in the research work and I got a deeper knowledge of borrowings in English language .

And this year I decided to deepen my knowledge in this theme too .

So today we would like to present you more inform a

tion about borrowings in English language .

This theme sounds interesting for us and we guess you will be interested in it too .

An international vocabulary in any language changes due to the develo p

ment of economy, science, education etc .

Everything depends on time . The same is in English .

The purpose

of our research work is to study French borrowings in the mo d ern English language.

The purpose has defined the following tasks :

try to highlight the oldest words borrowed from French ;

compare unique domination of widespread languages in a certain epoch ;

show that English is now the most widespread of the word's languages ;

discern the influence of the French language in the early modern period ;

compare the sound of " Norman English" of the middle ages and the mo d

ern variant .

French

borrowings in the modern english la n guage

English is a Germanic

Language of the Indo-European Family . It is the

se c ond

most spoken language in the world .

It is estimated that there are 300 million native speakers and 300 million who use English as a second language and a further 100 million use it as a foreign language. It is the language of science, aviation, computing, diplomacy, and tou

r ism .

It is listed as the official or co-official language of over 45 countries and is spoken extensively in other countries where it has no official status.

This domination is unique in history .

English is on its way to becoming the world's unofficial international language . Mandarin

( Chinese )

is spoken by more people, but English is now the most widespread of the world's languages .

Half of all business deals are conducted in English .

Two thirds of all scie n tific papers are written in English

. Over 70% of all post / mail is written and a d

dressed in English . Most international tourism, aviation and diplomacy are co

n ducted in English .

English contains many words from Norman French, brought to England during the 11th century Norman Conquest .

In 1066 the Normans conquered Britain . French

became the language of the Norman aristocracy and added more vocabulary to English .

More pairs of similar words arose .

Table 1 . French-English bilinguism

French

English

close shut

reply answer

odour smell

annual

yearly

demand ask

chamber room

desire wish

power might

ire

wrath / anger

Because the English underclass cooked for the Norman upper class, the words for most domestic animals are English ( ox, cow, calf, sheep, swine, deer ) while the words for the meats derived from them are French

( beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, venison ).

The Germanic form of plurals ( house, housen; shoe, shoen )

was eve n

tually displaced by the French method of making plurals : adding an

s ( house, houses; shoe, shoes ).

Only a few words have retained their Germanic plurals :

men, oxen, feet, teeth, children .

It wasn't till the 14th Century that English became dominant in Britain again .

In 1399, King Henry IV became the first king of England since the Norman Co n

quest whose mother tongue was English . By the end of the 14th Century, the di a lect of London had emerged as the standard dialect of what we now call

Middle English . Chaucer wrote in this language.

Modern English began around the 16th Century and, like all languages, is still changing. One change occurred when the suffix of some verb forms became

s ( loveth, loves; hath, has ).

Auxiliary verbs also changed ( he is risen, he has risen ).

Norman French

is the 11th century language of France and

England . It is an Indo-European

language.

In 1066, the Norman king, William the Conqueror

, invaded England . Many

Norman French words entered the language after this. In general, the

Normans were the nobility, while the native

English were their servants. The names of d o

mestic animals and their meats show this relationship. The animal name is English ("cow", "sheep", "pig") while the names of the meats derived from these animals is

French ( "beef", "mutton", "pork").

Table 2 . English -

A Historical Summary

Many words have been borrowed from Norman French .

These can be grouped into several types :

legal terms (" adultery", " slander "),

military words (" surrender", " occupy "),

names of meats (" bacon", " venison "),

words from the royal court (" chivalry", " majesty ").

the non-metric unit of volume ( the

" gallon ")

is Norman French .

There are many other words .

The Normans introduced the

QU spelling for words containing KW

( " que

s tion ").

Table 3 .

French borrowings

Word Meaning Notes

accuse

One of many legal words from Norman French .

adultery

archer

One of several military words from Norman French .

arson

Crime of deliberate bur n

ing .

assault

asset enough

bacon

Cured pig's meat .

One of many names for meats from Norman French .

bail to take charge Security for a prisoner's appea r

ance .

bailiff carrier Officer who executes writs .

beef

Meat of ox or cow .

butcher seller of goat flesh

A dealer in meat .

button

chivalry horseman

One of many words used in royal life from Norman French .

comfort strengthen

courtesy

cricket

A ball game played in the UK, Caribbean, parts of Africa and Asia, Australia, New Ze

a land .

crime judgment

curfew cover fire

Period to be off the streets .

custard

Baked mixture of eggs and milk .

defeat

dungeon

Underground prison .

duty

eagle

Large bird of prey .

elope run away

embezzle ravage

enemy non friend

error

evidence

exchequer

A national treasury .

fashion make

felony

A serious crime .

fraud

gallon jug A unit of liquid volume

( = 4.5

46 Ч 10 -3 m

3 in UK ;

= 3.7 85 Ч 10

-3 m 3

in USA )

goblin

gourd

grammar art of le t

ters

grease fat

grief

grocer

Food dealer .

Originally " one who deals in the gross".

gutter drop Track for water.

haddock

A type of fish .

havoc

hogmanay

Now a Scottish festival at New Year .

honour

injury wrong Wrongful action or da

m age .

jettison throw ove

r board

joy

judge right spea

k ing

jury swear

justice

larceny

The crime of theft .

lavender

Perfumed shrub .

launch hurl

lease leave

leisure allowed Free time.

lever to raise

liable may be bound

libel little book

liberty free

liquorice sweet root

Originally from a Greek root, " glico riza ".

mackerel

A type of fish .

majesty

mangle

manor remain

marriage

matrimony

From the same root as "

matr i arch" ( mother ).

mayhem

mutton

Meat of sheep .

noble

noun name

nurse nourish

occupy seize

odour smell

parliament speaking

Ruling council in countries like UK .

pedigree crane's foot From "

pe de gru ". Because bird's feet marks resemble a family tree.

penthouse

perjury

False statement under oath .

pinch

As in "

grip tightly ".

platter big plate

pleasure

pocket small bag

pork

The meat of the pig .

prison lay hold of

profound deep

purloin put away

purveyor

Supplier of food .

push

quarter

The Normans introduced the QU spelling for the KW sound.

question

quiet

quiver

The arrow case .

rape take by force

reason

rebuke

Originally "

to cut down wood ".

rebut

recover

remedy to heal

renown to make f

a mous

rent

The same root as "

render ".

repeal

reprieve send back

reprisal

retail piece cut off

reward

river

robe

royal

rummage

salary salt

Soldiers used to be paid with salt .

salmon

A type of fish .

scavenger tax colle c

tor

scullery maker of dishes

search

sermon

sewer

Originally a channel to carry off overflow from a fis h

pond .

share

shop cobbler's stall

sir

From "

sire ".

slander

soil

sovereign

spawn

spy

squirrel little shadow tail

stubble grain stalks

subsidy support

suitor

surname

Family name .

surplus

surrender

survey

survive over live

syllable

tally mark on a stick

Tally sticks were used to record financial transactions .

tax to charge

toil stir

treason

treaty

uncle

usher door keeper

valley

veal

veil

venison to hunt Deer meat

vicar assistant

vice

view

virgin

vulture

Large bird of prey .

wafer

waive

warden

Same root as "

guardian ".

wicket gate Wooden sticks used in the game of cricket .

wreck

The French Language in England

1066-1200

Norman French is the native language of the nobility .

Probably not a great deal of bilingualism

Small numbers of French loans enter English :

legal, administrative and mil i tary terms .

1200-1300

1204 Loss of Normandy .

French is the cultivated, prestige language .

There is a diagnostic situation, with French the high-prestige, English the low-prestige variety .

Norman French has lost its status, and Parisian French as the preferred norm . Large numbers of French loans enter English .

State of English 1300

1300-1400

English becomes the dominant language, but French remains dom i

nant in literature and at the court .

Increasing evidence of imperfect knowledge of French

Table 4 . Norman French chronology

· 1334-1453 The Hundred Years' War with France.

· 1348-9 The Black Death.3 0% mortality .

Labour shortage, wage rises, i n

creasing importance of the English-speaking classes

· 1386 English accepted in the courts

( 'Statute of Pleading' )

· Two major English poets at the end of the 14th century:

Gower writes mostly in French ( but composes one long work

Confe s sio amantis

, in English )

· Chaucer writes almost entirely in English.

· Evidence of private letters:

· 1350: French is the rule .

· After 1400: English becomes common .

· After 1450: English is the rule .

· Use of English in schools.

The influence of French on English in the early modern period

Influence on English phrasing

Aside from borrowing and word formation, French considerably influenced English phrasing .

The loan translations range from polite turns of speech, such as

at your service, do me the favour, to engage somebody in a quarrel, to make ( later: pay )

a visit , to idiomatic phrases like

by occasion, in detail, in favour of, in the last resort, in particular, to the contrary .

ME pronounciation

The English language of the middle ages is different from the modern one .

Here are two extracts from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to compare :

From the General Prologue

Whan that April with his showres soote

The droughte of March hath perced to the roote , And bathed every veine in swich licour

, Of which vertu engendred is the flowr ;

Whan Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne ,

And smale fowles maken melodye

That sleepen al the night with open yл - ( So priketh hem Nature in hir corages ) - Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages ,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes

To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes ;

And specially from every shires ende

Of Engelond to Canterbury they wende , The holy blisful martyr for to seeke

, That hem hath holpen whan that they were seke .

The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale from The Canterbury Tales, by Geo

f frey Chaucer, performed by Elizabeth Salter, from Geoffrey Chaucer: The Wife of Prologue and Tale ( Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521635306 ) ( p ) 1976, 1998 Cambridge University Press .

All Rights Reserved . /© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved .

Conclusion

Language belongs to each of us . Everyone uses words. What is there in a language that makes people so curious ?

The answer is that there is almost nothing in our life that is not touched by language .

We all speak and we all listen so we are all interested in the origin of words, in how they appear and die .

Nowadays 750 million people all over the world use English .

It has become the language of the planet .

Most of words are the same, but there are some differences .

For example in Middle English ynogh is

enough in modern English ;

longe is long; agoon is ago and so on, but they are a little bit similar in writing, so it is not very difficult to u

n derstand them .

Though the number of French loans in the modern period is relatively minor in comparison to Middle English, the contribution is most important. The French Loans were primarily borrowed to provide richness to the language.

Whilst it was arguable during the Restoration whether the loans were corrupting or enriching the language, today there is no doubt or disputable grounds to argue that the loans did nothing but enrich the English language.

The borrowing of vocabulary is rapprochement of nations on the ground of economic, political and cultural connections .

The bright example of it can be numerous French borrowings to English language .

Attempts to continue borrowings in 20 th

century did not have special success because language became more independent .

In my opinion we managed to study the problems of French borrowings in the English language .

We understood possible ways of penetrating French words in the English language, we have seen difference ways of difference types of borro

w ings .

In spite of arrival of the words from different languages into the English v o

cabulary, the English Language did not suffer from large flow of foreign elements .

On the contrary its vocabulary has been enriched due to the taken foreign elements .

Biblography

1. Иванова И .П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т .М. 

История английского  яз ы

ка . - СПб.: Лань, 1999 .

2. Иванова И.П., Чахоян  Л .П.,

Беляева Т .М. Практикум  по ист о рии английского языка. - СПб .:

Лань, 1999 .

3. Смирницкий А.И.  Древнеанглийский язык. - М ., 19

55 .language, today there is no doubt or disputable grounds to argue that the loans did nothing but enrich the English language.

The borrowing of vocabulary is rapprochement of nations on the ground of economic, political and cultural connections .

The bright example of it can be numerous French borrowings to English language .

Attempts to continue borrowings in 20 th

century did not have special success because language became more independent .

In my opinion we managed to study the problems of French borrowings in the English language .

We understood possible ways of penetrating French words in the English language, we have seen difference ways of difference types of borro

w ings .

In spite of arrival of the words from different languages into the English v o

cabulary, the English Language did not suffer from large flow of foreign elements .

On the contrary its vocabulary has been enriched due to the taken foreign elements .

Biblography

1. Иванова И .П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т .М. 

История английского  яз ы

ка . - СПб.: Лань, 1999 .

2. Иванова И.П., Чахоян  Л .П.,

Беляева Т .М. Практикум  по ист о рии английского языка. - СПб .:

Лань, 1999 .

3. Смирницкий А.И.  Древнеанглийский язык. - М ., 19

55 .

4. Советский энциклопедический  словарь . - М.: Советская энци к

лопедия , 19 80.

5. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2004 Ultimate Reference CD-ROM

6. Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2005

7. McCrum R. The Story of English . -

New-York, 1987 .

8. Whitelock D. The Beginning of English Society . Harmondsworth Middl e sex, 1952.

9. New Webster’ s Dictionary, 1998.