The French influence on English , French Influence on English Language PDF started its course with the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. William of Normandy defeated England within the Battle of Hastings and therefore the governance of England fell into the hands of the French. The upper class influenced not just the socio-political aspects of England but also its language. The French influence was found in both vocabulary and grammar of English. The extent of French influence on the vocabulary of English could also be studied under different categories.
French Influence on English Vocabulary
The French influence on English Words associated with governance and politics:
Old English words “king” and “queen” remained in English, but nearly all other
words associated with governance and administration were borrowed from French.
for instance , crown, state, government, reign, realm, sovereign, power,
minister, council, authority, parliament, people, nation etc.
Words associated with Feudalism:
Feudalism, as a form of government was an integral a part of French influence
as an entire . Therefore, there was an outsized intake of related words like
prince, peer, court, courteous, noble, honour, glory, heraldry etc.
Military Words: Since governance of a nation is integrally
connected to management of military forces, an outsized number of words
associated with the military affairs were borrowed from French. for instance ,
war, peace, battle, siege, army, navy, officer, lieutenant, soldier. Words like
challenge, danger, escape etc, which were borrowed as purely military words,
are now utilized in general sense outside the military context too The French
influence on English.
Law Terms: a bit like the soldiers , governance is intimately
connected to law and order of a nation. Therefore, the French influence was
felt during this sphere widely. Words like justice, judge, jury, suit,
plaintiff, defendant, plead, summon, attorney, session, crime have all been
borrowed from French. Some words, borrowed from French have gone into common
use and now belong to lifestyle . The French influence on English for instance , marry, marriage, prove, false,
heir etc.
French influence
Ecclesiastical Terms: As ecclesiastical matters were also
chiefly under the control of the upper crust , we discover an excellent number
of French words connected to the church like religion, service, trinity,
saviour, angel, saint, abbey, cloister, altar, clergy, friar, miracle, preach,
pray, sermon Some words introduced as ecclesiastical words now belong to common
vocabulary, e.g., rule, lesson, save, tempt, blame, order, nature etc.
Words concerning abstract ideas: Since the clergymen were
influenced by French influence, they used French words to denote abstract ideas
associated with morality and philosophy. for instance , virtue, vice, charity,
duty, conscience, grace, cruel, chaste, covet, desire, jealous, pity,
discipline, mercy, etc.
Words denoting social interactions and positions: an
excellent number of words, borrowed as a results of French influence, point to
the relations between the Normans and therefore the English, also as their
regular interactions. for instance , sir, madam, master, mistress, command,
obey, rich, poor, poverty, money, interest, cash, rent, servant etc.
Words denoting kinship : All the present sorts of family
relationship outside the immediate household have French names. for instance ,
uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, cousin, etc.
Words associated with food and cooking: Since the French were
noted for his or her culinary skills, English readily adopted many French words
associated with cooking. as an example , sauce, boil, fry, roast, toast,
pastry, soup, jelly Interestingly, names of the animals were English, but once
they were served as food, they were called by French names. the subsequent
table shows this interesting phenomenon:
The French influence on English This list is an indicator of a social reality.
While the care of the live animals was the responsibility of poorer English
folk , their meat was enjoyed by the French high- class masters.
Likewise, the standard meal “breakfast” is an English word,
while the fancier meals like dinner, feast etc are French.
Words associated with leisure and entertainment: Since the
French masters had longer and means to enjoy finer lifestyle and modes of entertainment,
many French words were haunted from French during this context. for instance ,
joy, pleasure, ease, comfort, delight, flowers, fruits, leisure, chase, leash,
falcon, scent, track, cards, dice, partner, trump, ace, deuce, sport, etc.
Words associated with dress and fashion: because the French
led the style within the middle ages, an excellent many words of French origin,
associated with this sphere, are found in English. for instance , apparel,
dress, costume, garment, fashion, luxury, adorn etc.
Words associated with art and architecture: The French
were known for his or her artistic supremacy. The Englishmen learnt an
excellent deal from the French during this matter. The French influence on English A large-scale borrowing may be a proof of French Influence on
English art and architecture. as an example , general words like art, beauty,
colour, image, design, figure, ornament, paint and technical words like arch,
tower, pillar, vault, porch, column, palace, castle etc were borrowed from
French. The artisans who pursued humble professions had English names, such as,
baker, miller, smith, weaver, shoemaker, fisherman, shepherd However, the
artisans who catered to the fashionable gentry had French names: tailor,
carpenter, butcher, mason, painter etc. Humble furniture like “stool” is
English, while decorative furniture (chair, table) has French names.
The French influence on English Everyday expressions: French influence is
additionally seen just in case of exclamatory words like alas, certes, sure,
adieu, also as in everyday expressions like air, beast, age, change, cheer,
cover, cry, large, latter, letter, place, point, turn This happened mostly
because the ruled poorer sections of society loved to imitate the French
masters in their regular conversation.
Assimilation of French Words
Resemblance in words: during a few cases, a French word was
easily assimilated in English because it happened to resemble a corresponding
Old English word of the common Germanic origin. this is often seen just in case
of words like rich, choice, island, main, nephew, etc.
The French influence on English Resemblance in grammar: In grammar, both
languages had certain similarities. This led to easy assimilation of certain
words. for instance , use, user, grief, grieve, etc.
Synonyms: The Englishmen had the habit of using French words
side by side with their native synonyms. In some cases, the native word is
nearer to the guts of the state and more common than French synonyms which are
more literary and have finer meanings. as an example , native words like hut,
help, begin, feed, hinder and hearty are more readily used than French words
cottage, aid, commence, nourish and cordial respectively. In some cases, the
native word became more literary (For example, deed, dale) than French
equivalents (action, valley).
French Influence on English Grammar
The French influence on English A few instances where French influence is seen
on English grammar could also be listed as follows:
Earlier, the inflection “es” was used for genitive singular
of a couple of nouns to denote possession. the style of expressing the genitive
by using “of” may be a results of French influence.
Substantives and adjectives were always appropriated within
the accusative . within the plural, Old French had nominative with none ending
and accusative in “s” ending. English popular instinct associated the latter
form with the native plural ending in “es”.
A tendency was seen to make English verbs from the stem of
the French present plural of some verbs. for instance , the French verbs were
finir and punir. The French plurals of those verbs were finnisons and
punissons, both containing “s”. English people adopted this “s” ending and
began using the verbs “finish” and “punish”.
In some cases, French verbs were assimilated as verbs. as an
example , French infinitive verb “diner” (to dine) changed to English noun
“dinner”. Even new verb was formed from this new noun. Now we've the verb
“dine” coming from “dinner”. Similarly, we've English words remainder(noun)
giving rise to “remain (new verb) and user (noun) giving rise to use (new
verb).
The French influence on English In some cases, French infinitive ending “r” in
verbs wasn't modified and accepted because it is as verbs. for instance ,
surrender, tender, render, etc.
French Influence on Accent and Pronunciation
The extent in which the French influenced the accentuation
and pronunciation of English words may be studied under the following heads:
Sound changes:
The long “i” sound in French has become “ai” in
English: fine, price
The long “u” sound in French has become “ou” in
English: spouse, tower
The long “a” sound in French has become “e” in
English: grace, change
The long “e” sound in French has become “i” in
English: beast
Accent changes:
The French influence on English Many French words, accented on the final
syllable, is now accented on first syllable after they are borrowed into
English. This happened because of value stressing, where the first syllable is
felt as psychologically most important, because of contrast stressing or
because of rhythm stressing.
French Influence and Hybridism
A hybrid is a composite word formed of elements from
different languages. With the introduction of the French words, the first
traces of hybridism were visible in English. Examples of hybrids are:
Native prefix+ French word: over + power = overpower
French prefix+ Native word: re + birth = rebirth
French word+ Native ending: colour +less = colourless
Native word+ French ending: trust + ee = trustee
Old French Loans Versus New French Loans
(Norman vs Parisian)
The French language has undergone considerable changes since
Norman conquest. Therefore, these changes are reflected in comparison between
the French words borrowed during and just after the Norman conquest and those
borrowed much later from Paris or central France. Some of these changes are
listed below The French influence on English :
Norman French “k” sound was changed into Parisian French
“ch”. The word “catch” came from Norman French while “chase” came from Parisian
French.
Norman French “ch” sound was changed to Parisian “s” sound.
Words like “chase”, “launch” “Charles” etc came from Norman French while
“champagne”, “charlotte”, “chauffer” came from later Parisian French.
Norman French “w” was changed to “g” in Parisian French.
Words like “warden”, “wage” came from Norman French while “guardian”, “gage”
came from Parisian French.
In many cases, “g” of Norman French has changed to “j” in
Parisian French. While “gaol” is older Norman borrowing, it is also denoted as
“jail” with “j” of Parisian French.
Some early French loan words have been curiously reshaped
into the recent forms. For instance, Old French “viage”, “leal”, “flaute” has
been reshaped into “voyage”, “loyal” and “flute” respectively. In some cases,
some early French words have changed their meaning in both French and English
together. For instance, Middle English “douter”, from Old French “douter” meant
“to fear”. Now, in both the languages the meaning has changed (doubt).
The Extent of French Influence Down The Ages
The importation of French words, which started with the
Norman Conquest, has continued up to the present day. At first, there were two
separate class of people, speaking two kinds of languages. Then, through
linguistic assimilation, English emerged as the standard language. Early in the
thirteenth Century France, as a high seat of culture and education, exercised a
great influence on the language of England, a tendency that continued from the
middle ages down to the eighteenth century. The French influence on English Even
in the Twentieth Century, because of wartime alliance between England and
France, the process of borrowing from French has continued.
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