Influence of French on the

English language

ENGLISH

Old English begins with the Germanic invasions in the 5th

century

Three German tribes invaded Britannia: the Saxons, the Angles

and the Jutes. They spoke Germanic dialects which were adopted by the local

population.

The languages of these tribes

evolved into the English Language

Anglo-Saxon words:

• Most of these words are short, consisting of no more than one or two syllables: Home, child, roof…• They are associated with informality

or colloquial language

There is an expression in Modern English: “Speaking Anglo-Saxon” which means “plain, blunt speaking”.

Another expression “Anglo-Saxon words “ is a euphemism for obscene four-letter words like shit, arse…

On the other hand, Latin or French words are associated with formality and status:

allegory, custody, history, poetry…

NORMAN FRENCH

The Norman Conquest in 1066 meant a great change for the English language. The Normans spoke a French dialect, and many of their words were passed on into English.

This meant a change, not only in

vocabulary, but also in the grammar of the

English language.

There is still a street in Southampton called

French Street, a location where many French

merchants and Settlers established their business

and homes.

French Street

VOCABULARY

The names people used changed:Native pre-conquest names were

mainly West Germanic, Scandinavian and Celtic:

Godwine, Egbert, Alfred…After the conquest most of these

names had been replaced by : John, Peter, Simon, Stephen…

Humble jobs kept their Anglo-Saxon names: Baker

Miller

Shoemaker

More skilled jobs adopted French names:

Mason Painter Tailor

merchant…

While the animals in the field kept their English names: Sheep, cow,

calf, pig, deer…Once cooked and served their names became French: Mutton,

beef, veal, pork, bacon, venison…

Sheep Mutton

Cow or bull Beef

Calf (young cow) Veal

Pig Pork, bacon

Deer (ciervo) Venison

In many cases, French words replaced Old English words…

Leod became PeopleEam became uncle

In other cases a French word combined an English one to produce a new word:

Gentle + man = gentleman

Sometimes, both, English and French words survived…

Odour = smellPardon = ForgiveMansion = HouseHearty = Cordial

In some occasions, a third word was used from Latin, forming a triplet:

Old English French LatinASK QUESTION INTERROGATE

LAND COUNTRY TERRITORY

FAST FIRM SECURE

TALE STORY NARRATIVE

PRONUNCIATION

Norman French was harsher and more gutural than the softer Francien dialect of

Paris.The Normans used a hard “c”

sound instead of the softer Francien “ch”…

So that French CHARRIER became CARRY

CHAULDRON BECAME CAULDRON

The Normans, and therefore the English, retained the “s” in words like:

English ___ French (Paris) STATE état

FOREST forêt

BEAST bête

Spelling

Norman-French scribes wrote official and religious documents, this fact lead to confusion as they adapted the Old English spelling to the spelling of their native Norman French.

Cwen became Queen

Scip became Ship

Luve became Love

Bricge became Bridge

Grammar

The “–en” plural disappearedHousen houses

The –en plural only remains in words such as:

Children

Oxen (bueyes)

Brethren (hermandad)

One of the most important changes was the disappearance of the inflectional system.

Most inflections were replaced by the final sound “schwa”

Read the following words ending with /ə/

• palace /pæləs/• april /eprəl/• theatre /θiətə/• doctor /dɑktə/• dungeon /dəndʒən/• decision /dəsɪʒən/• tortoise /tɔrtəs/

THE END