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 :