Французские заимствования в английском языке
методическая разработка на тему

Plan

Introduction

Chapter 1. Historical background

1.1.The Norman Conquest. The battle of Hastings.

1.2.Consequences of Norman Conquest.

Chapter 2. French borrowings in the English language

2.1. Borrowings and loanwords.

2.2Assimilation of French words

Chapter 3.The French Influence on Middle English Phonology and grammar

3.1. Stress in French loan-words.

3.2. The French Influence on Middle English Grammar.

3.3. French derivational affixes

Conclusion

INTODUCTION

    The English language has undergone immense changes over the years of its development from Old English to Modern English as it is known today. It has been shaped by a number of other languages over centuries. During the Old English period the English language,which was based on the dialectical of three Germanic tribes(Angles,Jutes,and Saxons),was already influenced by different invading armies like the Celts(Celtic),the Roman missionaries(Latin)and the Viking raiders(Old Norse).

But especially during the Middle English period (1150-1500) another language, namely French, exerted a significant influence on the English language and were therefore responsible for great changes brought to English over the years. During this time over 10,000 French words were adopted into English and about 75 percent of these are still in use. But changes did not just happen in the English vocabulary. This grammar (mainly word order), the spelling and pronunciation had to undergo changes,as well. It was a period of great change where English turned from an inflected language with reduced inflection and a more rigid word order. The linguistic justification for considering the end of the 15th century as the end of the Middle English period is the complete restructing of the English vowel system that affected all long stressed vowels known as the Great Vowel Shift.

Although, these enormous changes were important for the improvement of the English language, there were also disadvantages to it. The loss of native words, the different Middle English dialects and the need of a standart English are only some examples of this.

   Undoubtedly,every influence on something does change the circumstances of it,otherwise it would not be an influence.The question now would be,if English really profited from the French language or if it was more a drawback to its further development.We shall show the historical conditions from the Norman Conquest up to the 15th century in a diachronical way,as it is important to know about situation in England at that time to understand the changes in the English language.As the French influence hardly affected the English grammar, it affected the changes in the vocabulary mostly.The French influence was the most effective in the period of great change-the Middle English.

Firstly, I shall start with an explanation of historical events,as it is important to know the historical backgrounds and the situation in England during that time to understand the changes in the English language.Afterwards the focus of this work will rest on the effect of the French language on Middle English vocabulary, spelling and phonology.This work will show that French was one of the languages which had an immense influence on the English language and affected it over the years. Lastly, in my conclusion, I shall summarize my results. 

Historical Background.

              1.1.The Norman  Conquest.The battle of Hastings.

The Middle English period is usually set between 1150 and 1500, because the texts that appear after 1150 are significantly different in morphology and syntax compared to earlierntexts. However,the historical event that is often named as the beginning of the Middle English period occurred almost one hundred years earlier at the end of the Old English period and is widely known as the Norman Conquest by  William, Duke of Normandy,in1066.

 In 1066, upon Edward’s death, the Elders of England proclaimed Harold Godwin king of the English. As soon as the news reached William of Normandy, he mustered a big army by promise of land and plunder (one third of his soldiers were Normans, other, mercenaries from all over Europe) and, with the support of the Pope, landed in Britain.

 In the battle of Hastings, fought in October 1066, Harold was killed and the English were defeated. This date is commonly known as the date of the Norman Conquest, though the military occupation of the country was not completed until a few years later. After the victory of Hastings, William by passed London cutting it off from the North and made the William of London and the bishops at Westminster Abbey crown him king. William his barons laid waster many lands in England, burning down villages and estates. They conducted a relentless campaign of subjugation, devastated and almost depopulated Northumbria and Mercia, which tried to rise against the conquerors. Huge stone Norman castles if earthen forts and wooden stockades, built during the campaign, soon replaced scores. Most of the lands of the Anglo-Saxon lords passed into the hands of the Norman barons, William’s own possession comprising about one third of the country. The Normans occupied all the important ports in the church, in thee government and in the army.

    Following the conquest hundreds of people from France crossed the Channel to make their home in Britain were also dukes of Normandy and, about a hundred years later, took possession of the whole western half of France, thus bringing England into still closer contact with the continent. French monks, tradesmen and craftsmen flooded the southwestern towns, so that not only the higher nobility but also much of the middle class was French.

   The Norman Conquest was not only a great event in British political history but also the greatest single event in the history of the English language. Its earliest effect was a drastre change in the linguistic situation.

    The Norman Conquerors of England had originally come from Scandinavia. They were swiftly assimilated by the French and in the 11th century came to Britain as French speakers and bearers of French culture. They spoke the Northern dialect if French, which differed in some points from Central, Parisian French. Their tongue in Britain is often reffered to as ‘Anglo-French’ or ‘Anglo-Norman’, but may just as well be called French, since we are less concerned here with the distinction of French dialects than with the continuous French influence upon English, both in the Norman period of history and a long while after the Anglo-Norman language had ceased to exist.

In England, the Normans did not ban the native inhabitans, but took over the English aristocracy and other important positions. It is quite impossible to say how many Normans and French people settled in England in the century and a half following the Norman Conquest, but their influence was out of all proportion to their number.

   These developments also had consequences for the language. French or more clearly, Norman French "became the new language of power and prestige" as the Normans continued to use their own language. They also held strong connections with France. Often, the ruling class still had property on the continent so that they travelled in between the two countries. Even the king spent a considerable amount of time in France. One can sum it up by saying that the French influence would have been less, if the constant contact between France and England had not been maintained. In addition to that, French was also the language of power all over Europe. It was considered as a superior language to English as plays and poetry were written in this language.In contrast to that, English was only the oral language of the lower classes and was therefore regarded as inferior. Neither the French ruling class, nor the English people were able to speak the other language perfectly. The French came, of course, from the French speakers who now controlled the government, the law and the church.

English, which had been a written language since the conversion to Christianity, was rapidly dropped as the language for royal and legal charters and proclamations. French was the language of the royal court, the legal system and the church. The use of French was reinforced by the fact that many of the new aristocracy and religious houses had extensive holdings in France. This state of affairs changed slightly in 1204 when King John lost Normandy, but did not really end until after the English were finally expelled from France at the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453.

This Middle English was the basis for the modern  English we speak and write today.The number of words used had expanded greatly,with French normally supplementing rather than replacing the English,allowing shade of meaning not available to other languages. Cattle”became “beef” and “swine” “pork” when killed and dressed for the table, yet conversely”a flower”is a bloom”when put on display. Hopefully it will have a pleasant French “odour”,”aroma or scent ” rather than a Middle English “smell” or “worse”,an Old English “stench”. Also adding to the store of words were French words that had been given and the English beginning or ending. For example,the French “gentle” joins the English man/woman to give     “gentleman/woman”, or gets an English ending to become ”gently”.

   Despite this the language is still basically Germanic and basic words are still derived from Old English.Taking the body as an example,whilst we may have French “spirit”,our body still has English arms, legs, hands, feet, head,eyes, ears, nose and mouth, plus brain, liver, lungs, arse and men bollocks.

In fact, many words of French origin soon came to be assimilated into English usage. The earliest adoptions were, unsurprisingly, words such as ‘duc’, ‘cuntess’, and ‘curt’ (now duke, countess. and court). Other words like ‘messe’ (mass) and ‘clerc’ (scholar) also reflected the Normans’ dominance in the state institutions of court and church.

   Interestingly, as the Dukedom of Normandy fell under the control of the French King in Paris, the Norman-French words were followed by words imported from central France. This serves to explain why in English we have two variants for ‘warden’ and ‘guardian’, ‘convey’ and ‘convoy’, as well as ‘gaol’ and ‘jail’.

   We can see evidence of the ‘class-division’ of the language in relatively modern times. When Winston Churchill wanted to appeal to the hearts and mind of the common Englander during the last war, he used words of almost exclusively Anglo-Saxon stock. The bare statement “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” contains only one word of French origin - ‘surrender’. Had he chosen to use ‘give up’ instead, he would have been 100% pure Anglo-Saxon!

1.2. Consequences of Norman Conquest.

   Since the Norman Conquest in 1066 the French language became more and    more important. English  nobility and other  important  positions in the church, military and other institutions were newly occupied by the French invaders.Now the upper class in England was replaced by Normans and French became their dominant language. However, the new ruling class formed only a minority of the population and the language existed side by side.The new kings of England spoke French,took French wives and lived mostly in France. In the following years, the new order was accepted by the English people and as a result the English and Normans formed a new assorted society.

   The most immediate consequence of the Norman domination in Britain is to be seen in the wide use of French language in many spheres of life. For almost three hundred years French was the official language of administration: it was the language of king’s court, the law courts, the church, the army and the castle. It was also every day language of many nobles, of the higher clergy and of many townspeople in the South. The intellectual life, literature and education were in the hands of French-speaking people; French, alongside Latin, was the language of writing. Teaching was largely conducted in French and boys at school were taught to translate their Latin into French instead of English.

   It was not the case that Norman and Central French annihilated existing English words. Instead, these sources plus Latin created registers; i.e. styles of speaking and vocabularies that could be distinguished in terms of how polite or formal they are. So English suddenly has twins or even lexical triplets of words with the same referents, but different social connotations.

          kingly (O.E)           royal (Fr.)              regal (L.)

          rise   (O.E.)           mount (Fr.)            ascend (L.)

          ask                        question                  interrogate

          fast                         firm                       secure

          holy                     sacred                   consecrated

          fire                        flame                     conflagration

    How do we distinguish these words? While they have the same reference or meaning, the Old English source is more down-to-earth and common than the more polite French-based word and the more ornate or sophisticated Latin-based one.

    Let’s try to figure out which is the word that is native—Old English—and which is originally a French borrowing:

                          ox                         beef

                          pig, swine            pork

                          infant                   child

                          judgment             doom

                          freedom               liberty

                          felicity                 happiness

                          help                      aid

                          conceal                hide

                          holy                      saintly

                         love                      charity

                         meal                     repast

                         aroma                  stench

                         wedding               marriage

                         desire                   wish

    It was in this period that Parliament began its gradual evolution into the democratic body which is it today. The word “parliament”, which comes from the French word parler (to speak), was first used in England in the thirteenth century to describe an assembly of nobles called together by the king. In 1295, the Model Parliament set the pattern for the future by including elected representatives from urban and rural areas.

  Many food names in English are French borrowings. After the Norman Conquest under William the Conqueror (1066) French words began to enter the English language increasing in number for more than three centuries. Among them were different names of dishes. The Norman barons brought to Britain their professional cooks who showed to English their skill.

CHAPTER 2

French borrowings in the English language

                   2.1.Borrowings and Loanwords. 

     Borrowing words from other languages is characteristic of English throughout its history. More than two thirds of the English vocabulary is borrowings. Mostly they are words of Romanic origin (Latin,French,Italian,Spanish).Borrowed words are different from native ones by their phonetic structure, by their morphological structure and also by their grammatical forms. It is also characteristic of borrowings to be non-motivated semantically. English history is very rich in different types of contracts with other countries, that is why it is very rich in borrowings. The Roman invasion, the adoption of Christianity, Scandinavian and Norman conquests of the British Isles, the development of British colonialism and trade and cultural relations served to increase immensely the English vocabulary. The majority of these borrowing are fully assimilated in English in their pronunciation, grammar, spelling and can be hardly distinguished from native words.

   English continues to take in foreign words, but now the quantity of borrowings is not so abundant as it was before. All the more, English now has become a “giving”language,it has become Lingva franca of the twentieth century.

Borrowings can be classified according to different criteriation:

• a)according to the aspect which is borrowed,
• b)according to the degree of assimilation,
• c)according to the language from which the word  was borrowed.(In this classification only the main languages from which words were borrowed into English are described,such as Latin,French,Italian,Spanish,German and Russian).

Classification of Borrowings according to the borrowed aspect.There are the following group : phonetic borrowings,translation loans, semantic borrowings, morphemic borrowing. Phonetic borrowings are the most characteristic in all languages, they are called loan words proper. Words are borrowed with their spelling, pronunciation and meaning. Then they undergo assimilation, each sound in the borrowed word is substituted by the corresponding sound of the borrwing language. In some cases the spelling is changed. The structure of the word can also be changed. The position of the stress is very often influenced by the phonetic system of the borrowing language. The paradigm of the word, and sometimes the meaning of the borrowed word can also be changed.Such words as: labour, travel, table, chair, people are phonetic borrowings from French.

Translation loans are word-for-word (or morpheme-for-morpheme) translation of some foreign words or expressions.In such cases: the notion is borrowed from a foreign language but it is expressed by native lexical units,”to take the bull by the horns”(Latin),”fair sex”(French),”living space”(German),etc.

Semantic borrowings are such units when a new meaning of the unit existing in the language is borrowed. It can happen when we have two relative languages which have common words with different meanings, e.g., there are semantic borrowings between Scandinavian and English, such as meaning “to live” for the word “to dwell”in which in Old English had the meaning”to wander”.

Morphemic borrowings are borrowings of affixes which occur in the language when many words with identical affixes are borrowed from one language into another, so that the morphemic structure of borrowed  words becomes familiar to the people speaking the borrowing language, e.g.,we can find a lot of Romanic     affixes  in  the  English  word-building  system , that is why  there are  a  lot of words-hybrids in English where different morphemes have different origin, e.g.,”goddess”, “beautiful”.

Classification of borrowings according to the degree of assimilation.The degree of assimilation of borrowings depends on the following factors:

a)from what group group of languages the word was borrowed, if the word belongs to the same group of  languages to which the borrowing language belongs it is assimilated easier,

b)in what way the word is borrowed: orally or in the written form,words borrowed orally are assimilated quicker,

c)how often the borrowing is used in the language,the greater the frequency of its usage, the quicker it is assimilated,

d)how long the word lives in the language, the longer it lives,the more assimilated it is.

Accordingly, borrowings are subdivided into: completely assimilated,partly assimilated and non-assimilated(barbarisms).

Completely assimilated borrowings are not felt as foreign words in the language,for example, the French word”sport” and the native word”start”. Partly assimilated borrowings are subdivided into the following group:

a)borrowings non-assimilated semantically, because they denote objects and notions peculiar to the country from the language of which they were borrowed,e.g.,sari,sombrero,taiga,kvass,etc.

b)borrowings non-assimilated grammatically,e.g.nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek retain their plural forms(bacillus-bacilli,phenomenon-phenomena,datum-data,genius-genii etc.

c)borrowings non-assimilated phonetically. These are the words with the initial sounds/v/ and/z/,e.g.,voice,zero.

Non-assimilated borrowings(barbarisms) are borrowings which are used by Englishmen rather seldom and are non-assimilated,e.g. addio(Italian), tete-a-tete(French), dolce vita(Italian), un homme et une femme(French),etc.

Classification of Borrowings according to the language from which they were borrowed. The leading role in the history of this vocabulary belongs to word-formation and semantic changes patterned according to the specific features of the English language system.This system absorbed and remodelled the vast majority of loan words according to its own standards. Examples are: cheese, street, wall, wine and other words belonging to the earliest layer of Latin borrowings. Many loan words, on the other hand, in spite of the changes they have undergone after penetrating into English, retain some peculiarities in pronunciation, spelling, ortheopy and morphology.

                         2.2.Assimilation of French words.

   The Norman Conquest changed the language situation of the uppermost parts of the upper echelons only. These included the aristocracy, the higher members of the clergy, legal professionals, political circles, and highest economic classes. Here, because of the prestige of French (Norman, not metropolitan French), anybody who wanted to make it, spoke French. As time goes on, there are reports of upper class children learning to speak French as a second language. The language that people wrote was mainly French. It was the language of courtly literature, of Romance [originally a story written in the Romance language, i.e. in this case, French]. An important group of stories in this tradition was those that concerned King Arthur. Although Arthur was probably a Celtic hero, after the Norman Conquest, the stories were taken over and adapted by the Norman ruling class. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table became the models of the French concepts of chivalry and courtesy.

  From the middle of the 13thc onward, French was beginning to be accepted as an alternative language of record. In courts of law, the previous practice with regard to Latin was transferred to French, and the words of people speaking English were recorded in French.  Lower down the social and literacy scales, people spoke English. The local parish priest was likely to speak English, and the magistrate was also likely to speak English. English was everywhere, French was mainly in London, at court, in law and in the church. This left the vast majority of English people English. Unlike the Viking invasions, which affected every level of society, the Norman Conquest mainly affected the top. The proportion of England’s population that was Norman was at the most 2%, way too small for it to shape the whole society.

   Why did English borrow so many words from Norman French? Even before the Norman Conquest, the English had become acquainted with the Norman culture and the way of its life, because of the social, political and Ecclesiastical intercourse between the two nations. During the reign of Edward, the confessor, several Norman nobles were placed in important positions in England and the fortified buildings in which they stayed were known as 'castels' (castles), 'capun' (capon) and 'bacun' (bacon) are two other words introduced at the tea time and they served to suggest the greater luxury of French cooking which was new to the English. After the conquest, we find a stream of French words entering the English vocabulary and they suggest the influence of an occupying power over a conquered people. 'Prisun' (prison), 'tur' (tower), 'market', 'rent', 'justice', etc., have been thus introduced into the English language. After the Norman conquest, we find the 'church', the 'courts of law', the 'arts of war', trade with the 'continent' and the 'pastimes' of the aristocracy becoming Norman-French intermingling. Words like 'battle', 'court', 'countess', 'treasure', 'charity', etc., were derived from French. In the thirteenth century the contact with France was much weakened. Meanwhile the English and the Normans had become merged into one people and in another hundred years English had become accepted as the National language of the country in place of Norman-French. Frenchified terminology became restricted to the court of law. Among the French legal terms which were retained and are still in use are 'plaintiff', 'defendant', 'privilege, etc. The dialect of French that was becoming culturally important was Central or Parisian French. A series of central words like 'chancellor', 'charity', 'chattel', were introduced into English though their Norman French equivalent 'cancelar', 'carited' and 'cattle' were already known to English. Among the French loans from 1100 to 1300 the following words may be taken as representative of different objects- 'prisun', 'chapel', 'grace', 'service', 'miracle', 'religion', 'bataille', 'basin', 'lamp', 'beast', etc. The 14th century witnessed a great increase in the number of French loans. These were no longer limited in use to the educated or upper class but became integral parts of the language. During this period we find that there is a very high proportion of French loan words relating to hunting, cooking and the art of war to English vocabulary. For instance 'colonel', 'lieutenant', 'major', 'captain', etc. have been derived. While French influence on the English language was general and wide spreading during the Middle English period, it was no longer so after the beginning of the 16th century. Though like Latin, French continued to be the source of new words; the French loans after the 15th century were confined to particular classes of technical words restricted in use to the better educated people. The 16th century borrowings, for instance, were mostly technical terms and the common man had little to do with them. The 17th century is significant in the history of the French loans as it was a period of very close contact between the English and the French in matters of literature and social intercourse. Words like 'dragoon', 'stockade', 'ballet', 'burlesque', 'tableau', 'chagrin', champagne', 'native', 'forte', 'soup', etc. are the representative of the 17th century borrowings from French. While the 18th century was also rich in the French entrants into English vocabulary, the 19th century was also the richest of all in those. Along with the usual borrowings of the military terms, we find those relating to diplomacy and those called forth by the French Revolution. The loan words of the 18th century are 'guillotine', 'regime', 'bureau', 'canteen', 'picnic', 'police', 'coup', etc. The 19th century witnessed a rich harvest of French loans. These include along with the usual military terms those relating to art and letters, textiles and furniture. 'Barrage', 'communique', 'renaissance', 'restaurant', 'matinee', 'motif', 'menu', 'chauffeur', 'elite', etc. are the examples of the 19th century borrowings. The kind of objects and ideas devoted by the French loans made during the two centuries following the Norman conquest till their own story of the conquering Normans and their authority over the conquered English. Waniba the jester in Scott's "Ivanhoe" points out how the living animals like ox, sheep, chalf, swine and deer have continued to bear their English names even after the conquest while the flesh of these animals used as food has been referred to by French words like 'beef', 'mutton', 'pork', 'bacon', etc. Terms relating to war were naturally adopted from the language of the conquerors. War itself is a French word. So are 'battle', 'assault', 'banner', 'armour', etc. The terms relating to family relationships have also been borrowed from the French. Thus 'uncle', 'nephew', 'niece', 'cousin' have all come from French. The use of the French prefix was extended to 'grandson' and 'granddaughter' in Elizabethan times. 'Mother-in-law' and 'father-in-law', though compounded of English words, are literal translation of Old French designations.

    While French loans did contribute to many specialized registers, social loans such as repartee, liaison,naïve,class,décor, rapport, malapropos, métier, faux pas, beau, verve, ménage; and cultural loans such as rôle, crayon, soup, cabaret, cravat, memoirs, champagne, ballet, nom-de-plume, pool, denim, attic, mousseline and vinaigrette constitute the majority of loans.   In the eighteenth century, food and cooking continued to attract French loans (e.g. casserole, croquette, ragout, hors d’ oeuvre, liqueur); so do literature, music, and art (critique, belles letters, connoisseur, vaudeveille, dénouement, précis, brochure).

It is necessary to point out that the majority of native speakers today would not recognize these words as foreign, because they have become apart of the common core. To illustrate, consider, for example, a sample of lexemes added to the military register: army, navy, peace, enemy, arms, battle, combat, skirmish, siege, defense, ambush, stratagem, retreat, soldier, garrison, guard, spy and the ranks of officers such as captain, lieutenant, and sergeant. They hardly seem foreign and it would be impossible to even imagine trying to discuss military matters without these lexemes.Other registers that were flooded with French borrowings were government and administration, law, ecclesiastical matter, fashion, food, social life, art learning and medicine. In the Early Modern English period (EModE), French would continue to contribute to the English lexis; however, the quantity would be considerably less and motives would be different.

   The latter part of Boorde’s comment that “the speche of Englande of late dayes is amended” is indicative of the shift in attitude towards the English lexis.  Indeed, many felt that English was rich enough to express almost anything and that many were borrowing for the sake of magniloquence.  This started a conflict known as the Inkhorn Controversy, which died down in the course of the seventeenth century.To be sure, those in favor of borrowing won the battle;however, the affectation of innovations, particularly French continued to be criticized, especially during the Restoration period.

   In some cases one can no longer decide whether the Germanic or the Romance form of a word has survived into Modern English. Thus in the case of the adjective rich one cannot tell whether it is a continuation of the Old English rice or the later French borrowing riche. However, one can in many cases see a contamination of the morphology of words due to French borrowing. With the previous adjective one can see the Romance suffix in the noun formed from it: richess as opposed to Old English richdom with the Romance ending -ess.

   The Norman Conquest of 1066 left England as a trilingual country,although most people would speak one or two of the dominant languages. Latin was the language for record keeping, learning and church. French was the language of the Norman aristocracy and therefore also the language of the common folk and menials.

When the Norman took over England ,they changed the language of government and the court almost overnight and disregarded existing institutions. Instead,they took on almost wholesale institutions derived from France, including the feudal system which guaranteed strong control by the king.

There were three periods of French borrowings:The first periodfrom about 1066 to 1250 represents the height of Norman power.The language spoken by the Normans, known as Norman French(different from Central or Parisian French) was the language of the King’s court, the nobles’ castles and the courts of law. Norman French was therefore the language of honour,chivalry and justice.

We find the borrowings fall into several groups:

• Names for social roles and occupations that the lower classes would become familiar with through contact with a French-speaking nobility: baron,noble,dame,servant,messenger,feast,minstrel,jug gler,largesse.
• Labels introduced to English through literary channels: story, rime, lay
• Church terms (largest single group)-the need transfrer doctrine and belief from clergy to the people accounts for frequent transfer of words.
• In this period,the words were borrowed as foreign words, i.e.,the French words introduced into English were the sorts of words that people speaking one language often learn from people speaking another.

About 900 words were borrowed during this phase,with most of them showing the effects of Anglo-Norman phonology. In the 150 years following 1250,when all classes were speaking or learning to speak English, French loan-words entered English via speakers who were accustomed to speaking French, who now transferred these words into their adopted language,English.

  The second period,roughly from 1250 to 1400 represents the period of English-French bilingualism in individuals (not just in the nation).The number of French-loanwords ballooned in this period. In 1204, Normandy (in northern France,where the Normans came from) was acquired by the French king. It meant that the Norman aristocracy in England couldn’t travel back and forth between their lands in England or France anymore. They had to choose whether they wanted to remain in England or in France. Those who remained in England began to see England as their home. This led to the reassertion of English as the language of realm. Other reasons for the reassertion of English are: the Normans in England belonged to the Capetian dynasty spoke Norman French; this became non-prestigious in France as the variety spoken by the Angevian dynasty in France, Parisian French, became the prestige variety; because Norman French was seen as socially inferior, it was less difficult to abandon it in favour of English; subsequently, Enland became at war with France in the Hundred Years War(1337-1453).

     Even as English was on its way in, the gaps in English vocabulary had to be filled by loanwords from French. These include items pertaining  to  new  experiences and ways of doing things introduced by the Normans. So whilst  the English already had kings, queens,and earls, terms taken from French include” count, countess, sire, madam, duke, marquis, dauphin, viscount,baron,master.Other domains that became enriched with French loanwords include:

Government and Administrative:govern, government, administer, crown, state,empire, royal, majesty, treaty ,statue, parliament, tax,rebel,traitor,treason,exile,peer,chancellor,treasurer,major,noble,prince,princess,duke,squire,page (but not king, queen,lord,lady,earl),peasant,slave,servant,vassal,sovereign,scepter,ruler,power,

policy,court,office,chancery,counsel,ambassador,wardon,mayor,charter,accord,seal

agreement, covenant, alliance, curfew ,duty ,reign, civil, nation ,tyrant,oppression.

Ecclesiestical: religion, theology, sermon, confession, clergy, clergy, cardinal, friar,crucifix, miter,censer lectern, abbey, convent, creator,savior, virgin, faith, heresy, schism, solemn, divine, devout, preach, pray, adore, confess, fraternity,

charity,chastity, chaplan,abbot, abbes, dean,confessor,person / parson, preacher,

evangelist,saint,chapel,closter,faith,bible,chapter,commandement,divine,service

prayer,sermon,absolution,procession,parish,baptize,praise,glorify,etc.

Legal terms: justice, equity, plaintiff, judge, advacate, attorney, felon,evidence,       petition,inquest,sue,accuse,arrest,blame,libel,slander,felony,adultery,property,heir,estate,executor,privilege,statue,ordinance,judge, chief, crime, fraud, trepass, client,

transgression,accusation,coroner,plaintiff,defendant,claimant,executor,notary,bail,

process, appeal,decree, divorce,exile,heritage,prison, treason,dungeon,arrest,plead,

jail,punish,banish,realese,etc.

Military terms: (Much of the fighting during this time was done in France. Many now-obsolete words for pieces of armor, etc., were borrowed at this time.) army, navy,peace,enemy, arms,battle,spy,combat,siege,defence,ambush,soldier,guard, mail, buckler, banner, lance, besiege, defend, array, admiral, armour, artillery, war,

Fortress,host,warrior,archer,chief,captain,admiral,conqueror,victor,robber,destroy,

expedition,etc.

Clothing and ornamentation: habit, gown, robe, garment, attire, cape, coat, collar, petticoat, train, lace, embroidery, pleat, buckle, button, tassel, plume, satin, taffeta, fur, sable, blue, brown, vermilion, russet, tawny, jewel, ornament, broach, ivory, turquoise, topaz, garnet, ruby, pearl, diamond ,blouse, chemise, cloak, frock,

veil,cotton,boot,broach,pearl,scissors,brush,mirror,towel,carpet,curtain,couch,lace,

blanket,cushion,table,chair,fashion,emerald,sapphire,crystal,amethyst,luxury,satin,

embroidery,taffeta,etc

Food and cooking:feast,repast,collation, mess, appetite, tart, sole, perch, sturgeon, sardine, venison, beef, veal, mutton, port, bacon, toast, cream, sugar, salad, raisin, jelly, spice, clove, thyme,fry,boil,roast,mince,dine,dinner,supper,appetite,flour,lard

grease,spice,vinegar,victuals,sausage,sauce,gravy,jelly,juice,cabbage,biscuit,fritter,cider,cucumber,onion,olive,lettuce,grape,orange,leman,cherry,peach,pastry,treacle,

tart,spice,clove,thyme,herb.

Social terms:curtain,couch ,lamp, wardrobe ,screen, closet, leisure, quilt,checker,

dance, carod,lute, melody,conversation,rein,stallion,trot,harness,mastiff,pheasant,

terrier,squirrel,etc.

Hunting terms:rein, curry, trot, stable, harness, mastiff,spaniel, stallion, pheasant, quail, heron, joust, tournament, pavilion,etc.

Art,Learning,Medicine:painting,sculpture,music, beauty, color, image, cathedral, palace, mansion, chamber, ceiling, porch, column, poet, prose, romance, paper, pen, volume, chapter, study, logic, geometry, grammar, noun, gender, physician, malady, pain, gout, plague, pulse, remedy, poison,clause,logic,geometry,compile,

copy,gout,etc.

Common expressions:draw near, make believe, hand to hand, by heart, without fail (These are loan-translations).

Geography:country,coast,river,valley.lake,mountain, frontier, border, city,hamlet,

village; estate,etc.

Noble title: emperor; duke; duchess; duchy; prince; count; countess; baron; squire; noble(man/woman); gentle(man/woman); dame; damsel,chevalier,master,dauphin,

marquis,etc.

Terms referring to sections of the community: peasantry; people; subjects; burgesses; nobility; gentry; knighthood; chivalry,etc

Terms for emotional states:ease, disease, joy, delight, felicity, grief, despair, distress,courage,folly,passion,desire,jealousy,ambition,arrogance,despite,disdain,malice,envy,avarice,certainty,doubt, enjoy,despise,furious,etc

Trades and crafts: barber, butcher, carpenter, carrier,draper,forester,fruiterer; grocer; mason; mercer; merchant; spicer; painter; tailor; victualler; apprentice; surgeon; physician; bargain; fair; merchandise; price; money; coin; dozen; double; measure; gallon; bushel; purchase; profit; pay; usury; debt; prosperity; barrel; bottle; basket; vessel,etc.

Terms that expressed  fundamental theological or religious concepts : creator,

saviour,trinity,saint,miracle,faith,heresy,reverence,devotion,sacrilege,temptation,redemption,absolution,immorality,salvation,etc.

Pervasive French influence on vocabulary:

by 1300-action, adventure, affection, age, air, bucket, calendar, cheer, city,   coast, comfort, cost, country, courage, debt, force, flower, malice, manner,marriage, noise, odor, opinion, order, pair, people, person, poverty, sign,sound, waste,etc

  by 1350-able, abundant, active, blank, calm, certain, courageous, poor,faint, easy, eager, firm, foreign, jolly, large, perfect, original, nice, hardy,safe, rude, real, solid, special, sudden, sure, tender, universal, usual, allow,apply, arrange, betray, carry, change, chase,close,complain,consider,continue, count, cry, deceive, declare, defy, defer, desire, destroy, embrace, enjoy, enter, flatter, force, grant, increase, inquire, join, marry, muse, murmur,obey observe, pass, please, prefer prove, receive, refuse, remember, reply, to take leave, to do justice, by heart, in vain, without fail,  according to, at large,etc.

Assorted loanwords: affair; action; air; baggage; beauty; branch; cage; cable; cattle; chance; change; choice; company; consent; coward; couple; cry; cure; damage; danger; delay; demand; departure; difference; difficulty; error; example; exception; excercise; experience; face; fate; favour; fence; fool; force; foreign; fountain; guide; honour; labour; leisure; marriage; piece; pencil; possession; question; language; wages able; ancient; brief; certain; clear; considerable; cruel; different; difficult; easy; familiar; famous; favourable; feeble; faint; fine; general; gentle; glorious; poor; safe; sure achieve; arrive; appear; approve; approach; assemble; assist; attend; advertise; affirm; await; blame; catch; cancel; carry; cease; chase; cry; change; consent; consider; count; cover; demand; deny; depart; deserve; discover; disturb; finish; employ; encourage; enjoy; enter; excuse; escape; increase; examine; force; fail; form; grieve; marry; refuse; perish; suffer; paint; perform; propose; save; touch; travel; tremble,etc.

 Two French words borrowed before the Conquest are of considerable interest. These are pride,which appears about A.D 1000, and proud which came in about fifty years later.They are both derived from the French prüd (preux) in modern French which descends from the first element in Latin verb prdesse, to be of value. These words ,which in French had the meaning of valiant, brave, gallant, soon acquired in English sense of arrogant, haughty, overweening.This change of meaning was due, perhaps, to bearing of the proud Normans who came over to England before Conquest in the train of Edward the Confessor,and the aspect in which these haughty nobles and ecclesiastics presented themselves to the Englishmen they scorned.

 The French language has undergone considerable and more recent changes since the date when the Normans brought it into England. Some words that borrowed have become obsolete in their native country,some consonants have been dropped, and the sound of others has been changed, we retain, for instance,the s that the French have lost in many words like beast and feast,which are bête and fête in Modern French. So,too, the sound of ch has become sh in France,but in English words of early borrowings, like chamber,charity, etc.,they keep the old pronunciation.

From early times, however,a large number of Latin words were taken into French, and thence into English, from literary Latin; and as they were never used in popular speech, they did not undergo this process of popular transformation. It is often, therefore, difficult to say whether a Latin word has come to English through the French language, or has been taken immediately from the Latin.  

As a generalization one can say that the French loans are to be found on a higher stylistic levels in English.With the later Central French borrowings this is obvious given the sectors of society where the loans occurred. The general split is between colloquial native words and more formal Romance terms and can be seen clearly I word pairs like “forgive and pardon”.Other examples are:

                   French                                       English

                   close                                              shut

                  answer                                            reply                                                                                                                   

                   odour                                             smell

                   annual                                            yearly

                   demand                                         ask

                   chamber                                        room

                   desire                                            wish

                   power                                           might

                   ire                                                 wrath/anger

                   commence                                     begin

                   cordial                                           hearty

                   felicity                                           happiness

                   aid                                                 help

                   conceal                                          hide

                   repast                                            meal

                   marriage                                       wedding

                   dress                                             clothe

                   amity                                            friendship

                   nourish                                         feed

                   liberty                                           freedom

                   grief                                              sorrow

The third period of French borrowings is from around 1400 onwords.The borrowings of the two periods tent to be more elegant and sophisticated but yet not too far away from the core and several became quite nativised (dance,April,native,fine,line,punish,finish). These later borrowings were more,distant from the core, with attention being explicitly called to their sophisticated, well-bred, cultivated, even arty ’French’ texture for example: ballet, tableau, statuesque ,cliché, motif, lingerie, soufflé, hors d’oeuvre, rouge,  etiquette,etc.

 By the 16th, especially the 17th century England was establishing itself as a modern nation state, economically viable, self-confident, powerful. No longer needed French words-for special effects.

  The words of this period are not from the Norman dialect of French, but from the Central or Parisian dialect. They were borrowed from French as a result of political and cultural relations between the two countries.In the second half of the 17th century France was the greatest power in Europe.The French language became fasionable in England and that caused the appearance of a lot of new French words in the English language.

   Such words as fianc,unique,machine,marine,police,etc were borrowed at this period.A lot of the words borrowed by the English at this period are international,e.g .toilet, hotel, illuminated, elegant, extravagant , delicate, miniature, critique ,symphony ,bourgeois, regime, bomb,etc.

    Under the influence of the French revolution some political terms have entered the English language,e.g. royalism, despotism ,tyranny,democrat, aristocrat, etc.Those words are also international.     Many classical borrowings came into Early NE through French due continous contacts with France, for the French language had adopted many loan-words from classical languages at the time of the Renaissance. Sometimes the immediate source of the loan-word cannot be determined. Thus,the words  solid ,position, consolation and many others, judging by their form,could be adopted either directly from Latin or from French,having entered the French language some time before: such borrowings are often referred to as “Franco-Latin”.

 The influx of French words continued and reached new peaks in the late 15th and in the late 17th century. French borrowings of the later periods mainly pertain to diplomatic relations, social life,art and fashions. French remained the international language of diplomacy for several hundred years; Paris led the fashion in dress, food and in social life and to a certain extent in art and literature; finally, the political events in France in the 18th -19th century were of world-wide significance.

All these external conditions are reflected in French loans.Examples of diplomatic terms are attaché, communiqué dossier; the words ball, beau, cortege, café ,coquette; hotel, picnic ,restaurant refer to social life; ballet, ensemble, essay, genre,pertain to art; military terms are brigade, corps ,manoeuvre, marine, police, reconnaissance; fashions in dress and food are illustrated by words like blouse,chemise,corsage,cravat,menu champagne, soup.Words of miscellaneous character are: comrade, detail, entrance, essay,machine,moustache,progress,ticket.

Words were borrowed from French into English after 1650, mainly through French literature, but they were not as numerous and many of them are not completely assimilated. There are the following semantic groups of these borrowings:

a)words  relating to literature and music: belles-lettres, conservatorie, brochure,

nuance,piruette,vaudeville;

b)words relating to military affairs: corps,echelon,fuselage,manouvre;

c)words relating to building and furniture:entresol,chateau,bureau;

d)words relating to food and cooking:ragout,cuisine,etc.

    Let’s summarise what happened in England after Conquest. For 200 years after the Conquest, the language of policy was French. Numerous English people (those of the upper classes) learned the language through marriage and by association. However, the language of the masses remained English.Until the beginning of the 13th century, French continued to dominate as the language of nobility.   In fact when William died, he left Normandy to his eldest son and England to his youngest son, William the Second. Later Normandy and England were under one ruler,but not until Henry the First. Under Henry the Second,”possessions” in France were even further broadened and enhanced.

   When Henry the 2nd marries Eleanor of Aquitaine, he increased his holdings so that by the time he became King of England, he controlled about 2/3 of France. From William the Conqueror through Henry the 2nd, most kings spent at least 2/3 of their time in France. And besides Henry I, no other English king married an Englishwoman until Edward the 4th in the 1460. Too much time and too much money were invested in France for the nobility not to have,as a natural course of events, used French as the language. No evidence exists to suggest that English was a “hated”language. Most probably very little attention was paid to it because classes simply did not mix. Fusion of the French and English-over time, the two”cultures”assimilated and adjusted to one another. Some nobility spoke English. This would be a natural occurrence. Some clergy preserved  English. Some of educated, the nobility, and clergy, then representing the upper social strata, were bilingual. Knights learned French. Merchants spoke both French and English. Managers (sheriffs, bailiffs,etc.) on large estates were bilingual. For the most part, bilingualism extended only down to the middle class.

CHAPTER III

                       3.1 Stress in French loan-words.

  The stress in French loan-words was shifted in conformity with the English rules of word accentuation, due to the rhythmic or recessive tendency In Old French stress fell on the last syllable of a word, except words ending in –e,which are stressed on the last but one syllable, as ′terre “earth”. In English stress is shifted to the last but two syllable, which, accordingly, is the first of three-syllable words and the second of four-syllable ones. This shift did not take place at once.It appears that a secondary stress developed on the first(or second) syllable while the main stress remained on the last. Eventually the secondary stress became the main one, while the main was reduced to the state of secondary; finally the stress on the last syllable disappeared altogether. Rhythm and rhymes in poetical works, notably in Chaucer’s, give valuable information on this point.

If the first syllable happened to be a verbal prefix, it remained unstressed; a nominal prefix would receive the stress. For example, ho′nour “honour”, co′rage “courage”, nature “nature”, pre′sent(v),present(n).

 In the course of time the borrowed forms from French changed their stress from a final stress (which later developed into an equal stress for all syllables in Modern French) to the more common initial stress typical of all Germanic words in English. Thus words like punish, manner which had original stress on the second syllable came to be stressed on the first syllable and retained this into Modern English. It is important to note that initial stress in English refers to the first syllable of a word stem. This has meant that words like conversion, depletion which are French loans with original final stress came to be pronounced with stress on the second syllable as this was regarded as the stem syllable. With disyllabic words the stress may thus remain on the final syllable for the reason just outlined, cf. revert, review, conduct, and precede. Later on an independent development in English is to be noted whereby verbs and nouns of French origin are distinguished when they are segmentally similar by virtue of different stress. Here initial stress is characteristic of nouns while final stress is used for verbs, cf. convert, convert; conduct, conduct. The principle outlined here are not watertight, however, that is one finds initial stress on apparent prefixes in words like precedence and no difference in stress between disyllabic nouns and verbs in pairs like review, review; address, address.

3.2The French Influence on Middle English Grammar.

   Grammatical assimilation of borrowed words evidently did not give much trouble to the speakers. They freely added English grammatical endings to the stems of the borrowed words and used them in all grammatical forms like native words:e.g.countable nouns took the universal ending (-e)s in the plural, all the verbs (except strive ) became weak and took the suffix –d- to form the Past and Participle II.

   A most important aspect of assimilation was the participation of borrowed words and their components in word formation. As early as ME some French roots came to be combined with English affixes and other roots, e.g. Late ME verrai–ly, un-fruit

ful, gentil-man, gentil-woman (NE very,unfruitful,gentleman,gentlewoman).These words are hybrids as their component parts come from different languages. French derivational affixes began to be used in word-building some time later.

 Quite a few changes in grammar are to be noted with the borrowing from French into Middle English. On the one hand, there are cases where not the infinitive is the model for the loan into English but plural present form of the verb (sometimes unexpectedly). Thus,we have words like resolve which comes from the plural resolvens and not from the resoudre (in which the /u/ indicates that the former /l/ had already vocalized in French). The infinitive which usually forms the point of departure may be borrowed in its entirety.(i.e.with the infinitive ending) in words like “render”from French “render”. In other cases the borrowed infinitive with its ending became a noun,cf.diner which turned into dinner,the corresponding verb being dine. A further case is user which became user (noun) with the verb use.  In  some cases there may be no verb as a result of the change in word class, for instance, souper which turned into supper,the verbal paraphrase being “to have supper”.

 Evidence for the strong influence of French on Middle English is nowhere as forthcoming as in the area of hybridisation by which is meant that a word consists of two elements, one of Germanic and the other of Romance origin. Let’s consider the following:

(1) The formation of verbal nouns from a French stem and the Germanic ending {ing}: preaching, serving.

(2) The formation of nouns by the addition of Germanic suffixes: {ness}: faintness, secretiveness; {dom}: martyrdom; {ship}: companionship, relationship.

(3) The addition of the ending {ly} (< OE -lich) to French loanwords: {ly}: courtly, princely. The same applies to the following endings {ful}: beautiful, powerful; {less}: colourless, pitiless, noiseless.

  The reverse can also be the case, i.e. the ending of a word is French in origin and the stem is Germanic. Consider the following:

(1) The formation of nouns by the addition of suffixes: {age}: mileage, shortage, leakage; {ment}: endearment, enlightenment, bewilderment.

(2) The formation of adjectives by the use of endings: {able}: likeable, loveable, proveable, drinkable, bearable.

   In the case of the last examples one can see that many of the French suffixes became productive in English. Indeed the productivity can exceed that of the donor language. This can be seen in the case of the word mutiner ‘to mutiny’ which in English has lead to no less than six forms: mutine, mutinous, mutinously, mutinousness, mutiny, mutineer. The number of word forms may also have developed differently in the course of time, thus English has entry, entrance while Modern French only has entreé, and of course English has the latter as a recent loan meaning ‘something small before starting a full meal’. The height of productivity is reached, however, by the French adjective veri which originally meant ‘true, real, genuine’ (as is seen nowadays in expressions like You're the very man I'm looking for) and which came to be used in Late Middle English as an intensifying adverb and which has retained and expanded this function since. Originally the English adverb full was used as an intensifier and is still found in fixed phrases like You know full well. 
 
 

3.3 French derivational Affixes in English.

 Alongside words, English also adopted some French derivational affixes (both suffixes and prefixes). This was the way it happened. If English had adopted a certain number of words containing the same affix, the affix could now be used to derive new words from French (and occasionally Scandinavian) stems.

A few examples of French derivational affixes used in English to derive new words are already found in ME: husbandry, goddess. However, a wider spread of the procedure is a fact of the MnE period.

                                      Suffixes.

  A number of French substantives were derived by means of the suffix      “ance, ence; “ignorance, arrogance, entrance, repentance, innocence, excellence, dependence,etc”. The meaning of the suffix became clear to English speakers, and this made possible derivation of new substantives from native English stems, such as hindrance from the stem of the native English verb “hinder”.

   Both Dalton-Puffer and Miller propose that French derivational suffixes became productive in Late Middle English.

   -esse- is employed to form feminine nouns from other nouns. The suffix appears in fairly large number of loans dating from 1160 onwards.The first attested borrowings are “countesse” the wife of a count or an earl is emperice “the consort of an empera” from the Peterborough Chronicle. Later loans are,e.g,clergesse “a learned woman”, grateresse “a female grater”.

-age –is employed to form nouns denoting state or rank from other nouns or to convert verbs into nouns of various meaning.The French loan-words with-age are also numerous and started to appear at the beginning of the ME period.

-erie- is a suffix forming nouns which denote professions or crafts, as well as the collectivity of their members or products or “quality of behavior”, sometimes also rank or conditions. The suffix may be added to nouns,verbs and adjectives.

-ment had penetrated into English as part of such substantives as “government”, “treatment”, “agreement” and was used to derive new substantives from native stems fulfillment, bereavement, amazement, bewilderment,etc.The suffix forms mostly nouns of action, result, state or condition from verbs.

A number of French substantives contained the diminutive suffix –et ,such as coronet “small crown”, cabinet.In some words the final consonant of the stem was -l, as in islet,circlet. It is from words of this type that the suffix –let  was formed, which was eventually joined on to native stems to derive the substantives streamlet ringlet,leaflet,booklet,etc.

 The French suffix –é, used to derive the past participle of French group I verbs (from Latin –atum) penetrated into English as a part of some substantives denoting “a person taking a possessive part in some action or agreement”,such as lesse, employee. Eventually the suffix was joined on to a Scandinavian stem to derive the substantive trustee.

The suffix –al (from French –aille), used to derive abstract substantives from verb stems,penetrated into English as part of the substantives funeral, refusal, arrival, proposal. Eventually it was joined on to an English stem to derive the substantive burial.

The suffix –able,-ible, deriving adjectives which mean “capable of undergoing the action denoted by the verb stem”, came into English as of the adjectives admirable, tolerable, legible, flexible. Eventually it was joined on to native stems to derive the adjectives readable, unbearable, understandable, etc.
 
 Prefixes.

   Some French prefixes also became productive in English. Thus, the prefix dis-, des- with a negative meaning,came into English as part of the French verbs disappoint, disdain, disagree and was  eventually used to derive verbs from native stems: disown, disburden, and from a Scandinavian stem: distrust.

 The French prefix en-(from Latin in-), familiar from such words as encompass, encircle, encage, was joined on to native stems to derive to verbs endear, embed (enb->emb-). 
 
      

 CONCLUSION.

Since the Norman Conquest in 1066 the French language became more and more important. The Normans (North-man) were descendants of the Danes and spoke French influenced by a Germanic dialect. They inhabited some parts in the north of France and adapted not only to the language, but also to the French culture. They had a talent for building churches, cathedrals, castles and proved the English their rank of military quality.

Yet, that does not mean the English culture was inferior to the French one. The Anglo- Saxons were excellent writers, artists and craftsmen. They did not lack in civilization. “French became the language of the upper classes in England simply because it was the language of the conquerors, not because of any cultural superiority on their part.” By this time, the French and English language existed side by side and French took over to be the language of the court and   “royalty of England throughout the twelfth, thirteenth and (diminishingly) fourteenth centuries. “The kings of England spoke French, took French wives and lived mostly in France. The Normans became the new upper class. They dominated all high positions like the church, education, aristocracy, administration etc. So, many other people, particularly among the gentry whose native language was English had to acquire French, if they “wanted to get on in the world.”

   Although there were more common people holding on to their mother tongue than noblemen speaking French, English was on a decline, as the French language had its prestige in the most important ranks.The character of the words now borrowed, the objects and ideas they denoted,are full of significance for England’s early history. This period is one of the most important stages in the development of the English language. "It marks the transition between English as a typologically ′Old Germanic′ language and English of the type familiar to us."The Norman Conquest in 1066 and hence the French influence play a major role in this development. More clearly, French considerably influenced the vocabulary, the morphology and the phonolgy of the English language.