Northwestern Polytechnical University
School of Foreign languages
The French Influence On
The English Vocabulary
Candy Zhang
2010******
Abstract
English, like all languages in the world, has changed through its history. It has been shaped by a number of other languages over the centuries. Foreign influences on English are so great that they have changed English from an almost pure language to a completely mixed one. The language which has had the most penetrating influence on English is Frenc
h, mainly due to the crown of Britain was ruled by Norman French for two centuries. This essay will illustrate the lexical fields of French loanwords in English during the Middle English and the Early Modern English periods and explore the French influence on the English vocabulary. The sociolinguistic factors that affected the changing language contact situation will also be taken into account.
Key Words: French, English, Vocabulary, Influence, Norman Conquest
Introduction
教学大纲怎么写The development of a certain language has a long history. It is inevitable that different languages influence and penetrate each other in their formation and development. English is a typical reprentative of this kind of language that assimilates the refined parts of other languages to enrich itlf. Today, the English language is the third most widely spoken language in the world after Mandarin and Spanish. It is the official languag
e of most of the Commonwealth countries and is widely learned as a cond language in most of the countries of the world. Historically, English has been greatly influenced by various languages, especially by French. The influence of the French language upon the English language can be divided into two main stages. The first stage is from Norman Conquest to the year 1500 (the Middle English period). During this period over 10,000 French words were adopted into English and about 75 percent of the are still in u. At this stage the French was ud by the upper class at first, and then the two languages mixed up and the French was acknowledged by common people. T达成协议英文>genderhe cond stage is from the Renaissance to the twentieth century (the Early Modern English period). During this period the scale of loanwords was wider and we can find words relating to every aspect of human society. Moreover, the degree of vocabulary influence was considerable.
The Influence of French on the English vocabulary during the Middle English Period怎么读
Social-historical background
One of the most significant influences on Middle English was French, strictly, Norman French, the language introduced in Britain by the invader. Since Edward, king of England, died childless, Harold was elected the king. But his power was challenged by William, Duke of Normandy. He invaded the country and won Harold, and then on Christmas 1066, he was crowned as the king of England.alstom
A欣慰英文fter the conquest, the ruling class, their rvants and the bishops were Normans. Moreover, a large number of Norman French lower class came to England. Since the actual number of the Normans who ttled in England was sufficiently great, they continued to u their own language, Norman French. The main reason for the continuity can be sought in the fact that the kings of England were likewi dukes of Normandy. orientation翻译Therefore, it was natural for the kings to keep contact with their territories in France. For about 200 years after the Conquest the two languages Anglo-Saxon and Norman-French were ud side by side without mingling. However, since the two peoples of the society could not live parately, and had some relations with each other, they gradually came to learn and understand the other language. The Englishman who associated with the gover
ning class soon mastered French. Knowing French and speaking it was a mark of social status at that time. Meanwhile, as English was the language of greater part of the population, many of the Frenchmen would get familiar with it.
However, in 1204, the English kings lost Normandy. Tagp是什么he loss of Normandy was advantageous to the English language becau the upper class became bilingual. They intended to u their own language. The decay of French as the predominant language of the ruling class was hastened by another invasion. The new invasion began in the time of King John, who wife was from France. In the time of his son, Henry Ⅲ, great number of Frenchmen poured into England. He dismisd all the native officers and appointed foreigners in their places. Conquently, national feelings aroud the Englishmen. Another factor was the hundred years’ war, beginning in 1337, which made England and France bitter enemies. It further aroud the national feelings against the u of French. At the same time, the condition of the peasant class gradually improved, and the merchant and craftsman class developed increasingly important in the towns, becoming a rich and powerful class between the nobility and peasants. Such an in
crea in the importance of the peasants and this new middle class undoubtedly led to an increa in the importance of the language they spoke. Thus, at the end of the thirteenth century and especially in the cour of the fourteenth century, French language gradually lost its influence on English.
The Norman French influence on the English vocabulary
The Norman’s influence was so great that the English language after the Norman Conquest was very 复仇者联盟英文台词different from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The most important influence the French language had on the English阿黛尔新歌 language was the introduction of too many French words into English. In the influx of French words two stages can be known, with the year 1250 as an approximate dividing line. Since the French influence on the English language did not occur immediately after the Conquest, there were probably not more than 900 loan words before 1250. After 1250, the upper class who had been accustomed to speak French were returning to u English. As they did not know English perfectly, they often needed to u French to express themlves. The language with mor
e powerful speakers was regarded as more prestigious. In this way the upper class brought an astonishing number of French words relating to government, administration, law, religion, army, and art into English. The lexical items reflected the interests of the French-speaking ruling group, and had prestigious connotations. However, it should be noted that not all French loan words are related to the class. The lower and specially the middle class of Englishman liked to be able to communicate with their superiors and also thought it fine to be able to talk French. In this way many common French words relating to fashion, food, social life, learning and medicine found their ways into the English vocabulary. (A list of some French loan words is provided in Appendix Ⅰ )
