МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ
Учреждение образования
«Гомельский государственный университет
имени Франциска Скорины»
Факультет иностранных языков
Кафедра теории и практики английского языка
French Borrowings in the Modern English Language
Курсовая работа
Исполнитель:
студент группы ВекшинП.А.
Научныйруководитель: Лобанкова Т.А.
Гомель 2006
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 languageis Belarusian. Almost all the words are native in our language. But some ofthem are borrowed from other languages, though they got their meanings,spelling, according to the Belarusian language. I have been learning Englishsince the first form, so English is the third language in which I cancommunicate a little. Since the sixth form I began to study German, comparingpronunciations of the words, grammar rules, spelling it became easier for me tolearn these languages. And I am sure that it is easier to learn severallanguages comparing them.
Last year I took part in the research workand I got a deeper knowledge of borrowings in English language. And this year Idecided to deepen my knowledge in this theme too. So today we would like topresent you more information about borrowings in English language. This themesounds interesting for us and we guess you will be interested in it too.
An international vocabulary in any languagechanges due to the development of economy, science, education etc. Everythingdepends on time. The same is in English.
The purpose of our research work is to study French borrowings in the modernEnglish language.
The purpose has defined the following tasks:
try to highlight the oldest words borrowedfrom French;
compare unique domination of widespreadlanguages in a certain epoch;
show that English is now the mostwidespread of the word’s languages;
discern the influence of the Frenchlanguage in the early modern period;
compare the sound of «Norman English»of the middle ages and the modern variant.
French borrowings in the modernenglish language
English is a Germanic Language ofthe Indo-European Family. It is the secondmost spoken language in the world.
It is estimated that there are 300 millionnative speakers and 300 million who use English as a second language and afurther 100 million use it as a foreign language. It is the language ofscience, aviation, computing, diplomacy, and tourism. It is listed as theofficial or co-official language of over 45 countries and is spoken extensivelyin other countries where it has no official status.
This domination is unique in history. Englishis 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 ofthe world’s languages.
Half of all business deals are conducted inEnglish. Two thirds of all scientific papers are written in English. Over 70%of all post / mail is written and addressed in English. Most internationaltourism, aviation and diplomacy are conducted in English.
English contains many words from NormanFrench, brought to England during the 11th century Norman Conquest.
In 1066 the Normans conquered Britain. French became the language of the Normanaristocracy and added more vocabulary to English. More pairs of similar wordsarose.
Table 1. French-English bilinguismFrench 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 forthe Norman upper class, the words for most domestic animals are English (ox,cow, calf, sheep, swine, deer) while the words for the meats derived fromthem are French (beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, venison).
The Germanic form of plurals (house,housen; shoe, shoen) was eventually displaced by the French method ofmaking plurals: adding an s (house, houses; shoe, shoes). Only afew words have retained their Germanic plurals: men, oxen, feet, teeth,children.
It wasn’t till the 14th Century thatEnglish became dominant in Britain again. In 1399, King Henry IV became thefirst king of England since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English.By the end of the 14th Century, the dialect of London had emerged as thestandard dialect of what we now call MiddleEnglish. Chaucer wrote in this language.
Modern English began around the 16th Century and, like all languages, is stillchanging. One change occurred when the suffix of some verb forms became s (loveth,loves; hath, has). Auxiliary verbs also changed (he is risen, he hasrisen).
Norman French is the 11th century language of Franceand England. It is an Indo-European language.
In 1066, the Normanking, William the Conqueror, invaded England. Many NormanFrench words entered the language after this. In general, the Normans were the nobility, while the native English were their servants. The names of domesticanimals and their meats show this relationship. The animal name is English («cow», «sheep»,«pig») while the names of the meats derived from these animals isFrench («beef»,«mutton», «pork»).
Table 2. English — A Historical Summary
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Many words have been borrowed from Norman French. These can be grouped into severaltypes:
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 otherwords.
The Normansintroduced the QU spelling for wordscontaining KW («question»).
Table 3. French borrowingsWord 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 burning. 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 appearance. 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 Zealand. 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 (= 4.546 Ч 10-3 m3 in UK; = 3.785 Ч 10-3 m3 in USA) goblin gourd grammar art of letters 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 damage. jettison throw overboard joy judge right speaking 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 «matriarch» (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 famous 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 collector scullery maker of dishes search sermon sewer Originally a channel to carry off overflow from a fishpond. 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 thenobility.
Probably not a great deal of bilingualism
Small numbers of French loans enter English:legal, administrative and military terms.
1200-1300
1204 Loss of Normandy.
French is the cultivated, prestige language.
There is a diagnostic situation, withFrench the high-prestige, English the low-prestige variety.
Norman French has lost its status, andParisian French as the preferred norm.
Large numbers of French loans enter English.
State of English 1300
1300-1400
English becomes the dominant language, butFrench remains dominant in literature and at the court.
Increasing evidence of imperfect knowledgeof French
Table 4. Norman French chronology
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· 1334-1453 The Hundred Years’ War withFrance.
· 1348-9 The Black Death.30% mortality. Labourshortage, wage rises, increasing importance of the English-speaking classes
· 1386 English accepted in the courts (‘Statuteof Pleading’)
· Two major English poets at the end of the14th century:
Gower writes mostly in French (but composesone long work Confessio amantis, in English)
· Chaucer writes almost entirely in English.
· Evidence of private letters:
· 1350: French is the rule.
· After 1400: English becomes common.
· After 1450: English is the rule.
· Use of English in schools.
The influence of French on English in theearly modern period
Influence on English phrasing
Aside from borrowing and word formation,French considerably influenced English phrasing. The loan translations rangefrom polite turns of speech, such as at your service, do me the favour, toengage somebody in a quarrel, to make (later: pay) a visit, toidiomatic phrases like by occasion, in detail, in favour of, in the lastresort, in particular, to the contrary.
ME pronounciation
The English language of the middle ages isdifferent from the modern one. Here are two extracts from Geoffrey Chaucer’sCanterbury Tales to compare:
From theGeneral Prologue Whan thatApril with his showres soote The droughte of March hath perced to the roote, Andbathed every veine in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flowr;
Whan Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth Inspiredhath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath inthe Ram his halve cours yronne, And smale fowles maken melodye That sleepen althe night with open yë — (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages) — Thannelongen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondesTo ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende OfEngelond to Canterbury they wende, The holy blisful martyr for to seeke, Thathem hath holpen whan that they were seke.
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The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale fromThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, performed by Elizabeth Salter, fromGeoffrey Chaucer: The Wife of Prologue and Tale (Cambridge University PressISBN 0521635306) (p) 1976, 1998 Cambridge University Press. All Rights Reserved./© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Conclusion
Language belongs to each of us. Everyoneuses words. What is there in a language that makes people so curious? Theanswer is that there is almost nothing in our life that is not touched bylanguage. We all speak and we all listen so we are all interested in the originof words, in how they appear and die. Nowadays 750 million people all over theworld use English. It has become the language of the planet.
Most of words are the same, but there are somedifferences. For example in Middle English ynogh is enough inmodern English; longe is long; agoon is ago and soon, but they are a little bit similar in writing, so it is not very difficultto understand them.
Though the number of French loans in the modernperiod is relatively minor in comparison to Middle English, the contribution ismost important. The French Loans were primarily borrowed to provide richness tothe language. Whilst it was arguable during the Restoration whether the loanswere corrupting or enriching the language, today there is no doubt ordisputable grounds to argue that the loans did nothing but enrich the Englishlanguage.
The borrowing of vocabulary israpprochement of nations on the ground of economic, political and cultural connections.The bright example of it can be numerous French borrowings to English language.
Attempts to continue borrowings in 20thcentury did not have special success because language became more independent.
In my opinion we managed to study theproblems of French borrowings in the English language. We understood possibleways of penetrating French words in the English language, we have seendifference ways of difference types of borrowings.
In spite of arrival of the words fromdifferent languages into the English vocabulary, the English Language did notsuffer from large flow of foreign elements.
On the contrary its vocabulary has beenenriched due to the taken foreign elements.
Biblography
1. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. История английского языка. — СПб.: Лань, 1999.
2. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. Практикум по историианглийского языка. — СПб.: Лань, 1999.
3. Смирницкий А.И. Древнеанглийский язык. — М., 1955.
4. Советский энциклопедический словарь. — М.: Советская энциклопедия,1980.
5. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2004 Ultimate Reference CD-ROM
6. Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2005
7. McCrum R. The Story of English. — New-York, 1987.
8. Whitelock D. The Beginning of English Society. — Harmondsworth Middlesex,1952.
9. New Webster’s Dictionary, 1998.