Influence of French on English facts for kids
The influence of French on English is a big topic! It mainly means how French words became part of English. But French also changed how English sentences are put together, how words are spelled, and even how some words are said.
Most French words came into English after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. This was when William the Conqueror and his Norman army took over England. Their language, a type of Old French called Old Norman, became the language of the new rulers, the government, and important people. This went on for hundreds of years, even after the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). French has continued to influence English ever since. Some experts say that more than a third of the words we use in English today come from French! Others even say it's more than two-thirds.
Contents
How French Changed English
English Before the Normans
Before 1066, the language spoken in England was called Old English. It wasn't just one language but many different versions, like different accents or dialects. The most important version was the one spoken around Winchester, which was the capital city back then. People also spoke other languages like Old Cornish and Old Welsh in some areas, and Old Norse (a Viking language) in the North and East.
The Norman Conquest and Its Impact
The story of French influencing English really begins with the Norman Conquest. Around 1064, Harold Godwinson, an important English leader, visited Normandy. He was captured and had to promise William the Conqueror that he would support William becoming king of England.
But in January 1066, Harold was crowned King of England instead! William felt betrayed. So, on September 29, 1066, William landed his army in Hastings, Sussex. On October 14, the English army, tired from other battles, lost quickly after King Harold was killed. William then became King William I of England on December 25, 1066. He's known as William the Conqueror.
William's followers became the new ruling class in England. They spoke Norman French, and they made it the language of the royal court, the justice system, and the Church. Important Norman settlers used French every day. However, most ordinary people in towns and the countryside kept speaking their own versions of Old English.
For a long time, English and French were closely connected. Many English noble families, who were often of Norman background, taught their children French or sent them to study in France. Early Norman kings often spent more time in Normandy than in England. Even royal marriages helped spread French in England. Many English kings married French princesses, which kept French as the language of the English court for centuries.
French Starts to Decline in England
For about 100 years, the Norman nobles ruled both England and Normandy. But in 1204, Normandy was lost to France. This made the nobles in England feel more connected to an English identity. People in England also started to dislike French more, especially after King Henry III gave a lot of special favors to his wife's French relatives.
Around this time, books and writings started to appear that encouraged using English. The French spoken in England also began to be seen as less proper than the French spoken in France. Some nobles even stopped speaking French altogether and switched to English.
In 1328, the King of France died without an heir. Edward III of England and Philip VI of France both wanted to be king of France, which led to the Hundred Years' War. This war made people in England dislike French even more, as it became seen as the language of the enemy.
English started to become important again in government and education. In 1349, the University of Oxford began teaching in English instead of French or Latin.
The use of English became even more common when William Caxton brought printing to England in 1476. Henry IV (1367-1413) was the first English king whose first language was English. And Henry V (1387-1422) was the first king to use English in official government papers.
How French Influenced English Words
The biggest way French influenced English is through its words. It's thought that about one-third of all English words come from French. Some experts even say it could be as high as two-thirds! One linguist, Anthony Lacoudre, believes over 40,000 English words come directly from French and can be understood by French speakers without changing their spelling.
The flow of French words into English wasn't sudden. It started slowly after the Norman Conquest and continued for a long time. It hasn't really stopped even today!
Here are some areas where many French words entered English:
- Government and Social Class: Words like revenue, authority, realm, duke, count, marquis, servant, peasant.
- Church: Words like religion, sermon, prayer, abbey, saint, faith, pray, convent, cloister.
- Law: Words like justice, crime, jury, pardon, indict, arrest, felon, evidence.
- War: Words like army, navy, battle, garrison, captain, sergeant, combat, defense.
- Fashion: Words like gown, robe, frock, collar, satin, crystal, diamond, coat, embroidery.
- Food: Words like feast, taste, mackerel, salmon, bacon, fry, mince, plate, goblet.
- Learning and Medicine: Words like paper, preface, study, logic, surgeon, anatomy, stomach, remedy, poison.
Sometimes, a French word came into English and existed alongside an Old English word that meant the same thing. Over time, these words often took on slightly different meanings. A great example is "food pairs": the English word refers to the living animal on the farm, while the French word refers to the meat you eat. Think of cow (English) and beef (French), swine (English) and pork (French), or sheep (English) and mutton (French).
In other cases, the same French word was borrowed twice, once from the Norman dialect and then again from the Parisian dialect, leading to different meanings. For example, Norman catch and Parisian chase, or Norman warranty and Parisian guarantee.
The period from 1250 to 1400 saw the most French words borrowed into English. About 40% of all French words in English appeared for the first time during these years. After this, fewer words were borrowed, but French words still enter English even today.
How French Changed English Grammar and Structure
French also had some influence on how English sentences are built and how words change form.
- The way we use you for both one person and many people, and for both formal and informal situations, might be linked to the French word vous.
- The common use of -s to make words plural (like "cats" instead of "cat") might have been strengthened by French. Even though English already had an -s ending for some plurals, the French way of forming plurals was very similar.
- Sometimes, you see adjectives placed after the noun, like in "attorney general." This is a direct influence from French.
English also adopted many word parts (called prefixes and suffixes) from French. These include pre- (like in preview), -ous (like in famous), -ity (like in ability), -tion (like in nation), -ture (like in picture), -ment (like in government), -ive (like in active), and -able (like in capable). These now exist alongside older English word parts like over- (like in overcome), -ish (like in childish), -ly (like in quickly), -ness (like in kindness), -ship (like in friendship), -some (like in awesome), -less (like in careless), and -ful (like in helpful).
How French Changed English Pronunciation
The way French influenced English pronunciation was generally small, but there are a few examples:
- Some French loan words keep their original stress patterns, where the stress isn't on the first part of the word.
- The sounds /z/ (like in "zoo") and /v/ (like in "van") became separate sounds in English, partly due to French. In Old English, they were just variations of /s/ and /f/.
- The use of diphthongs like /ui/ (as in "fluid") and /oi/ (as in "boy") also came from French.
How French Changed English Spelling
For hundreds of years after the Norman Conquest, Norman scribes (people who copied and wrote documents) were the main ones writing in English. Because of this, French spelling rules had a big effect on how English words were spelled.
Here are some changes that happened:
- "qu-" instead of "cw-" (like in queen)
- "gh" instead of "h" (like in night)
- "ch" or "cch" instead of "c" (like in church)
- "ou" instead of "u" (like in house)
- "sh" or "sch" instead of "sc" (like in ship)
- "dg" instead of "cg" or "gg" (like in bridge)
- "o" instead of "u" (like in love, son; the original "u" was hard to read next to other letters)
- Doubling vowels to show long vowel sounds (like in see)
- Doubling consonants after short vowels (like in sitting)
- More use of "k", "z", and "j"
Some letters from Old English, like ƿ (wynn) and ð (eth), mostly disappeared, probably because the Normans weren't used to them. The letter þ (thorn) lasted longer but changed its form and eventually disappeared by the 17th century.
Other French Influences on English
The Norman Conquest also had an indirect effect on how standard English developed. When the Normans took over the ruling class and moved the capital from Winchester to London, the old literary style of English from Winchester lost its importance. London's growing power meant that the English spoken around London, which came from a different Old English dialect, became the standard written form.
Norman influence also changed English personal names. Old English names like Alfred, Harold, and Godwin became less popular. Instead, names from Hebrew, Greek, or Christian traditions like John, Peter, and Simon became common, as well as Normanized Germanic names like William, Richard, Henry, Robert, and Hugh.
Examples of English Words from French
This list shows some common English words that came from French, grouped by topic and roughly by when they first appeared in English.
Law and Society Words
- Crown: from couronne, 12th century
- Custom: from custume, 12th-13th century
- Squire: from escuier (shield bearer), 12th-13th century
- Assizes: from assises, 13th century
- Franchise: from franchise, 13th century
- Joust: from joust, 13th century
- Justice: from justice
- Marriage: from mariage, 13th century
- Parliament: from parlement (conversation), 13th century
- Heir: from heir, 13th century
- Summon: from semondre (invite someone), 13th century
- Nice: from nice (idiot/stupid, its meaning changed a lot!), 13th-14th century
- Bourgeois: from bourgeois, 19th century
- Fiancé: from fiancé, 19th century
- Chef/chief: from chef, 19th century
- Flirt: from conter fleurette (flower storytelling), meaning to sweet-talk someone.
Commerce Words
- Caterer: from Old Norman acatour (buyer), 11th century
- Pay: from paier (appease), 12th century
- Ticket: from estiquet (small sign), 12th century
- Purchase: from prochacier (to try to obtain something), 12th century
- Rental: from rental (subject to a fee), 12th century
- Debt: from det, 12th century
- Affair: from à faire (to do), 13th century
- Bargain: from bargaignier (hesitate), 14th century
- Budget: from bougette (small fabric pocket for money).
Sport Words
- Champion: from champion, late 12th century
- Sport: from desport (entertainment), 12th century
- Challenge: from chalenge, 12th century
- Record: from record, 12th-13th century
- To record: from recorder, 12th-13th century
- Court: from court/curt/cort, 13th century
- Tennis: from tenez (hold), 14th century
- Hockey: from hocquet (hooked stick), date unknown.
Domestic Life Words
- Aunt: from ante, 12th century
- Butler: from bouteleur (12th century), or bouteiller (14th century), meaning a sommelier (wine steward).
- Chamber: from chambre, 13th century
- Curtain: from cortine (bed curtain), 13th century
- Blanket: from blanquette (white sheet cover), 13th century
- Towel: from toailler, 13th century
- Chair: from chaiere, 13th century
- Pantry: from paneterie (bread storage place), 13th century
- Cushion: from coissin, 14th century
- Closet: from closet (small enclosure), 14th century.
Food and Cooking Words
- Cabbage: from caboche ("head" in Norman-Picard), 11th century
- Bacon: from bacon (pork meat), early 12th century
- Custard: from crouste (crust), 12th-13th century
- Toast: from the verb toster (to grill), 12th-13th century
- Cauldron: from Anglo-Norman caudron, 12th-13th century
- Cattle: from Anglo-Normand catel (property), 12th-13th century
- Mustard: from moustarde (condiment made from seeds), 13th century
- Grape: from grape (bunch of grapes), 13th century
- Mutton: from moton (sheep), late 13th century
- Beef: from buef (beef), around 1300
- Pork: from porc, around 1300
- Poultry: from pouletrie (the animal), late 14th century
- Claret: from claret (red wine), 14th century
- Mince: from mincier (to cut in small pieces), 14th century
- Stew: from estuver (to soak in a hot bath), 14th century
- Veal: from vel (calf), 14th century
- Banquet: from banquet, 15th century
- Carrot: 16th century
- Aperitif: 16th century
- Hors d’œuvre: late 17th century
- Douceur (small gift): late 17th century
- Casserole (stewed dish): late 17th century
- Menu: late 17th century
- Gratin: late 17th century
- Terrine: 18th century
- Croissant: 19th century
- Foie gras: 19th century
- Mayonnaise: 19th century
- Buffet: 19th century
- Restaurant: 19th century
- Bouillon: 20th century
- Velouté: 20th century
- Confit: 20th century
- À la carte: 20th century.
Art of Living and Fashion Words
- Gown: from gone (pantyhose), 12th century
- Attire: from atir (what is used for clothing), 12th century
- Petticoat: from petti ("of little value") and cotte ("long tunic"), 13th century
- Poney: from poulenet or poleney (foal), date unknown
- Toilette: 17th century
- Lingerie: late 17th century
- Blouse: late 17th century
- Rouge: from rouge à lèvres (lipstick), late 17th century
- Salon: late 17th century
- Couturier: 19th century
- Luxe: 19th century
- Eau de Cologne/Cologne: 19th century
- Massage: 19th century
- Renaissance: 19th century
- Chic: 20th century
- Boutique: 20th century
- Prêt à porter: 20th century
- Libertine: 20th century
- Parfum/perfume: from parfum, 20th century
- Déjà vu: 20th century.
Other Words from French
- Canvas: from Norman-Picard canevas, 11th century
- Catch: from Old Norman cachier (to hunt), 11th-12th century
- Proud: from prud (valiant), early 12th century
- Causeway: from Anglo-Norman calciata, 12th century
- Kennel: from Anglo-Norman kenil (dog), 12th-13th century
- Guile: from guile (fraud/deceitfulness), 12th-13th century
- Foreign: from forain ("the stranger"), 12th-13th century
- Grief: from grief, 12th-13th century
- Solace: from soulace ("the rejoicing"), 12th-13th century
- Scorn: from escorner (to insult), 12th-13th century
- Square: from esquarre, 12th-13th century
- Conceal: from conceler (to hide), 12th-13th century
- Strive: from estriver (to make efforts), 12th-13th century
- Very: from veray (true), 12th-13th century
- Faint: from feint (soft/unenthusiastic), 12th-13th century
- Eager: from egre (sour), 12th-13th century
- Challenge: from chalenge, 13th century
- Change: from the verb changier (to change), 13th century
- Chapel: from chapele, 13th century
- Choice: from chois, 13th century
- Mischief: from meschef (misfortune), 13th century
- Achieve: from achever (come to an end/accomplish a task), 13th century
- Bizarre: 17th century
- Rendezvous: 17th century.
See also
- Glossary of French words and expressions in English
- History of the English language
- History of France
