What Influence did French have on English During the Middle English Period?

Term Paper , 2014 , 13 Pages , Grade: 2,3

English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics

This term paper is going to examine the occurrence and the influence of French words on English language. The French language has always played a significant role in English. According to Scheler, 38 per cent of English words are of French origin. This high amount leads to the result that almost half of the English vocabulary are of French origin. Due to this striking high set of statistics, the reasons for this will be examined in this paper. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of French language on English language during the medieval period. This fact has been particularly pronounced over the last decades. Thus, French had influenced the English lexicon a lot due to the Norman invasion. Where two languages exist side by side for a long time, a huge delivery of words from one language to the other is inevitable. A lot of Old English words were replaced by borrowed items, from the French language. Hence, French remnants can be found a lot in English language. In certain cases, there are striking similarities between both languages, which is interesting to analyse.

First, it starts with a short introduction of the historical background from the French influence on the English language. French influence is direct and observable upon the vocabulary. There will be some examples of borrowed word fields. Regardingly, derivational affixes from Old French into Middle English play a leading role in this term paper as well. In addition, the focus will also be set on the phonological difference between Norman French and Parisian French and on their influence on English language. The development of these words and their loan into the English language are enormous. Throughout the investigation, one can assume that French had influenced English the most in terms of lexicon, vocabulary and suffixation. If William the Conqueror had not invaded England in 1066, the vocabulary of English language would have looked very different. There would have existed a lot of Old English vocabulary in present day English.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• The Role of French in England 1066
• The Background of French Loanwords in Middle English
  • The Influence of French Loanwords in Middle English
  • The French Hybrids in English at Middle English Time
• The Realization of French Derivational Affixes in Middle English
• The Phonological Difference between Norman French and Parisian French and their Influence on English Language
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

The paper examines the impact of French language on English language during the medieval period, particularly focusing on the influence of French loanwords and their impact on the English lexicon. This exploration aims to investigate the reasons behind the significant number of French words in the English vocabulary.

• The historical context of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and its impact on the English language.
• The influence of French loanwords in Middle English, including their fields of usage and the phases of borrowing.
• The realization of French derivational affixes in Middle English.
• The phonological difference between Norman French and Parisian French and their influence on English language.
• The significance of French influence on the English vocabulary, particularly in terms of nouns and abstract concepts.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: This chapter introduces the topic of French influence on English language, highlighting the high percentage of French words in English vocabulary and outlining the paper's objectives.
• The Role of French in England 1066: This chapter discusses the historical context of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and its impact on the English language. It focuses on the role of French as the language of the governing classes and its influence on society, particularly the education system.
• The Background of French Loanwords in Middle English: This chapter delves into the process of borrowing French words into Middle English, outlining the two main phases of borrowing and providing examples of words adopted during each phase.
• The Influence of French Loanwords in Middle English: This chapter explores the significance of French loanwords in expanding the English vocabulary, highlighting the areas where French influence was most pronounced.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This paper focuses on the influence of French on the English language during the Middle English period, examining the historical context of the Norman invasion, the borrowing of French loanwords, the realization of French derivational affixes, the phonological differences between Norman and Parisian French, and the impact on the English lexicon and vocabulary.

• College: University of Duisburg-Essen
• Grade: 2,3
• Author: Bahar Ilk (Author)
• Publication Year: 2014
• Pages: 13
• Catalog Number: V317759
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668170933
• ISBN (Book): 9783668170940
• Language: English
• Tags: what, influence, french, english, during, middle, period