The french influence on the english vocabulary in middle english

TU Braunschweig, Institut für Geisteswissenschaften 
Englisches Seminar/ Linguistik, SoSe 2000 
Proseminar: Historical Linguistics 
 
The french influence on the english vocabulary in middle english 
 
by 
 
Claudia Stehr  

 
Table of contents 
 
1. Introduction  3 
 
2. 11th – 15th century 4 
 
2.1 The decline of English 4 
2.2 The period of Great Influence  5 
 
3. Language influences  7 
 
3.1. Borrowings into the English language  7 
3.2. French loan-words in Middle English  8 
 
4. Middle English dialects  10 
 
5. The loss of native words 12 
 
6. Conclusion 13 
 
7. Bibliography 15

1. Introduction

The French influence on the English vocabulary had its greatest expansion in the period of the Middle English (1150 – 1500). During this time over 10,000 French words were adapted into the English language and about 75 per cent of these are still in use. The reasons for that are, firstly, the bilingualism in England which had been prevailing since the Norman Conquest in 1066. Secondly, the English culture was regarded as inferior, i.e. it had more to gain from the language spoken by the upper classes.¹

Although, these extensive 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, the need of a Standard English are only some examples for this. Does that mean the English we speak today would not have been the same, if there had been no French influence? 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. I want to deal with this matter of fact in my research paper. I will show the historical conditions from the Norman Conquest up to the 15th century in a diachronical way, as it is important to know about the situation in England at that time to understand the changes in the English language. As the French influence hardly affected the English grammar, I will only consider the changes in the vocabulary. I also will briefly refer to other language borrowings to show that the French influence was not the only one, but the most effective in the period of great change – the Middle English. Lastly, in my conclusion I will summarize my results.

2. 11th – 15th century

2.1 The decline of English

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.²

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.”³ 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.”⁴ 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.”⁵

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. This can also be read up in the Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester who commented on the historical situation in England in the 13th century.⁶

2.2 The period of Great Influence

[...] 

1 Cf. Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable (1993), A History of the English Language. London: Routledge, p.163f.

2 Cf. Charles Barber (1993), The English Language: a historical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.134f. 
 
3 Charles Barber (1993: 135). 
 
4 J.A.Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre (1992), A book of Middle English. Cornwall: T.J. Press LTD., p.17 
 
5 Charles Barber (1993: 135). 
 
6 Cf. Charles Barber (1993: 136).

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