THE FRENCH ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY

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2024-07-16

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Ilmiybaza.uz THE FRENCH ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY Points: 1. Introductory; Early and later loans. 2.Various other elements and Russian borrowings in the English vocabulary. 3.Neologisms, archaisms, hybrids and etymological doublets Key words and word combinations: Loans, foreign adoptions, etymological sense, influx, over-indulgence, flooding of the vocabulary, naturalization of words, internationalism, neologisms, archaisms, coinages, international fund of words No subsequent single influence on English has been equal in its effect to that of the Norman Conquest which, as is known, began in 1066. Loan-words adopted through the conquest of England by the Norman French and the subsequent intercourse between the two nations extending through the whole Middle English period are, no doubt, most important foreign adoptions in the English vocabulary. In books devoted to teaching English it has been customary to consider the French element as but one division of Latin borrowings , which seems justified in the strictest etymological sense. But which respect to English, French surely deserves a separate treatment because of the great number of such adoptions arid the various times at which they have entered. The influence of Modern French on English has been by no means inconsiderable, so that on this account it also deserves separate study from Latin and other Romanic elements. Ilmiybaza.uz THE FRENCH ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY Points: 1. Introductory; Early and later loans. 2.Various other elements and Russian borrowings in the English vocabulary. 3.Neologisms, archaisms, hybrids and etymological doublets Key words and word combinations: Loans, foreign adoptions, etymological sense, influx, over-indulgence, flooding of the vocabulary, naturalization of words, internationalism, neologisms, archaisms, coinages, international fund of words No subsequent single influence on English has been equal in its effect to that of the Norman Conquest which, as is known, began in 1066. Loan-words adopted through the conquest of England by the Norman French and the subsequent intercourse between the two nations extending through the whole Middle English period are, no doubt, most important foreign adoptions in the English vocabulary. In books devoted to teaching English it has been customary to consider the French element as but one division of Latin borrowings , which seems justified in the strictest etymological sense. But which respect to English, French surely deserves a separate treatment because of the great number of such adoptions arid the various times at which they have entered. The influence of Modern French on English has been by no means inconsiderable, so that on this account it also deserves separate study from Latin and other Romanic elements.
Ilmiybaza.uz The linguistic evidence drawn from the nature of foreign borrowings in a given language presents a peculiar interest in the domain of the so-called internationalisms. The flooding of the English vocabulary with Norman-French words began in the 13th century and reached very large proportions in the century that followed. (The Oxford dictionary determines the amount of borrowings from French at different periods.) Since the 17th century French words have been coming slowly as they have been used by great writers, or more largely through the adoption of scientific and philosophical terms. Some of them retain a sort of French pronunciation, with certain modifications of vowel sounds on analogy with English words. It is not easy to estimate the exact relation of the French loan element to the whole number of borrowed words in English, but the largest number of borrowed words in English from any one source is from French, the Latin words standing next in order of numbers. French loans in the English vocabulary may be subdivided into two main groups: 1. early loans - 12th-15th centuries; 2. later loans - beginning from the 16th century. 2. Early French loans Early French loans were thoroughly naturalized in English and made to conform to the rules of English pronunciation. The early borrowings from French were simple short words as distinguished from later introductions. This will be seen from an examination of a number of common monosyllabic words derived from early French. Examples falling under the first three letters of the alphabet are: age, air, arm, boil, brace, breeze, brush, cage, calm, cape car, case, cause, cease, cell, chain, chance, change, chase, chief, chaise, claim, clear, close, corpse, course, court, crime, cry, etc. Ilmiybaza.uz The linguistic evidence drawn from the nature of foreign borrowings in a given language presents a peculiar interest in the domain of the so-called internationalisms. The flooding of the English vocabulary with Norman-French words began in the 13th century and reached very large proportions in the century that followed. (The Oxford dictionary determines the amount of borrowings from French at different periods.) Since the 17th century French words have been coming slowly as they have been used by great writers, or more largely through the adoption of scientific and philosophical terms. Some of them retain a sort of French pronunciation, with certain modifications of vowel sounds on analogy with English words. It is not easy to estimate the exact relation of the French loan element to the whole number of borrowed words in English, but the largest number of borrowed words in English from any one source is from French, the Latin words standing next in order of numbers. French loans in the English vocabulary may be subdivided into two main groups: 1. early loans - 12th-15th centuries; 2. later loans - beginning from the 16th century. 2. Early French loans Early French loans were thoroughly naturalized in English and made to conform to the rules of English pronunciation. The early borrowings from French were simple short words as distinguished from later introductions. This will be seen from an examination of a number of common monosyllabic words derived from early French. Examples falling under the first three letters of the alphabet are: age, air, arm, boil, brace, breeze, brush, cage, calm, cape car, case, cause, cease, cell, chain, chance, change, chase, chief, chaise, claim, clear, close, corpse, course, court, crime, cry, etc.
Ilmiybaza.uz In some cases both nouns and verbs of the same form have been borrowed as, for instance: arm, blame, change, charge, cry, etc. All these have become an integral part of the language, being as truly a part of common speech as words native by origin. They have been so assimilated in sound and inflection as to be recognizable as foreign only to the eye of a philologist. Examples of the naturalization of French words in English may be given in numbers. A few of them will suffice for illustration: a) words stressed in French on the final syllable are now stressed in English on the first syllable, e. g. capital, danger, final, mercy, probable, etc.; b) words with the long [i:] sound diphthongized into [ai], e. g. design, fine, line, lion, price; c) the long [u:] written ou has become [au],.e. g. spouse pronounced [spuz] is now pronounced [spauz]. In a few cases the process of assimilation was facilitated by the fact that a French word happened to resemble an old native one; this was sometimes the natural consequence of French having in some period borrowed the corresponding word from some Germanic dialect. Thus no one can say exactly how much modern rich owes to the Old English rice (rich, overful) and how much to the French riche; the noun richess (now riches) displaced the Early Middle English richedom. But on the whole such similarities between the two languages were few in number. The French dominance is particularly felt in the vocabulary of law. Most words pertaining to law are of French origin. The following examples may suffice to illustrate this: accuse, court, fee, guile, heritage, judge, justice, justify, penalty, privilege, plaintiff, session, suit, etc. Some words which originally used to be technical juridical words have gained a more popular use and in Modern English belong to the vocabulary of everyday life, such as: case, false, oust, matter of fact, marriage, prove, etc. It was also natural that many of the terms relating to military matters should be adopted from Ilmiybaza.uz In some cases both nouns and verbs of the same form have been borrowed as, for instance: arm, blame, change, charge, cry, etc. All these have become an integral part of the language, being as truly a part of common speech as words native by origin. They have been so assimilated in sound and inflection as to be recognizable as foreign only to the eye of a philologist. Examples of the naturalization of French words in English may be given in numbers. A few of them will suffice for illustration: a) words stressed in French on the final syllable are now stressed in English on the first syllable, e. g. capital, danger, final, mercy, probable, etc.; b) words with the long [i:] sound diphthongized into [ai], e. g. design, fine, line, lion, price; c) the long [u:] written ou has become [au],.e. g. spouse pronounced [spuz] is now pronounced [spauz]. In a few cases the process of assimilation was facilitated by the fact that a French word happened to resemble an old native one; this was sometimes the natural consequence of French having in some period borrowed the corresponding word from some Germanic dialect. Thus no one can say exactly how much modern rich owes to the Old English rice (rich, overful) and how much to the French riche; the noun richess (now riches) displaced the Early Middle English richedom. But on the whole such similarities between the two languages were few in number. The French dominance is particularly felt in the vocabulary of law. Most words pertaining to law are of French origin. The following examples may suffice to illustrate this: accuse, court, fee, guile, heritage, judge, justice, justify, penalty, privilege, plaintiff, session, suit, etc. Some words which originally used to be technical juridical words have gained a more popular use and in Modern English belong to the vocabulary of everyday life, such as: case, false, oust, matter of fact, marriage, prove, etc. It was also natural that many of the terms relating to military matters should be adopted from
Ilmiybaza.uz the language of the conquerors, as, for instance, arms, admiral, assault, armour, battle, dart, dragoon, ensign, lance, mail, navy, sergeant, soldier, troops, vessel, etc. Some words which are now used very extensively outside the military domain, were, no doubt, purely military terms: aid, challenge, danger, escape, espy (and its doublet spy), enemy, gallant, march, prison, etc. Among numerous Latin and Greek words, which entered the English vocabulary through the medium of French in the epoch of the French bourgeois revolution we find such terms as: democrat, aristocrat, revolutionary, revolutionize, royalism and still others. We should also mention the 18th century instalment to the vocabulary of literature, e. g. novelist, publisher, magazine, editor, etc. As ecclesiastical matters were also under control of the upper classes, we find a great many borrowings from French among words connected with the church, such as: blame, lesson, pray, service, tempt, etc. Quite a number of such words belong now to the common language, such as: tempt, lesson, blame, etc. The relation between the Normans and the English are to be seen in such words taken from different domains, as: sir and madam, master and mistress, with their opposite servant, command and obey, riches and poverty, interest, rest, cash, etc. There is a predominance of French words in the vocabulary of cookery, which is shown by a great many words, such as: boil, dainty, jelly, fry, pasty, pastry, roast, sauce, sausage, soup, toast, etc. We shall find a very large number of French words denoting different objects that make life enjoyable, e. g. comfort, delight, joy, flower, fruit, pleasure, etc. Recent borrowings from French are of course frequent enough, and often these words carry an unequivocally French appearance; but their number is far less than the number of borrowings direct from Latin. French endings to English words: -able — drinkable, fishable, breakable; Ilmiybaza.uz the language of the conquerors, as, for instance, arms, admiral, assault, armour, battle, dart, dragoon, ensign, lance, mail, navy, sergeant, soldier, troops, vessel, etc. Some words which are now used very extensively outside the military domain, were, no doubt, purely military terms: aid, challenge, danger, escape, espy (and its doublet spy), enemy, gallant, march, prison, etc. Among numerous Latin and Greek words, which entered the English vocabulary through the medium of French in the epoch of the French bourgeois revolution we find such terms as: democrat, aristocrat, revolutionary, revolutionize, royalism and still others. We should also mention the 18th century instalment to the vocabulary of literature, e. g. novelist, publisher, magazine, editor, etc. As ecclesiastical matters were also under control of the upper classes, we find a great many borrowings from French among words connected with the church, such as: blame, lesson, pray, service, tempt, etc. Quite a number of such words belong now to the common language, such as: tempt, lesson, blame, etc. The relation between the Normans and the English are to be seen in such words taken from different domains, as: sir and madam, master and mistress, with their opposite servant, command and obey, riches and poverty, interest, rest, cash, etc. There is a predominance of French words in the vocabulary of cookery, which is shown by a great many words, such as: boil, dainty, jelly, fry, pasty, pastry, roast, sauce, sausage, soup, toast, etc. We shall find a very large number of French words denoting different objects that make life enjoyable, e. g. comfort, delight, joy, flower, fruit, pleasure, etc. Recent borrowings from French are of course frequent enough, and often these words carry an unequivocally French appearance; but their number is far less than the number of borrowings direct from Latin. French endings to English words: -able — drinkable, fishable, breakable;