Topic 42. The Norman Conquest. The Influence of French on the English Language. Borrowings and Calques.

2. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. A HISTORICAL APPROACH

Explain King Æthelred II and his son.

• Æthelred Unraedas + Emma of Normandy = Edward the Confessor

• Flew to Normandy after Dane invasion

• Edward grew strong cultural ties to the Norman court.

• 1042 he became king and brought some Normans into England and granted them positions in government and church

• Small number of French terms began to appear in English. Major wave 1066.

2. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. A HISTORICAL APPROACH

Edward the Confessor

• Earned name due to strong ties with Norman clerics and religion.

• Died January 1066, no heir.

• Candidates: Harold Godwinson (English earl) and young Edgar Ætheling. Both reigned shortly.

2. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. A HISTORICAL APPROACH

The Battle of Hastings

• William claimed Edward had promised him the throne

• Harold had recently fought the king of Norway who also claimed the title

• William I and his army killed Harold and his army.

• Proclaimed 1066, Christmas Day, as William I or William the Conqueror at Westminster Abbey

• Here starts Norman rule.

2. THE NORMAN CONQUEST. A HISTORICAL APPROACH

The Impact on Nobility

• Anglo-Saxon nobility was largely replaced by Norman nobility

• French became the language of the court.

3. THE USE OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH

• Layamon’s Brut use of ME in alliterative verse at the time when French was dominant in literature. Gradual revival of written English

• The three languages were not separate, but rather fluid.

• Increased bilingualism in nobles of governance, commerce, landholding.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

• First century after Norman conquest → saw relatively limited borrowing of French vocabulary

• Most significant expansion: 13th century. → flourish of literary culture in Europe and reworked literary traditions. Le Roman de la Rose.

• Syntax influence of FR in ENG is limited and often indirect.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.1. The Adjective

• ME= adjective placement was more flexible than in ModE.

• The fact that adjectives sometimes appeared after nouns was NOT caused primarily but French but rather English and Latin patterns!!!!!!!

• heir apparent, court martial

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.2. The Definite Article and Relative Constructions

• ME used constructions such as ‘the which’

• Reinforced by contact with French though not a direct borrowing.

• Which became the standard eventually

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.3. Progressive and Motion Constructions

• Go singing, come laughing → aller chantant

• Became more productive in ME and contributed to later developments in the progressive aspect.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.4. Prepositions and Periphrasis

• ME increasingly relied on prepositions as inflectional endings weakened.

• Some prepositional phrases like in spite of (en dépit de) and according to (selon) show influence of French.

• Main change = structural rather than purely lexical.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.5. Fixed Expressions with ‘take’.

Take pride, take notice, take part, are influenced from French prendre.. becaming fully integrated into the English idiom.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.6. ‘Corps’ and Word Formation

• To think that body, (somebody, anybody, etc.) come from French is a misconception.

• Corps (military unit) and corpse DO derive from French, though.

4. THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH ON MIDDLE ENGLISH SYNTAX

4.7. Spelling Changes

• Norman scribes influenced English spelling conventions by introducing French orthographic patterns:

  • qu- for earlier cw- sounds

  • ch-

  • -ou- spellings

  • use of c before front vowels like ceremony or city.

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

Introduction

• Rather than replacement of English after Norman Conquest of 1066, French terms coexisted with native OE ones.

• Doublets or semantic pairs.→ For an English word, there was a French equivalent sometimes.

ask (native ENG) → question (FR) → interrogate (LAT)

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.1. Before 1250

• Contact with Norman elites→ baron, noble, lady, servant

• Ecclesiastical vocabulary → faith, communion, prayer, sermon, etc.

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. Introduction

• 13th century onward, English absorbed a much larger number of French words, as ENG reemerged as a written language.

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. Borrowings

5.2.1. Government and administration

5.2.2. Law

5.2.3. Military vocabulary

5.2.4. Fashion and daily life

5.2.5. Culture and learning

5.2.6. Medicine

5.2.7. Fixed expressions

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.1. Government and administration

• court

• tax

• minister

• parliament

• government

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.2. Law.

• Jury

• Judge

• Verdict

• Justice

• Prison

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.3. Military vocabulary

• Army

• battle

• combat

• defence

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.4. Fashion and daily life

• Jewel

• Luxury

• Banquet

• Dinner

• Beverage

• Curtain

• Cushion

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.5. Culture and learning

• art

• poetry

• ballet

• history

• essay

• theatre

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.6. Medicine

• Clinic

• Plague

• Disease

• Surgeon

5. BORROWINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH

5.2. After 1250. 5.2.7. Fixed expressions

• By chance

• On the verge of

• According to

6. THE REBIRTH OF CLASSICAL LEARNING

• End of 15h century → Latin remained the dominant language of scholarship and Church. French ceased to be essential for Englishmen outside elite and courtly contexts.

• Latin’s central role in intellectual life throughout the late ME and early ModE periods.

• 14th and 15th centuries = Written English revival. Highly layered lexicon combining the THREE languages:

begin - commence - initiate

7. ENRICHMENT OF VOCABULARY

• Introd SAME as U41.

• 7.1. French prefixes

• 7.2. French suffixes

7. ENRICHMENT OF VOCABULARY

7.1. French prefixes

• De-

• Dis-

• Inter-

• Mal-

• Pre-

• Re-

7. ENRICHMENT OF VOCABULARY

7.2. French suffixes

• -able

• -age

• -ance/ence

• -ee

• -ment

• -ure

8. CALQUES

8.1. Loanwords (Borrowings from French)

• 13th-14th c: chamber, mirror, spice, prison, duchess

• 15th century: journal, museum, alliance

• 16th-17th century: ballet, cuisine, portrait, influence

• 18-19th century: boulevard, genre, souvenir, connoisseur

• 20th century: café, menu, mousse

8. CALQUES

8.1. Calques (Loan translations)

• Point of view → point de vue

• Masterpiece → chef-d’œuvre

• Honeymoon → lune de miel