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Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2 (B), http://www.uni-jena.de/ (Anglistics/ American Studies), course: PS Introduction to Chaucer's Middle English, language: English, abstract: The English language has undergone tremendous changes over the years of its development from Old English to the Modern English as it is known today. During that time, especially during the Middle English period, several other languages exerted a significant influence and were therefore partly responsible for the changes brought to English over the years. These languages were Latin, French and Old Norse. This paper will focus on the influence of the French language on Middle English, brought on by the Norman Conquest through William the Conqueror. First there will be an explanation of the historical events, which preceded the developments in the England. Afterwards the focus of this paper will rest on the effect of the French language on the Middle English vocabulary, spelling and phonology. This will be explained on the example of an extract of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Nun's Priest Tale. During the course of this paper it will be proved that the French language was one of the main influences, which affected the English language during the Middle Ages.
Seminar paper from the year 2000 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, Technical University of Braunschweig (Englisches Seminar), course: Historical Linguistics, language: English, abstract: 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. 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 only consider the changes in the vocabulary. I also 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.
Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,3, University of Duisburg-Essen, language: English, abstract: 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.
Both a study of Anglo-Norman history based upon long and detailed research and also the biography of a man whose personal career was spectacular.
A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).
The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.
This book shows how, when, and why English took words from other languages and explains how to find their origins and reasons for adoption. It covers the effects of contact with languages ranging from Latin and French to Yiddish, Chinese, and Maori, from Saxon times to the present. It will appeal to everyone interested in the history of English.
This investigation contributes to issues in the study of second language transmission by considering the well-documented historical case of Anglo-Norman. Within a few generations of the establishment of this variety, its phonology diverged sharply from that of continental French, yet core syntactic distinctions continued to be reliably transmitted. The dissociation of phonology from syntax transmission is related to the age of exposure to the language in the experience of ordinary users of the language. The input provided to children acquiring language in a naturalistic communicative setting, even though one of a school institution, enabled them to acquire target-like syntactic properties of the inherited variety. In addition, it allowed change to take place along the lines of transmission by incrementation. A linguistic environment combining the ‘here-and-now’ aspects of ordinary first language acquisition with the growing cognitive complexity of an educational meta-language appears to have been adequate for this variety to be transmitted as a viable entity that encoded the public life of England for centuries.