FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

            The French influence had begun to be felt in England much earlier than the Norman  Conquest. The English King, Edward the Confessor (1042-66) had a Norman mother and was brought up in Normandy, a Northern Province of France. When he became the King of England in 1042, he brought with him a group of Normans and Norman French was freely used in the king’s court. Thus the infiltration of Norman French had reached England much before the Norman Conquest.

            The Norman invasion of England (William, Duke of Normandy & 60,000 Normans) in 1066 had a major impact not only on the country but also on the English language. Bill Bryson, a noted American linguist of the English language, calls the Norman conquest of 1066 the "final cataclysm [that] awaited the English language." William the Conqueror and his merry band of Normans brought with them Norman French, which became the language of the court, government and the upper class for the next three centuries. French-speaking Normans carried out government and educational duties. French words were generally used by educated English people or by the press and other media and were seen as part of a distinguished language. The Norman invasion caused a bilingual environment with the middle class speaking both French and English. English was demoted to humble everyday uses, and it became the language of peasants and the uneducated. These two languages existed side by side in England with no noticeable difficulties. It brought approximately 10,000 Norman French words into Middle English. After 80 years or so of coexisting with French, Old English segued into Middle English, which was the vernacular spoken and written in England from about 1100 to about 1500. This is when Early Modern English, the language of Shakespeare, emerged. This evolutionary version of English is nearly identical to the English we know today.

            The influence of French upon the English language not only pertains to its syntax [the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence] and grammar but also its lexicon, [vocabulary] orthography, [the conventional spelling system of a language] and pronunciation.

            During the period when Norman French was the dominant language, English was rarely used in writing and started to change in many ways. Before the conquest English had a much more complex grammar, however, 70 or 80 years later, the grammar had become much simpler. English was essentially ignored by grammarians during this time yet it evolved independently, becoming a simpler language grammatically.  This change is known as the transformation from Old English to Middle English. At the same time, Norman French became Anglo-Norman as it was itself affected by English.

Norman French and Parisian French

      In some cases, words with the same or similar meanings were borrowed from both Norman French and Parisian French at different times. For example, warden comes from Norman French, while guardian comes from Parisian French.

Spelling

      The spelling of English changed to some extent under the influence of French. The Old English spellings cw, sc and c became qu, sh and ch. Eg: queen - cwen, ship - scip, and should - scolde.

Pronunciation

English Pronunciation owes a lot to French as well. Whereas Old English had the unvoiced fricative sounds [f], [s], [θ] (as in thin), and [∫] (shin), French influence helped to distinguish their voiced counterparts [v], [z], [ð] (the), and [ʒ] (mirage), and also contributed the diphthong [ɔy] (boy).

Grammar

English grammar takes on a few French structures, such as putting in adjectives after nouns in some expressions. Eg: attorney general, secretary-general, surgeon general

Many English nouns, verbs and adjectives borrowed from Old French have not kept the meaning they had in Old French, but have developed a different meaning. These words, as well as those which kept their Old French meaning in English but acquired a different one in modern French, are known as false friends. For example, egre, meaning 'sour', became aigre in French while mutating into 'eager' in English.

• The current French word sometimes deviates more from its old form than the English. For example, the Old French ante became "tante" in modern French and "aunt" in modern English.
• Other English words are composed of words of both French and Germanic origins (handkerchief: hand is from the proto-Germanic khanduz and kerchief is a mutation on the old French core chief)
• Some Old French words do not survive in modern French, while they still exist in English (soulace, conceler, estriver, gone).
• It is not uncommon either for an English concept to have two or even three words to describe it, one of French origin, one from proto-Germanic and another of Latin origin (royal, kingly, and regal all mean the same thing).
• Some pairs of words with similar meanings were successively adopted from Norman French in the Middle Ages and Modern French in more recent times, such as warranty and guaranty, or ward and guard.
• Most English words ending in -ous, -ty (on the model of -té),-tion, -ture, -ent are of French origin.

·         a type of bovine (of or relating to cattle/ buffalo etc.) (from Latin bovinus via French bovin).

• Some Anglicisms were borrowed by English from French, which more recently borrowed them back from English (bacon).

[The word derives originally from the Old High German “bacho”, meaning “buttock”, which in turn derived from the Proto-Germanic “backoz”, meaning “back”.  By the 14th century, it found its way into Old French as “bacun”, meaning “back meat”.  And by the 16th century, it found its way into Middle English as “bacoun”, which referred to all cured pork, not just the back meat.]

Contribution of the French lexicon (word list) to English

The names of most of the officers of the state and the names of the governing bodies and their activities are French. Eg: chancellor, minister, state, government, parliament, assembly etc.

As a result of feudalism [the social and land-owning system in the Middle Ages that is organized according to rank] a number of words entered the English vocabulary—fief, [a piece of property, usually land, that was held in return for service, which could include military duties] feudal, vassal.

Most of the designations of rank are French---prince, princess, peer, duke, duchess, baron, etc.

Along with war, many military terms entered the English vocabulary: army, armour, lance, attack, defend, retreat, surrender, soldier, troop, navy, battle, etc. The names of the military officers are mostly of French origin---captain, colonel, lieutenant, etc.

The superiority of French cooking is also demonstrated by such terms as boil, broil, fry, greel, roast, and toast.

Breakfast is English, but the more sumptuous dinner and supper are French.

The names of more elegant occupations like carpenter, draper, joiner, mason, painter and tailor.

The names of commoner parts of the human body are English but French face and voice ousted the corresponding English words.

Ecclesiastical matters were for long under the control of the Normans and hence we find in English such French words as religion, service, sermon, baptism, Trinity, saviour, prayer, clergy, preach sermon, angel, cardinal, piety, vice, duty, chaste, mercy, pity etc.

The French set the standard of fashion and dress, which is reflected in the words—dress, fashion, apparel, garment, gown, luxury, adorn etc.

Again the French practised a brighter view of life contrasted with the gloomy and cheerless attitude of the English. This is evident from the existence in English of French words like joy, pleasure, beauty, comfort, flower, dance, music, sport, cards, tournament etc.

The English also borrowed from their ruler words of an exclamatory nature—alas, adieu.

There are some English words which are associated with the long part of the nation and emotionally charged, and more popular, while the corresponding French words are more formal or refined or official.

Thus a cottage is finer than a hut; amity lacks the warmth of friendship; a ghost is more terrifying than a spectre.

But the French words, marry and marriage have become more popular than the native wed and wedding.

The French influence was also responsible for a phenomenon which must be termed one of the most prominent features of the English language, namely hybridism. Through hybridism new words were formed in English alternatively from an English prefix with a French word or from a French word with an English suffix or from a French prefix with an English word;

Eg: un-able, out-cry, court-ship, prophet-ess, bear-able, demi-god, em-bolden etc.

French-to-English lexical contributions
The periods during which these words were used in the English language are specified but it is not always possible to state with certainty the precise period in which a word was borrowed. The English word is on the left, with its current French equivalent in brackets, then its Old French origin in bold.

Law and society

After the Norman Conquest, French was the language of the law courts for more than two centuries.

[justice, jury, judge court, bar, bill, bail, prison, act, council, money, and judicial ]

• Crown (couronne): couronne
• Custom (coutume): custume
• Squire (propriétaire terrien): from escuier, the bearer of the écu, bouclier
• Assizes (assises): from assises
• Franchise (franchise): from franchise
• Joust (joute): from joust
• Marriage (mariage): from marriage, spouses' belongings
• Parliament (parlement): from parlement, conversation
• Heir (héritier): from heir
• Summon (convoquer): from semondre, invite someone to do something
• Nice (bon, gentil): from nice, idiot/stupid
• Bourgeois, from bourgeois
• Fiancé, from fiancé
• Chef/chief, from chef,
• Flirt, from conter fleurette, flower storytelling.

Commerce

• Caterer (approvisionneur): from Old Norman acatour, buyer
• Pay (payer): from paier, appease
• Ticket (ticket): from estiquet, small sign
• Purchase (acheter): from prochacier, "to try to obtain (something)
• "Rental (loyer): from rental, subject to an annual fee
• Debt (dette): from det
• Affair (affaire; liaison amoureuse): from à faire
• Bargain (marchander): from bargaignier, hesitateBudget: from bougette, small fabric pocket for coins and bills of exchange.

Sport

• Champion (champion): from champion
• Sport (sport): from desport, entertainment
• Challenge (challenge): from challenge
• Record (record): from record
• To record (enregistrer): from recorder
• Court (cour): from court/curt/cort
• Tennis (tennis): from tenez, holdHockey (hockey): from hocquet, hooked stick, date unknown.

Domestic life

• Aunt (tante): from ante
• Butler (majordome, maître d’hôtel): from bouteleur or bouteiller sommelier.
• Chamber (chambre): from chambre
• Curtain (rideau): from cortine, bed curtain
• Blanket (couverture): from blanquette, white sheet cover
• Towel (serviette): from toailler
• Chair (chaise): from chaiere
• Pantry (garde-manger): from paneterie, bread storage place,
• Cushion (coussin): from coissin
• Closet (placard ou cabinet): from closet, small enclosure

Kitchen

• Cabbage (choux): from caboche, "head" in Norman-Picard language
• Bacon (bacon): from bacon, pork meat, "Salted bacon arrow"
• Custard (crème épaisse): from crouste, crust
• Toast (tartine grillée): from the verb toster, to grill
• Cauldron (chaudron): from Anglo-Norman caudron
• Cattle (bétail): from Anglo-Normand catel, property
• Mustard (moutarde): from moustarde, condiment made from seeds mixed with grape must
• Grape (raisin): from grape, bunch of grapes
• Mutton (viande de mouton): from moton, sheep
• Beef (viande de bœuf): from buef, beef
• Pork (viande de porc): from porc
• Poultry (viande de volaille): from pouletrie, poultry (the animal)
• Claret (clairet, rouge de Bordeaux): from claret, red wine
• Mince (couper fin, émincer): from mincier, to cut in small pieces
• Stew (ragoût): from estuver, to "soak in a hot bath
• "Veal (viande de veau): from vel, calf,
• Banquet (banquet): from banquet
• Carrot (carotte)
• Aperitif (apéritif)
• Hors d’œuvre
• Douceur (petit cadeau, pourboire)
• Casserole (plat mijoté)
• Menu
• Gratin
• Terrine
• Croissant
• Foie gras
• Mayonnaise
• Buffet
• Restaurant
• Bouillon
• Velouté
• Confit
• À la carte

Food and Cooking Terms

In addition to the below, French has given us the following food-related terms: blanch (to lighten in color, parboil; from blanchir), sauté (fried over high heat), fondue (melted), purée (crushed) flambée  (burned).

French	English (literal)	Explanation
à la carte	on the menu	French restaurants usually offer a menu with choices for each of the several courses at a fixed price. If you want something else (a side order), you order from the carte. Note that menu is a false cognate in French and English.
au gratin	with gratings	In French, au gratin refers to anything that is grated and put on top of a dish, like breadcrumbs or cheese. In English, au gratin means "with cheese."
à la minute	to the minute	This term is used in restaurant kitchens for dishes that are cooked to order, rather than made ahead of time.
apéritif	cocktail	From Latin, "to open".
au jus	in the juice	Served with the meat's natural juices.
bon appétit	good appetite	The closest English equivalent is "Enjoy your meal."
café au lait	coffee with milk	Same thing as the Spanish term café con leche
cordon bleu	blue ribbon	Master chef
crème brûlée	burnt cream	Baked custard with carmelized crust
crème caramel	caramel cream	Custard lined with caramel like a flan
crème de cacao	cream of cacao	Chocolate-flavored liqueur
crème de la crème	cream of the cream	Synonymous with the English expression "cream of the crop" - refers to the best of the best.
crème de menthe	cream of mint	Mint-flavoured liqueur
crème fraîche	fresh cream	This is a funny term. Despite its meaning, crème fraîche is slightly fermented, thickened cream.
cuisine	kitchen, food style	In English, cuisine refers only to a particular type of food/cooking, such as French cuisine, Southern cuisine, etc.
demitasse	half cup	In French, it's hyphenated: demi-tasse. Refers to a small cup of espresso or other strong coffee.
dégustation	tasting	The French word simply refers to the act of tasting, while in English "degustation" is used for a tasting event or party, as in wine or cheese tasting.
en brochette	on (a) skewer	Also known by the Turkish name: shish kebab
fleur de sel	flower of salt	Very fine and expensive salt.
foie gras	fat liver	The liver of a force-fed goose, considered a delicacy.
hors d'œuvre	outside of work	An appetizer. Œuvre here refers to the main work (course), so hors d'œuvre simply means something besides the main course.
nouvelle cuisine	new cuisine	Cooking style developed in the 1960s and 70s that emphasized lightness and freshness.
petit four	little oven	Small dessert, especially cake.
vol-au-vent	flight of the wind	In both French and English, a vol-au-vent is a very light pastry shell filled with meat or fish with sauce.

Art of living and fashion

• Gown (robe): from gone, pantyhose
• Attire (tenue, vêtement): from atir, "what is used for clothing"
• Petticoat (jupon): from petti ("of little value") and cotte ("long tunic")
• Poney (poney): from poulenet or poleney, foal
• Lingerie (peignoir)
• Blouse
• Rouge (rouge à lèvres): from rouge à lèvres, lipstick
• Salon
• Couturier
• Luxe
• Eau de Cologne/CologneMassage
• Renaissance
• Boutique
• Prêt à porter
• Libertine (libertin)
• Parfum/perfume: from parfum
• Déjà vu

Fashion and Style

French	English (literal)	Explanation
à la mode	in fashion, style	In English, this means "with ice cream," an apparent reference to a time when ice cream on pie was the fashionable way to eat it.
BCBG	good style, good sort	Preppy or posh, short for bon chic, bon genre.
chic	stylish	Chic sounds more chic than "stylish."
crêpe de Chine	Chinese crepe	Type of silk.
décolletage, décolleté	low neckline, lowered neckline	The first is a noun, the second an adjective, but both refer to low necklines on women's clothing.
démodé	out of fashion	Same meaning in both languages: outmoded, out of fashion.
dernier cri	last cry	The newest fashion or trend.
eau de cologne	water from Cologne	This is often cut down to simply "cologne" in English. Cologne is the French and English name for the German city Köln.
eau de toilette	toilet water	Toilet here does not refer to a commode. See "toilette" in this list. Eau de toilette is a very weak perfume.
faux	false, fake	As in faux jewels.
haute couture	high sewing	High-class, fancy and expensive clothing.
passé	past	Old-fashioned, out-of-date, past its prime.
peau de soie	skin of silk	Soft, silky fabric with a dull finish.
petite	small, short	It may sound chic, but petite is simply the feminine French adjective meaning "short" or "small."
pince-nez	pinch-nose	Eyeglasses clipped to the nose
prêt-à-porter	ready to wear	Originally referred to clothing, now sometimes used for food.
savoir-vivre	to know how to live	Living with sophistication and an awareness of good etiquette and style
soigné	taken care of	1. Sophisticated, elegant, fashionable  2. Well-groomed, polished, refined
toilette	toilet	In French, this refers both to the toilet itself and anything related to toiletries; thus the expression "to do one's toilette," meaning to brush hair, do makeup, etc.

Other domains

• Canvas (toile): from Norman-Picard canevas
• Catch (attraper): from Old Norman cachier, to hunt
• Proud (fier): from prud, valiant
• Causeway (chaussée): from Anglo-Norman calciata
• Kennel (chenil): from Anglo-Norman kenil, dog
• Guile (fourberie, ruse): from guile, fraud/deceitfulness
• Foreign (étranger): from forain, "the stranger"
• Grief (chagrin): from grief
• Solace (consolation): from soulace, "the rejoicing"
• Scorn (mépris): from escorner, to insult
• Square (carré): from esquarre
• Conceal (cacher): from conceler, to hide
• Strive (s’efforcer): from estriver, to make efforts
• Very (très): from veray, true
• Faint (faible): from feint, soft/unenthusiastic
• Eager (désireux de): from egre, sour
• Challenge (défi): from chalenge
• Change (changer): from the verb changier, to change
• Chapel (chapelle): from chapele
• Choice (choix): from chois
• Mischief (malice, méchanceté): from meschef, misfortune
• Achieve (achever): from achever, come to an end/accomplish (a task)
• Bizarre
• Rendez-vous

French Words and Phrases Related to the Arts

French	English (literal)	Explanation
art déco	decorative art	Short for art décoratif. A movement in art of the 1920s and 1930s characterized by bold outlines and geometric and zigzag forms.
art nouveau	new art	A movement in art, characterized by flowers, leaves, and flowing lines.
aux trois crayons	with three crayons	Drawing technique using three colors of chalk.
avant-garde	before guard	Innovative, especially in the arts, in the sense of before everyone else.
bas-relief	low relief/design	Sculpture that is only slightly more prominent than its background.
belle époque	beautiful era	The golden age of art and culture in the early 20th century.
chef d'œuvre	chief work	Masterpiece.
cinéma vérité	cinema truth	Unbiased, realistic documentary filmmaking.
film noir	black movie	Black is a literal reference to the stark black-and-white cinematography style, though films noirs tend to be dark figuratively as well.
fleur-de-lis, fleur-de-lys	flower of lily	A type of iris or an emblem in the shape of an iris with three petals.
matinée	morning	In English, indicates the day's first showing of a movie or play. Can also refer to a midday romp with one's lover.
objet d'art	art object	Note that the French word objet does not have a c. It is never "object d'art."
papier mâché	mashed paper	Novel with real people appearing as fictional characters.
roman à clés	novel with keys	A long, multivolume novel that presents the history of several generations of a family or community. In both French and English, saga tends to be used more.
roman-fleuve	novel river	A long, multivolume novel that presents the history of several generations of a family or community. In both French and English, saga tends to be used more.
trompe l'œil	trick the eye	A painting style that uses perspective to trick the eye into thinking it is real. In French, trompe l'œil can also refer in general to artifice and trickery.

French Ballet Terms Used in English

French has also given English scores of words in the domain of ballet. The literal meanings of the adopted French words are below.

French	English
barre	bar
chaîné	chained
chassé	chased
développé	developed
effacé	shaded
pas de deux	two step
pirouette	chained
plié	bent
relevé	lifted

French Words and Expressions in the English Language

Each term is followed by the literal English translation in quotation marks and an explanation. 

adieu   "until God"

   Used like "farewell": When you don't expect to see the person again until God (meaning when you die and go to Heaven)

allée   "alley, avenue"
   A path or walkway lined with trees

amour-propre   "self-love"
   Self-respect

billet-doux   "sweet note"
   Love letter

blond, blonde   "fair-haired"
   This is the only adjective in English that agrees in gender with the person it modifies: Blond is for a man and blonde for a woman. Note that these can also be nouns.

bon voyage   "good trip"
   In English, it would be, "Have a good trip," but Bon voyage is considered more elegant.

brunette   "small, dark-haired female"
   The French word brun, dark-haired, is what English really means by "brunette." The suffix -ette indicates that the subject is small and female.

critique   "critical, judgment"
   Critique is an adjective and noun in French, but a noun and verb in English; it refers to a critical review of something or the act of performing such a review.

cul-de-sac   "bottom (butt) of the bag"
   Dead-end street

divorcé, divorcée   "divorced man, divorced woman"
   In English, the feminine, divorcée, is far more common and is often written without the accent: divorcee

encore   "again"
   A simple adverb in French, "encore" in English refers to an additional performance, usually requested with audience applause.

femme fatale   "deadly woman"
   An alluring, mysterious woman who seduces men into compromising situations

fin de siècle   "end of the century"
   Refers to the end of the 19th century

genre   "type"
   Used mostly in art and film. as in, "I like this genre."

petit   "small"
   (law) lesser, minor

rendezvous   "go to"
   In French, this refers to a date or an appointment (literally, it is the verb se rendre [to go] in the imperative); in English, we can use it as a noun or a verb (let's rendezvous at 8 p.m.).

sans   "without"
   Used mainly in academia, although it's also seen in the font style "sans serif," which means "without decorative flourishes."

The Normans exerted a great influence in food, fashion, education, religion, government, law, art, literature, military and many other aspects of life. About three-quarters of these words are still used, and words derived directly or indirectly from French now account for more than a third of English vocabulary. English speakers know around 15,000 French words, even before they start learning the language. Thus the influence of French on the English language can be witnessed in all the fields and it demonstrates the omnipresence of French in English society.