The French influence on English language started its course with the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. William of Normandy defeated England in the Battle of Hastings and the governance of England fell into the hands of the French. The ruling class influenced not just the socio-political aspects of England but also its language. The French influence was found in both vocabulary and grammar of English. The extent of French influence on the vocabulary of English may be studied under different categories.
This list is an indicator of a social reality. While the care of the live animals was the responsibility of poorer English common people, their meat was enjoyed by the French high- class masters.
Likewise, the humble meal “breakfast” is an English word, while the fancier meals like dinner, feast etc are French.
A few instances where French influence is seen on English grammar may be listed as follows:
The extent in which the French influenced the accentuation and pronunciation of English words may be studied under the following heads:
The long “i” sound in French has become “ai” in English: fine, price
The long “u” sound in French has become “ou” in English: spouse, tower
The long “a” sound in French has become “e” in English: grace, change
The long “e” sound in French has become “i” in English: beast
Many French words, accented on the final syllable, is now accented on first syllable after they are borrowed into English. This happened because of value stressing, where the first syllable is felt as psychologically most important, because of contrast stressing or because of rhythm stressing.
A hybrid is a composite word formed of elements from different languages. With the introduction of the French words, the first traces of hybridism were visible in English. Examples of hybrids are:
The French language has undergone considerable changes since Norman conquest. Therefore, these changes are reflected in comparison between the French words borrowed during and just after the Norman conquest and those borrowed much later from Paris or central France. Some of these changes are listed below:
Some early French loan words have been curiously reshaped into the recent forms. For instance, Old French “viage”, “leal”, “flaute” has been reshaped into “voyage”, “loyal” and “flute” respectively. In some cases, some early French words have changed their meaning in both French and English together. For instance, Middle English “douter”, from Old French “douter” meant “to fear”. Now, in both the languages the meaning has changed (doubt).
The importation of French words, which started with the Norman Conquest, has continued up to the present day. At first, there were two separate class of people, speaking two kinds of languages. Then, through linguistic assimilation, English emerged as the standard language. Early in the thirteenth Century France, as a high seat of culture and education, exercised a great influence on the language of England, a tendency that continued from the middle ages down to the eighteenth century. Even in the Twentieth Century, because of wartime alliance between England and France, the process of borrowing from French has continued.