FRENCH INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH

FRENCH INFLUENCE ON ENGLISHEdward the confessor was the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king of England. (1042-1066)During the first 11 years of his reign the ruler was Godwing the Earl of Wessex.

THE KING OF ENGLANDHe died on 4th January 1066 but before his death he named Harold as his successor.Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo saxon king of England.

I will be the next King of England!The Duke William of NormandyIn the summer of 1066 the Duke William assembled an army of noblemen and adventurer from across the Northern France to invade England, promising lands and titles in his new kingdom.A ship was built and assembled to convey the Williams army across the channel.On 28th September 1066 the Williams fleet crossed the channel, landing on the Saxon coast.

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGSEarly on 14th October 1066, William moved forward with his army to attack the Saxon position, the Normans in the centre flanked on the left by the Bretons and on the right by the rest of the French.The incessant Norman attack began to break up Harolds army; the barrage of arrows taking a heavy toll, in particular wounding Harold in the eye.Finally the Saxon king was killed. But the battle finally ended with all the Saxons killed.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE LANGUAGE OF ENGLAND?French became the spoken language of the ruling class, the government, the court and the culture and English remained as the spoken language of the ruled.The kind of French spoken in England lost its prestige in France and within a short time Parisian French was being taught in England as a foreign language.English continued to be used as a spoken language by the ordinary people of England, and also for some public purposes, such as sermons which ordinary people would not understand in French.SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGEFrom 1362 English was used in courts of law, all legal cases being tried in English.Henry IV, who came to the throne in 1399, was the first king of England since the conquest that had English as his mother tongue. But Henry also knew and used French.

By the fourteenth century, we had to take account of a new group in society. This is the growing middle class of manufacturers, traders and merchants.English merchants at first exported raw wood, but in the first half of the fourteenth century they were exporting finished clothes.By the end of the fourteenth century, English merchants had set up their own rival organization, the Merchants Adventurers.

ENGLISH VOCABULARYAbout 10 000 French words were adopted into English but nowadays only the three-fourth parts of them are still used.

AblePartPrayerDolphinVioletMayChairPeoplePrinceRabbotLemonJulyCarRealMailEagleCarrotNovemberCityStayDragonGeneral CinemaDecemberCountryTableLionFacadeTelevisionPhantomFineTravelLeopardCroissantHelicopterCafFruitUseGiraffeCreamPhotographyTennisJourneyVeryCamelBlueJanuaryTicketJustWaitElephantorangeMarchrecordLIST OF WORDS THAT WERE BORROWED TO FRENCHCollocations and expressions:FRENCHENGLISHPar cause deBecause ofComment le faites-vous?How do you do?Tomber malade/ amoureuxTo fall/ in loveFaire une requesteTo make a requestEnnemi mortelMortal enemySil vous plaitIf you pleaseSans failleWithout failENGLISH GRAMMARThe use of who was remodelled on French qui.Thou was used to intimates and people of lower social status.You was used to people who are in a more distant or a superior relationship.This kind of pattern found at the beginning of the fifteenth century.ENGLISH PRONUNCIATIONThere have been many changes in English pronunciation which could well have begun as features of a prestigious foreign accent.

Sounds represented by and Perfectumparfait perfectSacramentumSermentoathClerckClarckDerby DarbyThe /Y/ and /Ju:/ soundsFRENCHENGLISHMUSIQUEMUSIC/Myzik//Mju:zik/