UNIT 42

THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
LOANWORDS AND CALQUES.

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.

2. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE NORMAN CONQUEST: BEGINNING AND

END.
2.1. Before the Norman Conquest.
2.1.1. Prehistoric Britain.
2.1.2. The Celts.
2.1.3. The Romans.
2.1.4. The Germanic people: Anglo-Saxons.
2.1.5. The Scandinavian people: Vikings.
2.2. The Norman Conquest.
2.2.1. The Norman settlement.
2.2.2. The consequences of the Norman settlement.
2.2.3. The decline of Norman Britain: 1200.
2.2.3.1. The 13th century: the Loss of Normandy and the loss of prestige.
2.2.3.2. The 14th and 15th centuries: the Hundred Years’ War and the general adoption
of English.

3. FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. LOANWORDS AND CALQUES.

3.1. Loanwords and calques.
3.1.1. On defining the concept of borrowing.
3.1.2. On defining loanwords and calques.
3.2. The linguistic impact of the Norman Conquest.
3.3. French influence on the English language.
3.3.1. French influence in Middle English.
3.3.1.1. Reasons and periods of borrowing.
3.3.1.2. French loanwords: doublets and triplets.
3.3.2. French influence in Modern English.
3.3.3. French influence up to now.

4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.

5. CONCLUSION.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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1. INTRODUCTION.

1.1. Aims of the unit.

The present unit, Unit 42, aims to provide a detailed account of the impact of the Norma n Conquest
in Britain and examine to what extent we can talk about an influence of French on the English
language on the basis of loanwords and calques, that is, the process of borrowing. So this study
will deal with the social, historical, cultural and linguistic characteristics of the British Isles before
and after the Norman Conquest. Then this presentation will start by offering the most relevant
bibliography in this field as a reference for the reader, and by presenting our study in five main
chapters, among which there are two central ones: the beginning and end of Norman Britain and its
influence on the English language.

Chapter 2 introduces a historical and cultural background for the Norman Conquest namely by
reviewing all the events related to the beginning and end of Norman Britain. So we shall approach
the situation of Britain (1) before the Norman Conquest, where we shall start by reviewing (a)
prehistoric Britain, the arrival of (b) the Celts, (c) the Romans, (d) the Germanic people, that is, the
Anglo-Saxons, and (e) the Scandinavian people, that is, the Vikings; and (2) the Norman Conquest,
where we shall briefly review (a) the Norman settlement, (b) its consequences by focusing on the
political, social, economic, cultural and, in particular, the linguistic ones, which shall lead us later to
the effects of the extensive use of French by the new upper classes and its progressive penetration to
other social layers. Moreover, historical factors shall lead us to a progressive re-establishment of
English between 1200 and 1500, regarding historical and linguistic factors, which meant (3) the
decline of Norman Britain in AD 1200. We shall approach its decline in two parts in terms of
historical and linguistic events: (a) in the thirteenth century: the Loss of Normandy and the loss of
prestige, and (b) in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: the Hundred Years’ War and the general
adoption of English.

Chapter 3 shall analyse the impact of the Norman Conquest in Britain so as to get, more
particularly, to which extent French influenced the development of English language in the
following years and how this influence is present in the language, that is, the means of this
transmission: (1) loanwords and calques under the label of borrowings. So we shall start by defining
(a) the concept of ‘borrowing’, from which we get the definitions of (b) ‘loanwords’ and ‘calques’
as a result of languages in contact. Then, with these concepts in mind, we shall analyse (2) the

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impact of the Norman Conquest, that is, to which extent French influenced the development of
English language in different periods up to now. Thus, on the one hand, we shall examine (3) the
French influence on the English language (a) in Middle English in terms of (i) reasons and periods
for borrowing, before 1250 and after 1250, and (ii) French loanwords in Middle English, where we
shall analyse doublets (French-English) and triplets (French-English-Latin) due to the loss of native
words.and the influence of Norman French and Central French. On the other hand, we shall
examine the (b) French influence in Modern English, and (c) its influence up to now.

Chapter 4 will be devoted to the main educational implications in language teaching regarding the
introduction of this issue in the classroom settin g. Chapter 5 will offer a conclusion to broadly
overview our present study, and Chapter 6 will include all the bibliographical references used to
develop this account of discourse analysis strategies.

1.2. Notes on bibliography.

An influential introduction to the historical background of the Norman Conquest in Britain is based
on relevant works of Asimov, La formación de Inglaterra (1990); Baugh & Cable , A History of the
English Language (1993); Conde & Sánchez, An Introduction to the History of the English
language-I: Old English (1996); and Leith, A Social History of English (1997).

Classic works on the influence of French on the English language regarding the process of
borrowing, that is, by means of loanwords and calques, include, still indispensable, Haugen, The
analysis of linguistic borrowing (1972); Nelson, The English language (1974); Algeo, Problems in
the origins and development of the English language (1982); Algeo & Pyles, The origins and
development of the English language (1982); Bauer, English Word-Formation (1983); and Read,
Assessing Vocabulary . (2000).

The background for educational implications is based on the theory of communicative competence
and communicative approaches to language teaching are provided by Canale, From Communicative
Competence to Communicative Language Pedagogy (1983); Hymes, On communicative
competence (1972); Tricia Hedge, Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom (2000); and
Rivers, Teaching Foreign-Language Skills (1981).

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In addition, the most complete record of current publications within the educational framework is
provided by the guidelines in B.O.E. (2002); and the Council of Europe, Modern Languages:
Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European Framework of reference (1998).

2. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE NORMAN CONQUEST: BEGINNING AND

END.

This chapter introduces a historical and cultural background for the Norman Conquest namely by
reviewing all the events related to the beginning and end of Norman Britain. So we shall approach
the situation of Britain (1) before the Norman Conquest, where we shall start by reviewing (a)
prehistoric Britain, the arrival of (b) the Celts, (c) the Romans, (d) the Germanic people, that is, the
Anglo-Saxons, and (e) the Scandinavian people, that is, the Vikings; and (2) the Norman Conquest,
where we shall briefly review (a) the Norman settlement, (b) its consequences by focusing on the
political, social, economic, cultural and, in particular, the linguistic ones, which shall lead us later to
the effects of the extensive use of French by the new upper classes and its progressive penetration to
other social layers. Moreover, historical factors shall lead us to a progressive re-establishment of
English between 1200 and 1500, regarding historical and linguistic factors, which meant (3) the
decline of Norman Britain in AD 1200. We shall approach its decline in two parts in terms of
historical and linguistic events: (a) in the thirteenth century: the Loss of Normandy and the loss of
prestige, and (b) in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: the Hundred Years’ War and the general
adoption of English.

2.1. Before the Norman Conquest.

2.1.1. Prehistoric Britain.

We know of the island’s early inhabitants from what they left behind on archaelogical findings
(Clancton-on-Sea in Essex, Swanscombe in Kent). This thriving culture existed around 8.000 years
ago in the misty, westwards islands the Romans were to call Britannia. As the climate improved,
more people moved into Britain from the Continent, attracted by its forests, wild game, abundant

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rivers and fertile southern plains. Yet, one of the most important reasons was the relative isolation
the island offered to its inhabitants: protection agains the fierce nomadic tribesmen that kept
appearing out of the east.

The new age of settlement took place around 4.500 B.C. in what we term the Neolithic Age. Very
early on, farming began to shape the landscape of Britain from virgin forests to ploughed
fields.These people already developed sophisticated designs such as stone-axes, windmills and
above all, megalithic monuments for burial purposes1. The Bronze Age brought about the
manufacture of products made from metals (iron, bronze, gold) to make cauldrons and bowls,
shields and helmets, weapons of war and farming tools. It was at this time that the Celtic peoples
arrived in the islands we now call Britain.

2.1.2. The Celts.

Shortly after 1200 B.C., a culture known as “Urnfield” developed and prospered in Central Europe,
and soon adapted the iron-working culture known as “Hallstatt”, after a site in Austria. The Hallstatt
people, who were skilled craftsmen (using iron, gold and bronze and producing fine burnished
pottery), reached at some time the British Isles and their culture began to infiltrate those foggy, wet,
but mineral-ric h islands off the Continent.

This culture advanced their technology from their contact with Mediterraneans and developed into
the culture of “La Tene”, which produced beautiful, handsomely-made and decorated articles of
exquisite form and decoration (i.e. highly superb mirrors, toilet articles, drinking vessels and
personal jewellery). They became known around the middle of the fifth century B.C. In fact, the
Celts were spread over a huge territory in Europe long before the emergence in history of the
Germanic peoples and, actually, they brought with them the Iron Age to Britain. Movement of
Celtic people from the continent were possibly connected to the displacement of the Germanic
people in Europe, and their clash with the Romans.

Before the beginning of the Christian era, Celtic languages were spoken over the greater part of
central and western Europe. The Celts in Britain used a language derived from a branch of Celtic

1
The most famous is Stonehenge which is certainly the most visited and photographed of all the prehistoric
monuments in Britain because of its construction and enormous complexity, which is still a mystery.

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known as either Brythonic, which gave rise to Welsh, Cornish and Breton; or Goidelic , giving rise
to Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx. However, as the vigor of the Celts declined under romanisation,
their languages were supplanted by those of their conquerors. Yet, despite the long occupation, the
British Celts continued to speak their own la nguage, though many of them, particularly those in the
towns and cities who wanted to speak and write the language of their Roman rulers.

Finally, it is relevant to mention that the Celts introduced not only their language but also their
religion, partic ularly that of the Druids, who were the guardians of traditions and learning. These
religious figures were in charge of glorifying the pursuits of war, feasting and horsemanship, and
also controlled the calendar, the planting of crops and honored local deities in religious festivals and
rituals. This culture brought with them a sophisticated plough that revolutionised agriculture in the
rich soils of their new land.

In addition, despite Julius Caesar described them as ‘savage barbarians’, their society was well-
organized in urban settlements and the capitals of these tribal chiefs followed strict laws. It is also
relevant to mention that they introduced coinage in Britain and conducted a lively trade with Rome
and Gaul, including corn, livestock, metal and slaves.

2.1.3. The Romans.

As stated above, Celtic people had been in Britain for many centuries before Julius Caesar’s
invasion in 55 B.C. The subsequent occupation, not really begun in earnest until the time of the
Emperor Claudius almost a century later (43 A.D.), who was to make Britain, that is, Britannia, a
part of the Roman Empire. The reason which led the Romans to undertake the conquest of Britannia
was the necessity to control trade across the Channel to crush rebellions in the Gaul and Britain.

Earlier expeditions took place in 56 B.C. and 55 B.C. The former one took place when Gaul
rebelled against the Romans and Britain Celts supported their neighbours from the other side of the
Channel. Then Julius Caesar found a political excuse to invade the island and extend the frontiers of
the Roman Empire. So, he returned one year later on the night of 25 August 55 B.C., but this
exploratory expedition did not lead to any permanent occupation. Caesar succeeded in establishing
himself in the southeast of Britain by enacting tribute from the natives.

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However, after three months he returned to Gaul because the hostile Gauls were taking advantage of
the absence of the legions. He left no army, so after the spring and summer in that year, the Britons
were as free as before, so free that they would not be troubled again by Roman legions for nearly a
hundred years. Yet, the Celts would not march against Gaul again since they had learnt how much
power the symbol of the ‘eagles’ had.

Gaul was soon under the process of romanisation and became one of the warmest Roman provinces.
The Celtic language and laws were to be replaced by the Roman ones, and Britain was separated
from the Continent for more than one hundred years. However, what happened in those years after
Julius Caesar left Britain for the last time? The answer is a series of events that prepared the ground
for the Roman Conquest (also known as ‘romanisation’), which took place when Rome managed to
control Britain in every cultural and social aspect. This was a slow process which officially began in
43 A.D. and ended in 409 A.D.

It started with the conquest of southern Britain in May 43 A.D. where the Romans established a fort
in that place as a military base (which later became a city called Londinium, now known as
London). They had to defeat several tribal chiefs who finally surrendered under the rule of Aulus
Plautius as the first Governor of Britain. Conflicts between some British tribes and the Roman
invaders continued, although other tribes (the Iceni, Atrebates and Brigantes) quickly accepted
Roman influence and began to assimilate.

After this, the legions penetrated far south and north by constructing a system of military roads and
built a crossing over the Thames (near the site of present London Bridge). By 60 A.D., the frontier
had been pushed further and more tribes had been taken under Roman ‘protection’. The British
tribes were defeated by the governor, Suetonius Paulinus, in a battle in the Midlands. Once the
rebellions finished, Rome adopted a more conciliatory attitude.

The conquest of northern Britain started in AD 69 when Vespasianus was proclaimed emperor in
Rome and he sent a numerous army to Britain under the rule of a Roman general, Julio Agripa. He
helped secure the advance of the Roman legions in the island by the construction of roads and
fortified forts in the north. Between 77 and 83 A.D. the new governor Agrícola was also important
in the romanization of Britain since he completed the conquest up to the north part (after defeating
the Brigantes tribe at York). He also campaigned against the Ordovices in Wales and the tribes of
modern Scotland.

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In 122 A.D. the northern frontier was fixed by a physical obstacle , called Hadrian’s Wall since it
was Emperor Hadrian (76-138 A.D.) who decided to build it, and was completed in AD 139. A
further attempt to reach the north was made in 142 A.D. on the orders of Emperor Antoninus Pius,
Hadrian’s successor. He built a second wall (142-144 A.D.), called Antonine’s Wall, across the
narrowest neck of land between the Forth and the Clyde, but this time it was not as solid as
Hadrian’s one since it was made of turf, stone and wood. Yet, it was too far to be defended and too
difficult to maintain, so by 160 A.D., the Romans had to abandon it.

Hadrian and Antonine’s Walls were not enough to prevent the attacks of the northern border and
when the Celtic tribes got the independence, this event accelerated the political and economic
decline of the Roman Empire. In subsequent years, the murder of Emperor Comodo (192 A.D.)
made the Roman Empire enter a series of civil wars, and it was a political chaos. As all the attention
was focused now on the Continent, the north tribes of Britain had free way towards the south and
both walls were destroyed. Moreover, the north part of Britain was also invaded by Irish tribes,
which were called ‘scots’.

So, by 216 A.D., Britain had been divided into two provinces, largely as an administrative measure:
the one in the south was called ‘Britannia Superior’ (which comprised south and west and had two
legions based at Caerleon and Chester) and the one in the north was called ‘Britannia Inferior’
(which had one legion at York, and auxiliary troops in forts and on Hadrian's Wall). The political
inestability ended in 284 A.D. when the general Dioclecianus was proclaimed emperor, and he
decided to divide the Empire into two parts, and therefore, ruled by two different emperors.

However, during the fourth century A.D., the Roman Empire was threatened by continuous
invasions of Saxons, Picti and Scoti. Then, the West part of the Roman Empire started to decline.
The invasions continued both in Britain and on the Continent by 400 A.D. In Britain, three non-
Roman kingdoms were established north of Hadrian's Wall: Strathclyde (south central Scotland),
Gododdin (modern Lothian) and Galloway, and the south-east Britain continued to prosper. Yet, on
the Continent Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes c.390) invaded Italy and the Roman
legions in Britain had to leave to Gaul in 407 A.D.

Further attacks from the Germanic people on the continent, including the sack of Rome in 410 A.D.,
led to the withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain. Nearly four centuries and a half after Julius
Caesar landed in Kent, the last Roman legions left Britain so as not to never return.

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2.1.4. The Germanic people: Anglo-Saxons.

Therefore, between 420 and 430 A.D. there was an economic crisis which led to the collapse of
money economy in the British Isles. Under Vortigern’s rule the crisis was accentuated by the lack
of coordination among the local chieftains, economic problems and the repeated attacks of the
norther Picts, Scots and Caledonians. The latter seems to be the reason why continental Germanic
people were invited by the Romans to settle in Britain (Conde & Sánchez, 1996). These Germanic
peoples continued to arrive throughout the fifth and sixth centuries, forming the South Saxon
Kingdom (or Sussex), the West Saxon kingdom (or Wessex), and the East Saxon kingdom (or
Essex).

These Germanic invaders came from three very powerful nations of the Germans, namely the
Angles (from Schleswig-Holstein), Saxons and Jutes (from Jutland). They invaded and settled
extensively in southern and central Britain from the late fourth century onwards. The Romano-
Brit ish aristocracy had employed some as mercenaries; some came in search of land as invaders.
Vortigern, a leader of the Britons in the post-Roman period is thought to have invited two Saxon
warriors and their troops into Britain to act as a mercenary force but his Saxon allies revolted,
joining the invaders and setting up their own rule in Kent.

So, according to the sources, regular arrivals took place because of certain reasons. Thus, it is said
that the rising of the sea level in Scandinavia and the Low Countries made this migration possible
since it provoked overpopulation and famine; another reason is the progress in ship building and sea
travel; also, political instability in Denmark and Norway; the invitation of the Romans; and finally,
the success of earlier settlements (Conde & Sánchez, 1996).

The consolidation of the Germanic settlement had both linguistic and cultural consequences. For
instance, linguistically speaking, a variety of NorthWest Germanic replaced the original Celtic
language used on the island, which is said to be the origin of English; also, the heathen religion of
the Germanic people is introduced (many different Gods); in addition, the original political
organizations and way of life of the Celts were replaced by institutions of a Germanic character. In
fact, the native Britons were forced to migrate westwards or destroyed.

Under their rule, we can talk about the formation of early kingdoms, known as the Anglo -Saxon
heptarchy, since they were seven: Sussex (South Saxons), Essex (East and Middle Saxons), Wessex

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(West Saxons), Kent (SouthEast), East Anglia (East Angles), Mercia (North of the river Trent and
to the west of the Severn) and Northumbria (split into two other minor kingdoms: Deira and
Bernicia). When migrations ceased, by the end of the 6th century, the Romano-British dominium
had been replaced by the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. A homogeneous civilization was then
extended over the whole area including a single language (englisc), similar political organizations,
and cultural or literary traditions modelled on earlier northwest Germanic ones (i.e. Beowulf).

Later on, between c. 600 and c. 1100 AD, the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England took place,
carried out namely by two missions: in the very north of England (by Irish monks) where the
monasteries of Iona and Lindisfarne were founded, and in the south. This latter was reinforced by
the marriage of the Kentish king Aethelberht to the Frankish princess Bertha, by the Roman mission
sent by Pope Gregory (AD 597), and by Augustine, who founded the sees of Canterbury and
Rochester (Conde & Sánchez, 1996).

Despite this apparently conversion, pagan customs and beliefs survived for centuries. The
expansion of each tendency over different territories was progressive leading to a clash of concepts
regarding liturgic and ritual issues (asceticism), methods of fixing Easter or the general organization
of missionaries in communities. These problems were, however, sorted out at the sinodes at Whitby
(AD 663) and Hertford (AD 672) when Easter was finally fixed according to the Roman calendar
and the role of Roman bishop was accepted (in opposition to that of Celtic missionary).

Yet, it was under the kingdom of Offa (AD 757-796), king of Mercia, that the decline of the Anglo-
Saxon England started. He maintained close relationships with other Germanic European kings on
an equal footing, particularly with Charlemagne. However, the prosperity of Mercia came to an end
after the battle of Ellendun when king Egbert of Wessex (802-839) annexed most of the territories
which Offa had ruled (Kent, Essex, Surrey, Sussex and East Anglia). This was the beginning of the
Anglo-Saxon decline since new invaders were just to arrive to the British Isles: the Scandinavians.

2.1.5. The The Scandinavian people: Vikings.

Scandinavian people, commonly known as Vikings (ON vik ‘bay’ = men of the bay = pirates), had
two different sources: Norwegian and Danish. The Scandinavian invasions took place in two waves
in the eight and ninth centuries due to several factors: the development of new techniques in ship

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building allowed the northern Germanic people safer incursions across the sea; as stated above,
political instability in Norway and Denmark; and love for adventure and discovery of new lands.
All these reasons are said to have pushed the Norsemen and Danes from Scandinavia towards
England and the rest of the continent (southern Europe: Paris, Seville, Mediterranean coast).

The first Scandinavian invasions started first with the aim of pillaging but later, it was the search of
prosperous lands to settle down. The Norsemen approached Britain from the east part, pillaging the
Shetland, Orkney and Hebride islands, Ireland, southern Europe ,and even reached the northern
coasts of America. However, they did not settle down in Anglo-Saxon England but only raided. On
the other hand, the Danes systematically plundered the southwestern coasts of Britain (Sheppey,
Lindsey and East Anglia, London, York), until they failed in their enterprise at the battle of
Ashdown (870-871) where king Aethereld defeated them.

Seven years later, in AD 878 King Alfred the Great (871-899) defeated the Danes at the battle of
Edington which secured peace in Wessex and forced the Vikings to remain in Mercia and East
Anglia. The treaty of Wedmore not only defined the Anglo-Saxon and Viking territories (the so
called five boroughs: York, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincoln) but also referred to social
issues by means of the Danelaw (English and Danish were equal under murder case and English
people should not be taxed higher than the Viking settlers on living in Danish territory).

The contact between Scadinavians and Old English speakers in the Danelaw has important
linguistic effects as well, such as the cultural revival. Thus, king Alfred realized that there had been
a decline in book production as a result of the Viking invasion, so his plan was to revive culture and
learning by translating reputed books of scholars of the time: Gregory the Breat’s Cura Pastoralis,
Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, Orosius’ Historia adversum Paganos, and
Augustine and Boethius’ De Consolatione Philosophiae.

The second wave of Scandinavian migrations into Britain took place under the rule of Cnut, King of
Denmark and the Anglo-Danish empire. King Edgard (959-975) was the first acknowledged ruler of
all the British dominium, but he is also well known for having promoted the establishment of the
Benedictine Reform movement, which had been brought to England by French monks. This
movement not only implied a new revival of learning and culture, but also a reformation of
religious life on the basis of the ‘ora et labora’ principle.

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By AD 980 Vikings (Danish pirates) appeared again in the Thames and Southampton. In AD 991 a
great navy defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Maldon and devastated the eastern shores.
The Viking leader Olaf Tryggvason signed a treaty with Aethelred the Unready by which he
undertook to keep peace in return for provisions and money. Yet, the conditions were not taken and
new arrivals of Viking pirates are recorded from 994 to 1013. The same procedure was followed by
Scandinavians who, after devastating, pillaging different Anglo-Saxon areas and terrifying the local
population, forced the Saxon leaders to buy peace at even higher prices than before.

By that time, Svein Forkbeard was proclaimed King of Northumbria and the five boroughs, from
which he led an expedition to conquer Wessex. This objective was finally achieved by Cnut in
1015, who became the ruler of a large Anglo-Danish empire between 1016 and 1035. Despite his
Scandinavian origin, he respected the Anglo-Saxon religion, law and institutions, and even
promoted the autonomy of the different Anglo-Saxons shires by appointing earls to rule the
provinces: Siward in Northumbria, Godwine in Wessex and Leofric in Mercia (Conde & Sánchez,
1996).

The succession of Cnut was problematic since different lines were involved. Eventually, the
original Anglo-Saxon line was restored in the figure of Edward (1042-1066), who had been brought
up in the Norman court and had to face the increasing power of the earls, particularly Godwine of
Wessex (who was offended by the appointment of Norman knights and churchmen). When Edward
the Confessor died childless in 1066, this implied new problems of succession since there were
three claimers to the throne: Harold II (the son of Godwine) who was temporarily appointed king,
Harold Hardrada, king of Norway (allied with the earl Tostig) and finally, William (Duke of
Normandy) who was second cousin to Edward the Confessor. This latter claimed that Edward had
promised him the kingdom while he was exiled in Normandy. Eventually, he defeated the Anglo-
Saxons (led by Harold Hardrada) with a great army at the battle of Hastings (East Sussex) in
Pevensey in september 1066.

It is at this point that the history of England and the English language open a new period in its
timeline, and prepares the ground for the Norman Conquest and the influence of French on the
English language.

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2.2. The Norman Conquest.

As we have seen, the history behind the battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest did not start in
1066, but fifty years earlier, with another invasion and another group of Norsemen. The Battle of
Hastings is the most well-known date in English history because of two main reasons: first, it is
viewed as a national disastrous catastrophe because of the consequences it had for the defeated
since it brought the Anglo-Saxon lineage to an end; and second, because it led to the establishment
of French social structure, economy, traditions and of the (Norman) French language in English
territory. Hence, modern England owes their government, culture, and language to the ideas the
Normans brought.

So, in next sections we shall deal with (1) the Norman settlement and its (2) consequences by
focusing on the political, social, economic , cultural and, in particular, the linguistic ones, which
shall lead us later to the effects of the extensive use of French by the new upper classes and its
progressive penetration to other social layers. Moreover, historical factors shall lead us to a
progressive re-establishment of English, which came to be generally adopted again in most formal
and official contexts of usage, and which meant (3) the decline of Norman Britain in AD 1200. We
shall approach its decline in terms of historical and linguistic events in two parts: (a) thirteenth
century: The Loss of Normandy and the loss of prestige, and (b) the fourteenth century: The
Hundred Years’ War and re-establishment of English.

2.2.1. The Norman settlement.

In the early years after the Conquest, the military presence and those days full of turmoil, treachery
and rebellion were followed by settlement and firm administrative control which led to the
Normanisation of England, Wale s and lowland Scotland. There were only about 10,000 Normans
living among one or two million Saxons, but William intended to make his rule easier as the
successor to Edward, with the co-operation of the English, who became an oppressed majority in
their own country.

Actually, many English cooperated with the new rulers and those English people who pledged their
allegiance to the King were allowed to keep their land. In this, the English magnates readily
acquiesced, remembering the lessons learned from the Danish Conquest 50 years before. When

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William returned to Normandy in 1067, he took three English Earls with him as hostages and left
Odo of Bayeux and William fitzOsbern in charge of England. During these early stages of the
Conquest, he was most concerned with the security of his newly won kingdom. Nevertheless,
between 1067 and 1070, there were many uprisings against the Norman rule, including at least one
disturbance each year.

He ensured this security by granting a compact area of land to trusted Norman nobles whose task
was to build a castle and guard it against all comers. The Normans lived in small units to protect
themselves and they built castles from which a small group could rule a large area and population.
These were the castleries. More than 4,000 landowners were replaced and forced to turn over their
land to less than 200 barons.

England and Normandy now shared a ruler, forming a connection between the two areas. William,
still a Norman Duke in addition to his English title, owed his allegiance to the King of France, and
therefore English politics became French politics. Yet, William was aware of the continuous threats
from enemies, both foreign and domestic, to his hard-won Kingdom and still, he was able to
complete Domesday Book, the Brit ain’s earliest, and still valid, exhaustive public record of
landholders, their titles and possessions.

2.2.2. Consequences of the Norman settlement.

This Norman settlement had several consequences, among which we shall focus on political, social,
economic, cultural and, in particular, linguistic ones, which led to the re-establishment of English
nearly two centuries later.

• First of all, political consequences were felt in the allegiance William still owed to France
since he spent most of his time there, instead of in the country he ruled. This was a major
change from the previous rulers, who lived in Britain, although William never really liked
England or its people. He gave up trying to learn the language and only stayed in the
country when it was absolutely necessary. As a result, since William had no relatives whom
he trusted enough, he had to leave Odo of Bayeux and William fitzOsbern in charge of
England. This began the tradition of one of the king’s servants, usually a bishop,
representing the king while he was away.

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 Another political change in England was the formation of Anglo-Norman feudalism, whose
main features are: vassalage, military groupings, and the fragmentation of authority. After
the Conquest William carried out the first public demons tration of the power he held over
the land, by taking back all of the land and redistributing it to his own vassals, commonly
known as barons. The barons then divided up their own sections and granted the areas to
their own vassals.

• These political changes led immediately to social ones, since the fragmentation of authority
was realized in a feudal pyramid, where the classes were very defined, and everyone, in the
end, was led by the king. Although the apparent wish of William was the peaceful
coexistence of Normans and Englishmen, he often passed land from English to Norman
hands, so that a Norman aristocracy was planted on the states of the English who had died
at Hastings. A revolt in 1069 accelerated the process of substitution of the nobility and
extended it to the north (the former territories of the Danelaw) garrisoned by Norman
soldiers. In addition, Norman prelates were also introduced in all important positions of the
Church, starting at the top with the appointment of the Norman Lanfranc (1005-1089) as
Archbishop of Canterbury and ending at the bottom, since priests were freely appointed by
the Norman lord of each manor. Also, merchants and craftsmen from the continent also
settled in the island in great numbers, particularly from the Low Countries.

So, around two hundred thousand Normans and Frenchmen of all social classes came and
settled in England by that time, particularly in the commercial towns along the southern and
eastern coasts. The English speaking population is estimated at around 1,400,000 people, so
that, statistically, one out of every eight people was a speaker of Norman French (Conde &
Sánchez, 1996).

• Regarding economic consequences, the imposed Norman feudal system resembled other
Germanic social institutions like the ‘comitatus’ (based on the ownership of all land by the
king, who could allot it to his vassals in exchange of fidelity and different services). So, in
1085 King William ordered the elaboration of Domesday Book so as to control the
possessions of each nobleman in the country and to facilitate cashing the territorial taxes
(called Danegeld). This book is considered as an important medieval document for two
reasons: first, because it is a historical account for the socioeconomic situation of England
at the time, and second, because it is a basic resource for research on Anglo-Norman
linguistic relationships and for the study of place-names.

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 • These previous changes brought about cultural changes, too. As stated above, prior to the
invasion of French culture, England had been a land mostly influenced by Celtic, Roman,
Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian culture. The language was then in use from the first
immigrants in the fifth century, until it became common in the eighth century. It remained
relatively unchanged until 1150, when the linguistic effects of the Norman Conquest began
to appear in everyday use and the language shifted to Middle English. Even in Modern
English, the correlation between the two languages is apparent. In fact, the Normans were
shocked at their arrival to find such low moral and cultural standards in England. With the
invasion of the Normans, England received a new ruling class, culture, and language.

• Cultural changes, in turn, led to linguistic ones since French became the language of law,
estates, song, verse, chanson, and romance. It was considered the “language of the
civilized”, and all of the noble people all over Europe knew, in addition to their own
language, French. The English architects and artists borrowed French designs, such as
Romanesque and Gothic, which are now well-known as the styles of most of the famous
landmarks in Europe, such as Westminster Abbey, and Bath.

In addition, the replacement of the Anglo-Saxons with Normans at the upper levels of
society and in the official administration implied that records written in Old English were
reduced to the extent of extinction, except where the old tradition survived, such as West
Mildlands or Peterborough, where the Anglo -Saxon Chronicle was continued until 1154.
There is no evidence that William tried to suppress the English language from higher
domains (law, administration, polite society). As a result, there was an increasing
association of language, social class and ethnic background, thus French remained the
language of ordinary intercourse among the Norman upper classes in England whereas
English was restricted to the lower social classes (namely made up by people of Anglo-
Saxon origin).

2.2.3. The decline of Norman Britain: 1200.

However, shortly after AD 1200 conditions changed when England lost an important part of her
possessions abroad. This implied that the nobility gradually relinquised their continental states and a
feeling of rivalry developed between the two countries, accompanied by an anti-foreign movement

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in England and culminating in the Hundred Years’ War. During the century and a half following the
Norman Conquest, French had been not only natural but more or less necessary to the English upper
class (Baugh & Cable, 1993).

However, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centurie s, certain new factors helped to increasingly turn
the maintenance of French into some kind of artificial language. Meanwhile, social and economic
changes were taking place in the English-speaking part of the population. In the fourteenth century
English won its way back to universal use and in the fifteenth century French disappeared as a
predominant language (Baugh & Cable, 1993:126).

2.2.3.1. The 13th century: the Loss of Normandy and the loss of prestige.

The thirteenth century held some events which led to the Loss of Normandy and the loss of prestige
of Norman-French and Anglo-Norman. First, since 1180 the Dukes of Normandy had been at war
with France. This fact was partly responsible for the separation of England and Normandy in the
year 1204, when Normandy was confiscated to King John (1199-1216) by King Phillip II of France.
This event had far reaching social and linguistic consequences, among which the most outstanding
is that the properties in French soil of the barons living in England would be confiscated (Decree of
Rouen, 1204).

So, those having properties on both sides of the Channel had to decide which one to choose. As a
result, the loss of Normandy gave the English nobility a new collective feeling of their insular
identity, and soon considered themselves as English. This event established a community of
interests with the English speaking lower classes which later may result in a reaction against the
continental Norman-French.

Yet, this nationalistic feeling did not extend to the King and courtly nobility. Henry III (1207-1272)
married Eleanor of Provence, who brought with her to England a host of French relatives so as to be
surrounded by French nobles and prelates. Therefore, French knights in charge of castleries
oppressed the barons of Norman-English origin. This gap between the aristocracy (nobility at court)
and the barons (rural nobility) was the reason for the Barons’ War (1258-1265), in which the barons
rebelled so as to claim a greater participation in and supervision of royal government. This claim
was kept in the ‘Provisions of Oxford’ (1259), a document written in English, French and Latin.

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Secondly, linguistically speaking, the loss of prestige of Norman French and Anglo-Norman it
reinforced the functional use of English. Both Norman French and Anglo-Norman predominated in
the upper classes, but gradually the influence of English developed into something different from
the known continental French dialects. This condition contrasted with the prestige associated to
Central French (Paris’ dialect). Also, other factors contributed the loss of prestige of Anglo-
Norman: the use of Latin as the official language for records and the adoption of Norman French by
native English speakers who tended to tinge it with native phonological and grammatical features.

2.2.3.2. The 14th and 15th centuries: the Hundred Years’ War and the general adoption of English.

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries new historical events, such as the Hundred Years’
War, the Black Death and the Peasants’ Revolt, reinforced the national feeling which had ensued
the loss of Normandy and led the inhabitants of the island to a general adoption of English

On the one hand, the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) came up due to the question of succession
to the French crown (claimed by King Edward III of England) against the house of Valois (Philip
VI, who was appointed King of France). This war turned people’s attention to the continent and
made people realize that French was the language of the enemy court and that it was one of the
causes contributing to the disuse of French. The outcomes of this war were the development of
national consciousness among the English and a general feeling of hatred against France, French
customs and the French language.

On the othe r hand, the bubonic and pneumonic plague which ravaged Europe in the mid fourteenth
century reached England in 1348. As a result, about one-third of Europe’s population and almost
half of the inhabitants of Britain died. The effects of the Black Death were felt at all levels,
particularly the social and economic ones since the drastic reduction of the amount of land under
cultivation became the ruin of many landowners. Therefore, the shortage of labour implied a
general rise in wages for peasants and, consequently, provided new fluidity to the stratification of
society and afforded a new status to the middle and lower social classes, whose native language was
English.

Finally, these classes (middle and low) rebelled against the imposition of a poll tax and,
particularly, against the Statute of Labourers, which tried to fix maximum wages during the labour

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shortage following the plague. The Peasants’ Revolt, as this rebellion is known, also contributed to
increase the social relevance of the labouring classes and indirectly conferred importance on their
native tongue, that is, English.

Linguistically speaking, the consequences of these events were to be felt in a general adoption of
English in the late fourteenth century. In the late thirteenth century, the English language was
virtually understood and actively used by everyone, but it was not recognized in official, legal,
governmental or administrative affairs. Hence, among the historical events of the fourteenth century
which led to a gradual use of English in these high domains , we may highlight the use of English in
a will, instead of Latin, for the first time (1383) and later on, in an official petition to Parliament
(petition of the London Mercers’ Guild, 1386).

Actually, by the fifteenth century, during the reign of Henry V (1413-1422), the English language
was officially used at both the oral and written levels in most fields, except legal records (still
written in Latin), the Statutes of Parliament (written in French until 1489) and in ceremonial
formu lae (still French). Yet, for our purposes, we shall focus in particular on the linguistic
consequences which the French language had on the English one.

3. FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. LOANWORDS AND CALQUES.

In this chapter, we shall analyse the impact of the Norman Conquest in Britain so as to get, more
particularly, to which extent French influenced the development of English language in the
following years and how this influence is present in the language, that is, the means of this
transmission: (1) loanwords and calques under the label of borrowings. So we shall start by defining
(a) the concept of ‘borrowing’, from which we get the definitions of (b) ‘loanwords’ and ‘calques’
as a result of languages in contact.

Then, with these concepts in mind, we shall analyse (2) the impact of the Norman Conquest, that is,
to which extent French influenced the development of English language in different periods up to
now. Thus, on the one hand, we shall examine (3) the French influence on the English language (a)
in Middle English in terms of (i) reasons and periods for borrowing, before 1250 and after 1250,

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and (ii) French loanwords in Middle English, where we shall analyse doublets (French-English) and
triplets (French-English-Latin) due to the loss of native words.and the influence of Norman French
and Central French. On the other hand, we shall examine the (b) French influence in Modern
English, and (c) its influence up to now.

3.1. Loanwords and calques.

3.1.1. On defining the concept of borrowing.

According to Nelson (1974), “the demands for new meanings which are made by changes in the
physical and cultural environment are frequently met by extension or transfer of the meanings of
already existing words”. But new words are often needed and they come from many sources, such
as prefixation, suffixation, derivational processes as well as other minor devices in word-formation
among which we find the concept of ‘borrowing’.

Therefore, the traditional literature basically distinguishes three main types of name-giving: (a)
taking an already existing word and applying it to a new referent (semantic change); (b) creating a
new word with the material offered by the speaker’s language (word formation: prefixation,
suffixation, derivational processes); and (c) adopting linguistic material from another language
(borrowing, loan). This latter has been the most important source of new words in English.

So, ‘borrowing’ refers to the incorporation of foreign features into the native language by the
speakers of that language. Note that the native language is maintained but is changed somewhat by
the addition of the incorporated features. Haugen defines borrowing as “the attempted reproduction
in one language of patterns previously found in another” (1972:81). It is then an “attempted”
reproduction because making a perfect reproduction from a language with a different system is
impossible.

The term ‘borrowing’ is used in comparative and historical linguistics to refer to linguistic forms
which have been taken over by one language or dialect from another due to social and cultural
needs. So extensive has it been that by far the greatest part of the present-day English vocabulary is
made up of borrowed rather than native words.

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We can talk about “reproduction” because of the impossibility of directly transferring a feature in
one system over to another system. Reproduction rather refers to the creation of a new form in the
recipient language on the model of a form in the source language. In other words, if a speaker of
language A reproduces the new linguistic patterns, not in the context of the language in which he
or she learned them, but in the context of language B, he or she may be said to have “borrowed”
them from language A to language B.

Apart from the very general distinction between ‘necessity borrowing’ and ‘luxury borrowing’,
there are two frequently named motives for the adoption of linguistic material from another
language, thus the “need to designate new things” and the “prestige” involved in these terms. In
addition, the following aspects have been also mentioned as main causes for lexical borrowing: the
need to differenciate special nuances of meaning, the need to play with words, the feeling of
insufficiently differenciated conceptual fields, the creation of a specific conceptual field, the
political or cultural dominion of one people by another, the bilingual character of a society and the
lack of lexicographical means, among others.

Finally, Haugen (1972) distinguishes two types of borrowing, namely importation and
substitution. If the borrowing were similar enough to the model of language A so that native
speakers would accept it as their own, the borrowing speaker may be said to have imported the
model into his or her language. But if the reproduction of the model is not so adequate, then a
substitution is taking place.

3.1.2. On defining loanwords and calques .

Hence, the concept of borrowing is defined then as ‘a process which adopt linguistic material from
another language ’ which is realized by means of ‘loanwords’ and ‘calques’. Note that the terms
‘borrowing’ and ‘loan’ refer to the same concept (in opposition to the term ‘borrowing’ as a
process) as in ‘restaurant, chagrin, fiancé, café’. Haugen regards loanwords as “homophonous
extensions, in which the phonemic replica was not made phoneme -by-phoneme, but was mutated by
influence of phonemically similar morphemes (Haugen, 1956:764).

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On the other hand, the term ‘calque’ comes from French ‘calquer’ and refers to a type of borrowing
where the morphemic constituents of the borrowed word or expression are translated item by item
into equivalent morphemes in the new language (i.e. godspell from Lat. Evangelium; headfather
from Lat. Patriarch).

Following Haugen (1972), the classical version for lexical borrowings distinguishes loans taken
from (a) importation ( (b) partial substitution and (c) substitution.

• Within importation we may classify two types: a borrowed word which can be
unassimilated from a foreign word (i.e. café, fiancé, envelope) or assimilated (i.e. music,
whiskey). So we may further distinguish between the terms ‘foreign word’ (German
‘Fremdwort’) and loanword (German ‘Lehnwort’) where the main criterion for the
separation is supposed to be the degree of integration.
• Regarding partial substitution, we find loan blends, which are hybrid composites where one
word is borrowed and another one substituted (i.e. Saturday, from OE Saturdes daeg).
• Regarding substitution, we find
o ‘loan formations’, also called, loan translations, of the elements of the foreign
words, for instance, ‘Monday’ from ‘Lunae dies’, or from French ‘gratte-ciel’ to
Spanish ‘rascacielos’.
o Also, loan meaning or loan creations, where we find a coinage independent of a
foreign word, but created out of the desire to replace a foreign word (i.e. English
‘fear’ vs. Lat. ‘trepidation’).
o And pseudo loans, which are indigenous word to which the meaning of the foreign
word is transferred, for instance, OE cniht ‘servant + disciple of Jesus’ gives Latin
‘discipulus’, meaning student of discip le of Jesus.

It is obvious that the most typical as well as the most numerous class of words introduced by the
new culture would have to do with that culture and the details of its external organization. Words
are generally taken over by one language from another in answer to a definite need. They are
adopted because they express ideas that are new or because they are so intimately associated with
an object or a concept that acceptance of the thing involves acceptance also of the word (Baugh &
Cable, 1993:84).

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As seen, the adoption of new habits of life implied a change in society, religion, customs, food,
leisure, education and, especially, in language, too. Latin, being the language of the Roman Empire,
had already influenced the language of the earlier inhabitants of the island for two main reasons:
first, because the nearly four centuries of romanisation on the British Isles and, second, because in
the Middle Ages Latin was considered as the language of cultural transmission and a high cultivated
level.

So, Latin loanwords reflected the superior material culture of the Roman Empire, which had spread
across Europe: street, wall, cnadle, chalk, inch, pound, port, camp , and still did in the Middle Ages
under the rule of French people in Britain. Similarly , Germanic tribes and Scandinavians even
before they set foot in Britain, and finally, French people left their legacy as we can see. It is well
known the existence of triplets so as to indicate social status and degree of formality (i.e. rise-
mount-ascendere) and, still today, English shows certain effects, especially additions to its
vocabulary, and the nature of these contacts and the changes that were effected by them will form
the subject of this section.

3.2. The impact of the Norman Conquest.

The impact of the Norman Conquest and, therefore, its consequences was to be noticed all over
Britain at all levels: political, social, economic, cultural and, in particular, linguistic ones. In
general, the process of the Norman Conquest implied a strong cultural change which was to be
adopted and admired by the following inhabitants of the island. Following Baugh & Cable (1993),
Normans left the legacy of their way of living in such a variety of issues, as Celts, Romans, Anglo-
Saxons and Scandinavians did before.

Actually, both the English language and the culture have gone through many evolutions, all as a
result of the introduction of new ethnic groups into Britain. From the first invasions of the Angles
and Saxons in 450 A.D. through the ongoing influx of immigrants from all over the world, England
has been a country influenced by its ever-changing population. The most influential of these
developments was the Norman Conquest in the year 1066, whose consequences have shaped the
history of England, and are still apparent in today’s English traditions, government, and language.
By looking at modern England, we can still see the threads that stemmed from the influence of the
Normanisation of Britain so many years ago.

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Another effect that the Conquest had on the English language was due to the scribes. As Old
English quickly lost its status, the French scribes, who didn’t care much about correctly spelled Old
English began to write the language phonetically, as they heard it with their French conventions.
This change can also be seen in Modern English, such as the shift from Middle English [u] to the
French [ou] as in house.

3.3. French influence on the English language.

The French influence on the English language is specially felt in the amount of borrowings from
other languages, which expanded mainly with the Norman Conquest.

3.3.1. French influence in Middle English.

This fact is one of the most significant differences between Old English and Middle English. The
Old English speakers hesitated from using foreign words, and generally made up their own
equivalent of words rather than borrowing directly. The French, however, kept words and sounds
similar to their foreign roots. One example of foreign sounds directly affecting English phonemics
is the difference between [v] and [f]. In Old English, these were both similar ways of saying [f], like
Modern English’s long and short vowels. The introduction of the French word ‘ver’, which sounded
like Old English’s ‘fer’ forced speakers and listeners to make a difference between the two sounds.

In fact, the linguistic situation during the eleventh century and early twelfth centuries is described as
a relationship of ‘vertical bilingualism’ (or sometimes called trilingualism, if we consider the role of
Latin). This situation describes the coexistence of two (or three) languages, which were not wholly
mixed up. Possibly, this mix appeared in mercantile centres or perhaps as a desire to look socially
sophisticated. This promotion of French was impinged by several historical factors, such as the
existence of a close connection between the Norman nobility in England and Normandy; the
expansion of the Dukedom of Normandy when King Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine and
gained the state of Brittany, and therefore, the King of England controlled two thirds of France; and
the development of courtly literature in Frech by wish of Eleanor, among others.

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By the late twelfth century, though, other factors affected this pattern, namely intermarriage and
prestige situations. Regarding intermarriage, there is administrative evidence (Domesday Book) that
after the conquest most women’s names were native. This meant that the male conquerors tended to
marry English wives, what might have contributed to the later preservation and, therefore, re-
establishment of English. On the other hand, the notion of prestige associated French with the upper
classes, which means that numerous people of English origin might have wished to learn the new
language. These two factors could have possibly disturbed the stable situation of bilingualism and
then, the association of language and ethnic origin was distorted.

So, the linguistic situation in the late twelfth century shows Britain divided in two. On the one hand,
Norman-French was still spoken by the majority of Norman invaders and colonist, and bilingual
cases were to be found in, first, most upper-class native Englishmen and second, in situations of
necessary contact between the ruling elite and the population in general (English traders, personnel
of manors). On the other hand, English remained the language of the greater part of the population,
so that speakers of French belonging to other classes may have attained at least a passive command
of the language (to be able to understand it).

In addition, Latin remained the language of religious and intellectual communication, as well as the
language of governmental written records. An active command of Latin was required from
members of the clergy and the administrative orders. The influence of Latin on the lower order is
dubious, since most possibly did not understand the language.

3.3.1.1. Reasons and periods for borrowing.

But what were the reasons of borrowing and in which periods did they take place? According to
Baugh & Cable (1978:167), “where two languages exist side by side for a long time and the
relations between the people speaking them are as intimate as they were in England, a considerable
transference of words from one language to the other is inevitable.” Some scholars have connected
extensive French borrowing with the progressive adoption of English by the Norman upper classes
since, when French aristocracy needed a word which did not exist in English, they resorted to their
own words.

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Nowadays, the basic reasons for this type of borrowing is related to the general bilingual situation
which prevaled in England, particularly in the thirteenth century, when individual bilingualism was
widespread. Thus, the reasons for borrowing are to be found at the core of this bilingual situation
since:

• The subordinate character of the situation, that is, the ability of most individuals in French
and English should have made it easy for the English speakers to introduce French words in
their speech and vice versa.
• The diglossic nature of bilingualism, that is, the fact that the use of each language was
associated to a given social class and the switch between them depended on the social
context the speaker found himself. Often, Normans looked for a word associated with high
domains of communication (government , law, culture).

Hence, these reasons make reference to a mutual interchange in which many English words found
their way into the French spoken in England whereas the number of French words that poured into
English was unbelievably great. This statement is to be supported by two main periods of
borrowing, before and after 1250. On the one hand, before 1250, French borrowings are not
numerous (about 900) and they make reference to new objects and referents brought by the
Norma ns, such as words designating new social reality (nobility, government, laws), words related
to religious and cultural matters (Benedictine Reform), personal names and place-names (Henry,
France, Normandy), and general vocabulary (castle, justice, peace).

On the other hand, after 1250 there is a surprising increase of borrowings (around 10,000 words),
which namely affected all grammar categories as well as all domains of communication, such as
legal affairs (govern, parliament, treaty, perjury), ecclesiastical words (faith, sermon, preach,
virtue), fashion, meals and social life (jewel, dress, coat, feast, beef vs. cow, pork vs. pig, music,
chess, leisure, dance), artistic and scientific fields (colour, porch, poet, volume, surgeon, arsenic,
paralytic), and commercial and domestic affairs (poor, chair, lamp, stable, mountain, abysm).

3.3.1.2. French loanwords: doublets and triplets.

As we have seen, the rate of adoption of French loanwords changed considerably before and after
1250. These borrowings not only affected all full-meaning grammar categories, such as nouns,

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adjectives and verbs, but also phrases and expressions which were enriched by means of semantic
borrowing or loan translation. Often, French lexical items were borrowed despite the fact that they
coincided in meaning with Old English native words. So, when English was adopted again, the
principle of economy imposed a semantic reorganization of lexis in some basic directions.

Thus, first, the disappearance of one of the terms, usually the Old English one (i.e. OE
aepele=prince vs. OF noblé; OE dryhten=lord vs. OF prince). Second, the extension of meaning
from one word to another when they were similar in form led to the reduction to only one item (i.e.
OE rice=powerful and OF riche=rich). Third, both words could survive, but in different levels (i.e.
OE cnafa=knave – ON lasqa=lass – OF servant), so the two former were restricted to colloquial
speech whereas the latter is to be used in higher social levels. Finally, if both words survive, they
may undergo a process of specialization, by means of which their meaning become different.

This is the source of doublets and triplets, which are “words coexisting in the same language, with
different etymological origin and, therefore, different in form, which usually meant the same, but
have become specialized in meaning or context of usage under the pressure of linguistic economy”
(Conde & Sánchez, 1996). For instance, doublets usually refer to the animal in English whereas in
French they refer to the meat cooked for a meal (i.e. ox vs. beef, sheep vs. mouton, swine vs.
pork/pig, calf vs. veal, deer vs. venison, respectively). Similarly, triplets appeared due to the
richness of mingling between native elements (English), French and Latin, which correspond to
poppular, literary and learned language, respectively (i.e. holy-sacred-consecrated, time -age-epoch,
rise-mount-ascend, ask-question-interrogate, goodness-virtue-probity, fast-firm-secure, fire-flame-
conflagration, etc).

3.3.2. French influence in Modern English.

The period of Modern English, whose beginning is conveniently placed at 1500, is namely
represented by the Reinassance (1500-1650), a movement which brought with it new conditions that
previously had not existed in the Middle Ages, for instance, the printing press, the rapid spread of
popular education, the increased communication and means of communication, the growth of
specialized knowledge, and the emergence of various forms of self-consciousness about language.
This meant an increasing interest in the fields of science, medic ine and arts.

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Hence, the invention of the printing press brought with it a far-reaching influence on all the
vernacular languages of Europe. Printing made such rapid progress that a scant century later it was
observed that manuscript books were seldom to be seen and almost never used, and the majority of
them were in Latin. The result was a renewed interest in new publications so as to bring books,
which had formerly been the expensive luxury of the few, within the reach of many. Then there was
a great interest in the classical literatures and, therefore, in classical languages: Latin and Greek.

By that time, English had developed from what it formerly was in Old English and had a
remarkable recovery. From this time on the course of its history it ran in many ways parallel with
that of the other important European languages, French and Latin. According to Baugh & Cable
(1993:198), “in the sixteenth century the modern languages faced three great problems: (1)
recognition in the fields where Latin had for centuries been supreme, (2) the establishment of a
more uniform orthography, and (3) the enrichment of the vocabulary in English so as to meet the
demands of the period.

So, although English had attained a firm position as the language of popular literature, there was a
strong tradition which strengthened the use use of Latin in all the fields of knowledge by the revival
of learning in that period. Latin and Greek were not only the key to the world’s knowledge but also
the languages in which much highly esteemed poetry, oratory, and philosophy were to be read. And
Latin had the advantage of universal currency since all the educated all over Europe could freely
communicate with it, both in speech and writing, in a common idiom.

As Baugh & Cable state (1993:199), “scholars felt their superiority to the less educated and were
jealous of a prerogative that belonged to them alone. The defenders of the classical tradition were at
no loss for arguments in support of their position. Hence it was feared that the study of classical
languages, and even learning itself, would suffer if the use of the vernaculars were carried too far”.
The revival of learning revealed how rich was the store of knowledge and experience preserved
from the civilizations of Greece and Rome. So, if the academicians, the diplomats, the men of
affairs were to get profit from it , they had to express in the language that everybody read.

The demand was meet soon and translations poured from the press in the course of the sixteenth
century. Yet, as we approach the end of the sixteenth century we see that English slowly won
recognition as a language of serious thought, as a note of patriotic feeling in the attitude of many
people. The wholesale borrowing of words from other languages (in particular Greek and Latin)

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was not met with universal favor. The opposition to inkhorn terms had its peak in the middle of the
sixteenth century.However, this objection to new words was approved by many people who stood
for ‘an enrichment of our native tongue’ (Dryden, Aeneid , 1697).

Many of these borrowings or inkhorn terms are in such common use today that it is difficult for us
to realize that to the Elizabethan they were so strange and hard as to be a subject of controversy (i.e.
the word ‘encyclopedia’ filled a need in English and it has lived on). In the Renaissance the
renewed study of Greek led to the introduction of some Greek words at first hand (i.e. acme,
anonymous, catastrophe, heterodox, lexicon, ostracize, polemic, thermometer, and tonic); other
were acquired by Latin from Greek (i.e. anachronism, atmosphere, autograph); others were added
(i.e. antipathy, antithesis, chaos, chronology, crisis, emphasis, pneumonia, skeleton).

So, as we can see, some words which entered the language at that time retained their original Latin
form (i.e. ‘climax, appendix, epitome, exterior, axis’) whereas others underwent changes by the
simple process of cutting off the Latin ending (i.e. conjectural from ‘conjectural-is’, consult from
‘consult-are’, exotic from ‘exotic -us’). Many words borrowed from Latin at that time end in –us , -
al (adjectives), –ate (verbs), -tas, –ty, -ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency (nouns), and so on.

On the other hand, French words were easily recognizable since Middle English orthography and
spelling changed considerably. Why? Since some monastic institutions were used to French and
Norman spelling practices (the monks trained in France), when English texts were copied at these
monastic establishments, their French and Norman spelling was often transferred into English.
Gradually, a relatively free spelling system was adopted and this allowed the written language to
take account of the different sounds introduced by Viking and Norman settlers, or to represent
pronunciation more accurately.

The main changes in spelling were (1) from OE ‘c’ to ME ‘ch’, ‘cch’, and ‘chch’; (2) the ‘yogh’
replaced OE ‘g’ (OE gear vs. ME ‘yogh’+eer’) and OE ‘h’ (OE cniht vs. kni + yogh+ t); (3) ME ‘v’
was introduced in middle position as a result of the borrowing of French and Latin words (very,
vulgar); (4) ME ‘sh’, ‘sch’ and ‘ss’ replaced OE ‘sc’ (OE sceal vs. ME shal, schal); (5) ME ‘wh’
replace OE ‘hw’ (OE hwaet vs. ME what); (6) the introduction of the grapheme ‘c’ in initial
position along with a number of French borrowings where it was pronounced /s/ (i.e. AN (Anglo-
Norman) certainté vs. ME certainly); and finally, (7) the consonant clusters ‘qu’ and ‘gg’ replaced
OE ‘cw’ and ‘cg’ respectively (OE cwene vs. ME queene; OE ecge vs. ME egge).

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So, these and other minor consonant changes, together with the Anglo -Norman and Central French
diphthongs /oi/ and /ui/ were the result of borrowing from French culture. In fact, the French words
that form such an important element of English vocabulary have generally entered the language
through the medium of writing, under the work of churchment and scholars.

3.3.3. French influence up to now.

Yet, it is difficult to say whether the French loanwords which came in the Modern English period
were direct borrowings from Latin or had come in through French since, after all, Latin was also the
language of learning among the French. But what happens nowadays? Do French loanwords still
refer to a kind of learned language? In fact, one great motivation for the borrowings is the change in
social order and specialized language (doublets and triplets), where scientific and philosophical
empiricism in particular is valued since many of the new words are academic in nature (i.e. govern,
state, authority, parliament, assembly, treaty, treason, sermon, parson, convent, faith, boot, blue,
scarlet, sausage, pigeon, orange, dance, music, palace, porch, prose, story, grammar, noun,
paralytic, cellar, stable, river). This resulted and still results in the distinction between learned and
colloquialvocabulary in English.

4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.

The influence of French on the English language may be approached in the teaching of languages
from several perspectives. First, because of the nature of loanwords, we deal with lexis and its
morphology, from which we may examine word formation and its processes (borrowing is one of
them); second, we may deal with lexical semantics, that is, the relationship among word meanings
between words at a paradigmatic level, and therefore with the fair ly traditional concepts of
homonymy, synonymy, and antonymy; third, sociology, since the choice of semantic meaning
implies social and cultural relationships dealing with power and status (literary, learned vs.
colloquial) ; fourth, a historical approach to the development of events that brings the influence of
French words up to nowadays.

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As we can see, the French influence may be approached in linguistic terms (morphology and lexis)
and also from a cross-curricular perspective (Sociology, History, English, French and Spanish
Language). Spanish students are expected to know about the Norman culture and its influence in
Europe since students are required to know about the culture and history of the foreign language
they are studying. So, French influence is easily approached by means of lexical analysis through
loanwords since they are the result of a mixing of cultures which once took place in England, in
particular the three-fold distinction which took place after the Norman Conquest between French,
Latin and English so as to differenciate social status.

So, first, on examining the role of words as a linguistic sign and, in particular with doublets and
triplets, we deal with the traditional concept of synonymy. This concept is mainly studied from two
branches of linguistics: etymology, on the origin of words, and semantics, on the study of meaning
of words. This concept would also need to be formulated somewhat differently in relation to
particular theories of phonology, syntax and morphology from a rather traditional view of the
grammatical and lexical structure of languages. We should also include the concepts of false friends
and lexical creativity in order to study and classify all posible lexical relations into sense-relations
in paradigmatic terms.

Linguistically speaking, the role of vocabulary in the acquisition of a second language has often
dealt with only incidentally in the preparation of class material since most attention was paid to
other aspects of language, such as grammar, phonology, and discourse analysis. After a lengthy
period of being preoccupied with the development of grammatical competence, language teachers
and applied linguistic researchers now generally recognise the importance of vocabulary learning
and are exploring ways of promoting it more effectively.

Yet we must not forget that lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the
acquisition of a second language since no grammar or other type of linguistic knowledge can be
employed in communication or discourse without the mediation of vocabulary (Read, 2000). When
Hymes (1972) brought about the notion of communicative competence, he neglected Chomsky’s
approach by stating that native speakers knew more than just grammatical competence. With a
tradition on sociolinguistics, he had a broader view of the term which included not only
grammatical competence, but also sociolinguistic and contextual competence, that is, the underlying
knowledge a speaker has of the rules of grammar including phonology, orthography, syntax,
lexicon, and semantics, and the rules for their use in socially appropriate circumstances.

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Students are expected to learn about the influence of French, not only from a linguistic approach but
also from a social point of view, since the semantic choice between words tends to emphasize the
importance of different groups of users. For instance, the exposure to French has been sustained
throughout much of the recorded history of English, and it is this that helps give the language its
European flavour, in that many of our words are quickly recognisable to speakers of French,
English and Spanish.

This exposure has been pervasive enough to give rise to some popular notions and stereotypes about
parts of the English lexicon. The specific spelling in some words appeals to the more learned,
polysyllabic quality derived from the Romance languages as French (wh, g). In fact, these
associations have an important stylistic trait in the language we know today since French loanwords
are common in domains associated with power and prestige (i.e. French ‘request’ and Latin
‘interrogate’) rather than the Anglo-Saxon ‘ask’.

This section is aimed to look at present-day approaches on the use of vocabulary from an
educational approach, and therefore, within the framework of a classroom setting. This type of
formal instruction in language teaching addresses the role played by our current educational system,
L.O.G.S.E., in providing our students the foundations for a knowledge of vocabulary and word-
formation processes. The Spanish Educational System (B.O.E. 2002) states that there is a need for
learning a foreign language in order to communicate with other European countries, and a need for
emphasizing the role of a foreign language which gets relevance as a multilingual and multicultural
identity.

Within this context, students are expected to carry out several communication tasks with specific
communicative goals (i.e. learned language vs. colloquial one) within specific contexts (i.e.
different social status). The European Council (1998) and, in particular, the Spanish Educational
System within the framework of the Educational Reform, envisages vocabulary knowledge of
second language learners within the four skills (writing, reading, listening, and speaking) as both
necessary and reasonably straightforward since words are the basic building blocks of language.
When it comes to verbal skills, lexis is somewhat easier because much less is required for listening
and speaking than for reading and writing.

Our goal as teachers is to highlight a number of key principles, such as to build a large sight
vocabulary, to integrate new words (Modern English) with old (French words), to provide a number

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of encounters with a word, to promote a deep level of processing, to make new words ‘real’ by
connecting them to the student’s world in some say, and above all, to use a variety of techniques in
word-formation to encourage independent learning strategies. In fact, vocabulary acquisition is an
incremental process, and teachers must concentrate not only on introducing new words, but also on
enhancing learners’ knowledge of previously presented historical events.

5. CONCLUSION.

This study has looked at the influence of French on the English language through the recorded
history of the English language in the British Isles and also, how this influence was to be realized
by means of loanwords (borrowings and calques). Historically speaking , although Britain was
methodically brought into the French world between 1066 and c. 1200 the process was not always
peaceful and saw sustained military conflicts. French culture gradually supplanted indigenous ways
of life and flourished in new military and urban centres as well as in the wider countryside.

As said before, both the English language and the French culture have gone through many
evolutions, all as a result of the introduction of new ethnic groups into Britain. From the first
invasions of the Angles and Saxons in 450 A.D. through the ongoing influx of immigrants from all
over the world, England has been a country influenced by its ever-changing population. The most
influential of these developments was the Norman Conquest in the year 1066, whose results have
shaped the history of England, and are still apparent in today’s English traditions, gove rnment, and
language. By looking at modern England, we can still see the threads that stemmed from the
influence of that event, so many years ago.

On the other hand, regarding linguistic consequences, we may affirm that French loanwords
establish a relative similarity between the Spanish, English and French languages (L1 and L2) that
may be useful for guessing about the meaning of words. It must be borne in mind that an adult
Spanish student generally perceives that there is a great distance from French to English, but a
realization of how many words there are in common between current Spanish, French and English
can offer a learner a ‘bridge’ to the new language.

A study of lexical items (French loanwords) shows that English and French have certain historical
influences in common; they especially have in common a number of procedures for acquiring and

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forming new words. With this information, teachers can help students lessen their fear of this
perceived distance. In the Spanish curriculum (B.O.E. 2002), the study of vocabulary, has been
considered an important element of language teaching, and also word-meaning devices. After all,
the importance of vocabulary cannot be understated since you cannot communicate without it.

Learners cannot do it all on their own. Language learners, even 2nd year Bachillerato students, do
not automatically recognize similiarities which seem obvious to teachers; learners need to have
these associations brought to their attention. As we have seen, understanding the notions of
semantic features and sense relations is important to teachers because they are typical means of
defining new words. Students are expected to be aware of the richness of English in synonyms,
largely due to the happy mingling of English, French and Latin e lements during Middle Ages (i.e.
rise-mount-ascend; goodness-virtue-probity; fast-firm-secure; fire-flame-conflagration;
respectively).

So far, we have attempted in this conclusion to look for linguistic and historical similiarities and
differences in word-associations between French and English with obviously no claim to
completeness, but only personal curiosity and a desire to bring some information to the attention of
teachers who might find it useful for their students.

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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Algeo, J. 1982. Problems in the origins and development of the English language. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.

Algeo, J. and T. Pyles. 1982. The origins and development of the English language. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.

Asimov, Isaac. 1990. La formación de Inglaterra. Historia Universal, Alianza Editorial.

Conde, J.C. and A. Sánchez. 1996. An Introduction to the History of the English language-I: Old English.
PPU: Promociones y Pu blicaciones Universitarias.

Bauer, L. 1983. English Word-Formation. Cambridge University Press.

Baugh, A. & Cable, T. 1993. A History of the English Language. Prentice-Hall Editions.

B.O.E. 2002. Consejería de Educación y Cultura. Decreto N.º 112/2002, de 13 de septiembre. Currículo de la
Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia.

B.O.E. 2002. Consejería de Educación y Cultura. Decreto N.º 113/2002, de 13 de septiembre. Currículo de
Bachillerato en la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia.

Canale, M. 1983. From Communicative Competence to Communicative Language Pedagogy, in J. Richards

and R. Schmidt (eds.). Language and Communication. London, Longman.

Council of Europe (1998) Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European
Framework of reference.

Haugen, E. 1972 . The analysis of linguistic borrowing. In Firchow, E. et al., eds: Studies by Einar Haugen.
The Hague: Mouton.

Hymes, D. 1972. On communicative competence. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Leith, D. 1997. A Social History of English. Routledge, London.

Nelson, F. W. 1974. The English language. Norton and Company.

Read, J. 2000. Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rivers, W. 1981. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

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