(6) Art, learning and medicine
The cultural and intellectual interests of the ruling class are reflected in words pertaining to the arts, architecture, literature, learning, and science, especially medicine. Such words as art, painting, sculpture, music, beauty, color, figure, image, tone are typical of the first class, while architecture and building have given us cathedral, palace, mansion, chamber, ceiling, joist, cellar, garret, chimney, lintel, latch, lattice, wicket, tower, pinnacle, turret, porch, bay, choir, cloister, baptistry, column, pillar, base, and many similar words. Literature is represented by thr word itself and by poet, rime, prose, romance, lay, story, chronicle, tragedy, prologue, preface, title, volume, chapter, quire, parchment, vellum, paper, and pen, and learning by treatise, compilation, study, logic, geometry, grammar, noun, clause, gender, together with verbs like copy, expound, and compile. Among the sciences, medicine has brought in the largest number of early French words still in common use, among them the word medicine itself, chirurgy, physician, surgeon, apothecary, malady, debility, distemper, pain, ague, palsy, pleurisy, gout, jaundice, leper, paralytic, plague, pestilence, contagion, anatomy, stomach, pulse, remedy, ointment, balm, pellet, alum, arsenic, niter, sulphur, alkali, poison. It is clear that the arts and sciences, being largely cultivated or patronized by the higher classes, owe an important part of their vocabulary to French. [7]
Such classes of words as have been illustrated in the foregoing paragraphs indicate important departments in which the French language altered the English vocabulary in the Middle Ages. But they do not sufficiently indicate how very general was the adoption of French words in every province of life and thought. One has only to glance over a miscellaneous list of words-nouns, adjectives, verbs-to realize how universal was the French contribution. In the nouns we may consider the range of ideas in the following list, made up of words which were already in English by 1300: action, adventure, affection, age, air, bucket, bushel, calendar, carpenter, cheer, city, coast, comfort, cost, country, courage, courtesy, coward, crocodile, cruelty, damage, debt, deceit, dozen, ease, envy, error, face, faggot, fame, fault, flower, folly, force, gibbet, glutton, grain, grief, gum, harlot, honor, hour, jest, joy, labor, leopard, malice, manner, marriage, mason, metal, mischief, mountain, noise, number, ocean, odor, opinion, order, pair, people, peril, person, pewter, piece, point, poverty, powder, power, quality, quart, rage, rancor, reason, river, scandal, seal, season, sign, sound, sphere, spirit, square, strife, stubble, substance, sum, tailor, task, tavern, tempest, unity, use, vision, waste. The same universality is shown in the adjective. Here the additions were of special importance since Old English was not very well provided with adjective distinctions. From nearly a thousand French adjectives in Middle English we may consider the following selection, all the words in this list being in use in Chaucer’s time: able, abundant, active, actual, amiable, amorous, barren, blank, brief, calm, certain, chase, chief, clear, common, contrary, courageous, courteous, covetous, coy, cruel, curious, debonair, double, eager, easy, faint, feeble, fierce, final, firm, foreign, frail, frank, gay, gentle, gracious, hardy, hasty, honest, horrible, innocent, jolly, large, liberal, luxurious, malicious, mean, moist, natural, nice, obedient, original, perfect, pertinent, plain, pliant, poor, precious, principal, probable, proper, pure, quaint, real, rude, safe, sage, savage, scarce, second, secret, simple, single, sober, solid, special, stable, stout, strange, sturdy, subtle, sudden, supple, sure, tender, treacherous, universal, usual. A list of the verbs borrowed at the same time shows equal diversity. Examples are: advance, advise, aim, allow, apply, approach, arrange, arrive, betray, butt, carry, chafe, change, chase, close, comfort, commence, complain, conceal, consider, continue, count, cover, covet, cry, cull, deceive, declare, defeat, defer, defy, delay, desire, destroy, embrace, enclose, endure, enjoy, enter, err, excuse, flatter, flourish, force, forge, form, furnish, grant, increase, inform, inquire, join, languish, launch, marry, mount, move, murmur, muse, nourish, obey, oblige, observe, pass, pay, pierce, pinch, please, practise, praise, prefer, proceed, propose, prove, purify, pursue, push, quash, quit, receive, refuse, rejoice, relieve, remember, reply, rinse, rob, satisfy, save, scald, serve, spoil, strange, strive, stun, succeed, summon, suppose, surprise, tax, tempt, trace, travel, tremble, trip, wait, waive, waste, wince. Finally, the influence of French may be seen in numerous phrases and turns of expression, such as to take leave, to draw near, to hold one’s peace, to come to a head, to do justice, or make believe, hand to hand, on the point of, according to, subject to, at large, by heart, in vain, without fail.[8]
From the above lists we can see that loan-words from French came into English not only in large numbers but as words commonly used in Modern English. They are everyday words which constitute an important part of the English vocabulary.
4.2.5 Assimilation, Loss of native words, Differentiation in meaning of the two languages and Naturalization of the language
(i) Assimilation
The rapidity with which the new French words were assimilated is evidenced by the promptness with which many of them became the basis of derivatives. English endings were apparently added to them with as much freedom as to English words. For example, the adjective gentle is recorded in 1225 and within five years we have it compounded with an English noun to make gentlewoman (1230). A little later we find gentleman (1275), gentleness (1300), and gently (1330). These compounds and derivatives all occur within about a century of the time when the original adjective was adopted. In the same way we have faith (1250) giving faithless and faithful (both by 1300), faithfully (1362), and faithfulness (1388), as well as the obsolete faithly (1325). The adverbial ending -ly seems to have been added to adjectives almost as soon as they appeared in the language. Some adverbs occur almost as early as the adjectives from which they are derived. It is clear that the new French words were quietly assimilated, and enter into an easy and natural fusion with the native element in English. [9]
(ii) Loss of native words
The other case is the loss of native words. After the Norman Conquest, duplications frequently resulted, for many of the French words that came into use bore meanings already expressed by a native word. In such cases one of two things happened: of the two words one was eventually lost, or, where both survived, they were differentiated in meaning. In some cases the French word disappeared, but in a great many cases it was the old English word that died out. The substitution was not always immediate; often both words continued in use for a longer or short time, and the English word occasionally survives in the dialects today. Thus the OE ēam, which has been replaced in the standard speech by the French word uncle, is still in use (eme) in Scotland. The OE anda contested its position with the French envy until the time of Chaucer, but eventually lost out and with it went the adjective andig (envious) and the verb andian (to envy). In this way many common Old English words succumbed. The OE æpele yielded to F.noble, and æpeling became nobleman. Dryhten and frēa were displaced by the French prince, although the English word lord, which survived as a synonym, helped in the elimination. At the same time leod was being ousted by people. Here likewise the words in parentheses are the French verbs that replaced the native word. Not all the Old English words that have disappeared were driven out by French equivalents. Some gave way to other more or less synonymous words in Old English. Many independently fell into disuse. Nevertheless the enormous invasion of French word not only took the place of many English words that had been lost but itself accounts for a great many of the losses from the Old English vocabulary. [10]
(iii) Expansion of meaning
Where both the English and the French words survived they were generally differentiated in meaning. We have kept a number of words for smell. The common word in Old English was stench. During the Middle English period this was supplemented by the word smell (of unknown origin) and the French words aroma, odor, and scent. To these we have since added stink (for the verb) and perfume and fragrance, from French. Most of these have special connotations and smell has become the general word. Stench now always means an unpleasant smell. An interesting group of words illustrating the principle is ox, sheep, swine, and calf beside the French equivalents beef, mutton, pork, and veal. The French words primarily denoted the animal, as they still do, but in English they were used from the beginning to distinguish the meat from the living beast. In most of these cases where duplication occurred, the French word, when it came into English, was a close synonym of the corresponding English word. The discrimination between them has been a matter of gradual growth, but it justifies the retention of both words in the language. [11]
(iv) Naturalization of the language
From the French loaned words mentioned above, we know most of the borrowings were naturalized in form and sound.
4.2.6 French influence on the other aspects of English
(i) Grammar
The French influences on the English language brought about great changes not only in its vocabulary but also in its usages and grammar.
(1) The decay of inflectional endings, the loss of grammatical gender and the conquest simplification of English grammar were due to the influence of French directly or indirectly in the Middle English period. After the Norman Conquest the inflections of the nouns and adjectives became greatly reduced. The English language changed gradually from a synthetic language to an analytic language. (French was an analytic language).
(2) Some adjective phrases with post-modifier position were influenced by French, e.g. a thing immortal, the body politic, the poet laureate, heirs male, the people involved, the people concerned, the people interested, the house ablaze, anything interesting, anywhere quiet, a problem difficult to solve, the boys easiest to teach, Lords temporal, etc.
(3) The expressions of some English verb phrases imitated those of French, e.g. to take advantage (F. prendre avantage), to take end (F. prendre fin), to take leave (F. prendre conge), to take at random (F. prendre à random), etc.
(4) The expressions of some English prepositional phrases imitated those of French, e.g. by cause that (=because, F. à cause que), by so that (F. par si que), for why (F. por quoi), all be it that (F. tout soit il que), in vain (F. en vain), in general (F. en gènèral), in effect (F. en effect), in fact (F. en fait), on point to (F. sur le point de), etc.
(5) Some English idiomatic use came from the imitation of French, e.g. to come rynande (=to come running F. venir courant), How does my lord? (F. Que fait mes sires?), do bind him (F. faites-le-lier), etc. [12]
(6) Some common native verbs were replaced by French, e.g. andettan by confess, dihtan by compose, gōdian by improve, herian by praise, miltsian by pity, etc
(7) The use of you instead of ye and thee also shows the influence of French. Originally English made a distinction between thou, used to address one person, and the plural ye for more than one person. These were subject forms, e.g. thou art my friend, ye are my friends, and contrasted with thee and you used for the object or after a preposition, cf. I saw thee/you; I gave it to thee/you. Two types of change take place in this system. First, the ambiguity of French vous is recreated in English, and you takes over the functions of ye, so that it becomes grammatical to say you are my friends. The other change is that you takes over the functions of thou, so that the distinction between singular and plural is lost.
(8) The use of who was remodeled on French qui. Old English used hwa (‘who’) to ask a question such as who did it?, and this corresponds to one use of qui. But French also used qui in a relative clause such as the man who lives next door, for which Old English used the completely different word pe. Under French influence, Middle English began to use who as a relative pronoun. [13]
(ii) Spelling and pronunciation
Influenced by French certain spellings and pronunciations of Old English changed after the Norman Conquest.
(1) The letter u pronounced [u:] was changed into the letter groups ou ow pronounced [au], e.g. hūs [hu: s] → house [haus], rūt [ru: t] → rout [raut], cū [ku:] → cow [kau], etc.
(2) The pronunciation of the letter ī pronounced [i:] was changed into [ai], e.g. īs [i:s] → ice [ais], līf [li:f] → life [laif], rīdan [ri:da:n] → ride [raid], rīsan[ri:sa:n] → rise [rais], drīfan [dri:fa:n] → drife [draif], etc.
(3) The letters v j were introduced into English by the Normans, e.g. five, drive, joint and ajar, etc.
(4) The letter ӡ was a French letter which was used as an English one in the early Middle English period, e.g. thoӡ (=though), ðoӡt (=thought), ӡer (=year), etc.
(5) The letter groups ai ei oe ui and oi were French spellings which were used in the words of Middle English, e.g. compaignye, deintee, people, build, bruise, noise, boy, etc.
(iii) Word-formation
In the centuries following the Norman Conquest, a number of hybrids appeared in the English vocabulary. On one hand many French affixes, such as -able, -ment, -ess, -ry, -age, -ance, etc. were added to native roots to form a lot of new words, e.g. answerable, bearable, eatable, likeable, readable, argument, endearment, fulfillment, segment, goddess, shepherdess, murderess, dwelleress, slayeress, seeress, husbandry, yeomanry, outlawry, cleavage, leakage, steerage, furtherance, etc. On the other hand, many native affixes, such as -dom, -est, -ful, -er, –hood, -ing, -less, -ly, -ness, -ship, -some, -wise, etc. were added to French roots to form a host of new words, e.g. dukedom, noblest, powerful, preacher, falsehood, preaching, colorless, princely, faintness, courtship, quarrelsome, costwise, faithfully, peacefully, powerfully, commonly, courteously, eagerly, feebly, fiercely, and justly, etc. [14]
4.3 The influence of French upon English after the Middle English period
4.3.1 The breadth of influence
After Middle English period, modern English vocabulary develops through several channels. Borrowing as one of its channels has played a vital role in the development of vocabulary. Thirty percent of them come from French. The words are connected chiefly with arts, with food and drink, with fashion and with diplomacy.
Words connected with arts are:
baroque, baton, matinee, nocturne, renaissance, repertoire, resume, etc.
Words connected with food and drink include:
bonbon, café, chef, menu, restaurant, sauté, etc.
Words connected with fashion, dress, and materials are:
beret, blouse, corsage, crochet, etc.
Among diplomatical terms we find:
a chargé d’affires ad interim, attaché, chargé d’affires, communism, dossier, entente, laisser-faire, secretariat, etc.
Among the common words adopted in the twentieth century are:
après-ski(social activity after a day’s skiing), avant-garde, black humor, détente, discothèque(a night club or other place of entertainment where customers or performers dance, sing, etc. to record music), extraordinaire, georgette, hangar, limousine, negotiant, revue, etc. [15]
4.3.2 The characteristics of influence
(1) The vocabulary English borrowed from French in this period was not naturalized. The spelling and pronunciation remained unchanged. They are called aliens, e.g. automobile [΄ɔ:təməubi:l], bourgeois [΄buәӡwa], bourgeoisie [buәӡwa:΄ӡi:], coup de main [ku:do΄mεn], cafè [kə΄fe], coup d΄ètat [ku:dei΄ta:], elite [ei΄li:t], reservoir [΄rezəvwa:], repertoire [΄rεpətwa:], trou-de-loup [tru:də΄lu:], bêche-de-mer [beiʃdə΄mεə], etc.
(2) One of the important features in the Renaissance was the recognition in the fields where Latin had been supreme. A strong tradition sanctioned the use of Latin in all the fields of knowledge. This tradition was strengthened by the “revival of learning”, in which the records of Greek civilization became once more available in the original. 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. Therefore, Latin and Greek words poured into English directly or through French, e.g. L. bombax → F. bombace → E.M.E. bombast; L. detailer → F.detail →E.M.E. detail; l. voluntārius → F. voluntaire → E.M.E. volunteer, etc.
(3) The influence of the Renaissance on English vocabulary was great and far-reaching in the Early Modern English period. Thousands of foreign words infused English. English borrowed words from more than fifty languages, such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Jewish, Persian, Chinese and Japanese, etc. The adopted words not only reflected the new cultural movement of the Renaissance, the religion reform, the geographical discovery, the voyage, the exploration and the activities of immigrants and colonization, resulting in the increase, in a large number, of English vocabulary.
(4) Modern science and technology bring about the addition of new words without numbers. They are the most important source of new words in English. Modern science and technology contain many new branches apart from the existing fields. The appearance of new branches in modern science and technology gives rise to a great number of new words have been created and invented by the people all over the world, including the French people.
The English vocabulary changes with the development of society. The rate of vocabulary changes varies from age to age. In the Middle English period vast numbers of French words were introduced into the English language. In the sixteenth century large numbers of new words were borrowed from Latin and Greek directly or through French. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries there was a great expansion in the vocabulary of science and technology. Most of the neologisms are coined by the people all over the world, including the French people.
5. Conclusion
From the aspects mentioned above, it’s clear that the influence of the French language upon the English language involves every linguistic level, including phonetics, grammar and lexicon. Lexicon influence is especially prominent, which concerns almost all walks of life in the society. In short, the influence of the French language upon the English language is great, deep and permanent.
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[11] 同[1] P176-177
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[13] Gerry Knowles. A Cultural History of the English Language[M].Peking: Peking University Press,2004 P57-58
[14] Garland Cannon. A History of the English Language[M].Peking: China Translation and Publishing Corporation,1987,9 P132
[15] 林承璋,刘世平.英语词汇学引论[M].武汉:武汉大学出版社,2005,2 P58-59
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