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Middle English

1100-1500

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English: a history of invasions

• 449: Germanic tribes (Anglo-Saxons) spoke Old English

• Around 800: Vikings (Scandinavians, also referred to as Danes) spoke Old Norse

• 1066: Normans (originally also Vikings!) spoke French

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Norman Conquest

• William of Normandy defeats Anglo-Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066

• THE most cataclysmic event in the history of English

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Parable of the Prodigal Son -- in OE and ME

Forsothe his eldere sone was in the feeld, and whanne he cam and neighede to the hous, he herde a symfonye and a crowde, And he clepide oon of his seruauntis, and axide what thingis thes weren.

And he seide to him, Thi brodir is comen, and thi fadir hath slay n a fat calf, for he receyued him

saf.

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Middle English

• Three distinct periods– Decline after the Norman invasion (1066-1204)– Ascendance of English (1204-1348)– Triumph, Period of Chaucer (1348-1509)

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Decline after the Norman invasion (1066-1204)

• Politically and linguistically, a French invasion– Language of government = French– Language of the church = Latin– Language of the common people = English but it had

no power or prestige– Probably a LOT of bilingualism from the beginning via

intermarriage and work relationships -- suggested by loanwords such as

• table, boil, roast, serve, dine• tax, estate, trouble, duty, pay

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Ascendance of English (1204-1348)

• Factors in the decline of French, rise of English– Loss of Normandy possessions– Norman-French lost status -- mocked by

Parisian French speakers– Crusades brought speakers of various English

dialects together

• French taught as an L2

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Triumph (1348-1509)

• Factors contributing to the continued rise of English– Black Death: lower class English speakers gained

economic clout– Hundred Years War with France: all French holdings

lost– Rise of London and the introduction of printing

• English supplanted French -- but with a massive influx of French vocabulary

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Effects of the Norman Conquest on English

– Initially, much dialect variation -- no center of power for English anymore

– Loss of many grammar inflections (probably due to contact)

– Huge influx of French loanwords -- thousands!– Spelling variation too -- no central model -- 500 ways

to spell through– French scribes brought new French-based writing

conventions, e.g. a instead of æ– Eventual rise of a new standard: Chancery English

(based on the English of London and environs)

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Middle English Vocabulary

• Norman Conquest made a HUGE impact on the vocabulary of English– English acquired many synonyms -- different levels of

vocabularyOE French Latinkingly royal regalask question interrogaterise mount ascendtime age epoch

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Middle English Lexicon

• French influence – A flood of borrowing -- in many fields (p. 85)

– More than 70% of ModE is loanwords; half of these are French or Latin

– English-French hybrids: beautiful, gentleness, because

– Some words were borrowed twice… once from Norman French

wile, warrant, war, canal, catch

and again from Central Frenchguile, guarantee, garrison, channel, chase

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French/Latin cognates in English - help or hindrance?

• There are many

• There are many helpful ones, but also many false friends

• Sometimes they are hard to recognize

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There are many….

• http://french.about.com/library/vocab/bl-vraisamis-a.htm

• pentagonal adjective• perceptible adjective• perception f noun• percussion f noun• perfection f noun• perforation f noun• permanence f noun• perspective f noun• persuasion f noun• pertinence f noun• pertinent adjective• perversion f noun• pestilence f noun• pH m noun• phallus m noun• phase f noun• philodendron m noun• phosphate m noun

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The shoemaker explains his craft

• Examples of perfect or near-perfect translationsMy craft is very useful and very necessary for you. I buy hides and skins, and prepare them, with my skill/craft. I make various kinds of shoes, leather hose, leggings, harnesses, flasks, and pouches. And not one of you can endure the winter without my craft.

My craft is useful and necessary to you. I buy hides and skins and with them I make various kinds of shoes, leggings, thongs, harnesses, flasks and pouches; no one can get through the winter without my crafts.

My skill is very useful and necessary. I buy hides and skins and skillfully make them into various kinds of shoes, leggings, thongs, harnesses, flasks and pouches. No one can survive the winter without my craft.

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

1. Is English a Romance language? Why is the question justified?

2. What is the story of the Trojan horse? Explain the quote “French acted as the Trojan horse of Latinity in English.”

3. Use your knowledge of French to add three more pairs to SG’s list of “quasi-synonymous Romance-Germanic doublets”.

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

4. What are some examples of totally deceptive French-English cognate pairs (in addition to fabrique/fabric)?

actuel/actuallibrarie/librarysensible/sensible

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

5. What are some examples of partially deceptive French-English cognate pairs (in addition to expertise/expertise)?

Inclusions: dossier/dossier

Overlappingfatal/fatal

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

6. What are some French cooking terms used in English?

7. What are some English sports terms used in French? What point does SG make about these borrowings?

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

8. What did SG use as data in her study?

9. Restate the hypotheses SG tested. Write them as yes/no questions in everyday English.

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Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy (Granger, 1996)

9. Restate the hypotheses SG tested. Write them as yes/no questions in everyday English.

1. Do francophone ESL learners use too many Romance words and not enough Germanic words?

2. Are false friends only a minor problem for advanced learners?

10. What did SG find in answer to these two questions? (No, in both cases)

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False friends in advanced ESL writing

• Cognates are better for comprehension than production? Examples:

– They are proud of their country, of its history and particularities.

– University researchers will have to be formed in the same way.

– Every European will be able to travel from one country to another with great facility.

Granger, S. (1996). Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy. KVHAA Konforenser, 36, 105-121.

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Stylistic false friends in advanced ESL writing

• The first step each one has to make is to… ameliorate every situation.

• They would have destroyed the occidental union.

• Enterprises will go and settle in countries where labour is cheap. The dimension of the enterprise is essential.

Granger, S. (1996). Romance words in English: from history to pedagogy. KVHAA Konforenser, 36, 105-121.

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Stylistic false friends…

Written by an Intensive 6 ESL learner

I like St. Valentine’s Day because I receive the chocolate. The chocolate is very good taste. Cupid is the principal figure of the Valentine’s Day. My father and my mother give the chocolate bar for the St. Valentine’s Day. I like Valentine’s Day because I go to the restaurant with my family. I like the chocolate and above all have which with the cerises. Mother do not like the chocolate with the cerises. But my father like the chocolate. My favorite is the chocolate black. I do not like the chocolate white.

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Sometimes cognates are hard to recognize

• égratigner• épagneul• épine• éperonner• épervier• épice• épier• épinard• éponge• épouse, époux

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Teachers can highlight awareness, note patterns

égratigner scratchépagneul spanielépine spineéperonner spur on épervier sparrowhawképice spiceépier spy épinard spinachéponge spongeépouse, époux spouse

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What kinds of words do French-speaking learners of English look up?

(From Cobb, 2000)