The French Language in England

1. The French Language in England

4. Rollo (Göngu-Hrólfur) The Normans

5. 1066 William the Conqueror

6. The main linguistic effects of the Norman invasion • Secular and religious authorities became French • Old English spelling traditions were lost • English came to be written as it was spoken • Dialectal differences appeared

7. The main linguistic effects of the Norman invasion The changes that had occurred since the Norse invasions, now appeared for the first time in the witten language

9. 1200-1300 1066-1200 1300-1400

10. 1200-1300 1066-1200 1300-1400

11. The French Language in England1066-1200 • Norman French is the native language of the nobility. • Probably not a great deal of bilingualism. • Small numbers of French loans enter English.

12. 1200-1300 1066-1200 1300-1400

13. The French Language in England1200-1300 • 1204 Loss of Normandy. • French is the cultivated, prestige language. • Norman French loses prestige and the nobility begin to look to Paris for their norm.

14. NORMAN FRENCH retained k cattle castle carpenter cauldron carry catch  retained g garden gaol PARISIAN FRENCH k has become chattels chair charity chief change chase  g has become joy jest jail Difference between Norman French and Central (Parisian) French in some environments in some environments g survives only in spelling

15. NORMAN FRENCH is retained in catch w in Germanic loanwords while ward(en) William war wasp PARISIAN FRENCH has become s in chase w becomes g(w) guile gardian Guy (guerre, guêpe) Difference between Norman French and Central (Parisian) French

16. The French Language in England1200-1300 • 1204 Loss of Normandy. • French is the cultivated, prestige language. • Norman French loses prestige and the nobility begin to look to Paris for their norm. • There is a diglossic situation, with French the high-prestige, English the low-prestige variety.

17. Diglossia Examples from Modern English: hus mus haus maus Prestige Enry Henry Arthur Harthur

18. Diglossia Examples from Middle English: hew colour stench scent Prestige neat beef athling prince

19. The French Language in England1200-1300 • 1204 Loss of Normandy. • French is the cultivated, prestige language. • Norman French loses prestige and the nobility begin to look to Paris for their norm. • There is a diglossic situation, with French the high-prestige, English the low-prestige variety. • Large numbers of French loans enter English

20. 1200-1300 1066-1200 1300-1400

21. The French Language in England1300-1400 • English becomes the dominant language, but French remains dominant in literature and at the court. • Increasing evidence of imperfect knowledge of French amongst the nobility. • Although the knowledge of French is waning, its linguistic prestige can be seen by still increasing numbers of French loans in English.

22. The French Language in England1300-1400Factors contributing to the decline of French: • 1334-1453 The Hundred Years' War with France. • 1348-9 The Black Death. 30% mortality. Labour shortage, wage rises, increasing importance of the English-speaking classes • 1386 English accepted in the courts ('Statute of Pleading') • Two major English poets at the end of the 14th century: • Gower writes mostly in French (but composes one long work Confessio amantis, in English) • Chaucer writes almost entirely in English. • Evidence of private letters: • 1350: French is the rule. • After 1400: English becomes common. • After 1450: English is the rule.

23. Jeo prie a la Benoit Trinite que vous ottroie bone vie ove tresentier sauntee a treslonge durre,and sende yowe sone to ows in helþ andprosperiteefor, in godfey, I hope to Al Mighty God that, yef ye come youre ownepersone, ye schulle have thevictorieof alle yourenemyes. And forsalvationof oure Schire and Marches al aboute, treste ye nought to noLeutenaunt.Escript a Hereford, en tresgraunte haste, a trois de laclockeapres noone, le tierce jour de Septembre. Richard Winston, Dean of Windsor, to the King 1403 Baugh fn 195 p. 151

24. Baugh: 1000 French words at random (statistics in footnote to §133, p. 178 5th edn)

25. Baugh: 1000 French words NB first recorded occurence in a written text status of French