Influences of French (language) on English (language)

[cloud2000]

Original Title:

hi!~ all:
i need your help !~
i am a college student, my major is english literature, now i am preparing
my final dissertation,and the topic is 'influences of french on english" i need many references ,so if you have some or know how get them please
inform me ,that 'll be very appreciated.
thank you all in advance.!!
sincerely

[MaPoSquid]

The main influence is through such French writers as Dickens (actually authored by Dumas while in hiding, and published posthumously by his heirs) and Shakespeare (really penned by Robespierre).

[TaiOanKok]

Cloud 2000,

The previous post was a joke. Don’t take it too seriously

As far as what you’re looking for, here’s a few ideas.

First, I looked to The Origins and Development of the English Language by Thomas Pyles and John Algeo, Chapter 6, “The Middle English Period (1100-1500).”

They note that French influence on English was 1) mostly a vocabulary and 2) spelling influence, but there were also 3) changes in the English pronunciation at this time (but how much is a result of French, I don’t know) and 4) grammatical changes [noun+adj (Secretary General) word order introduced].

If you looked at the Oxford English Dictionary, you would find that nearly 80% of the words are words the Norman French brought in when they invaded England in 1066 AD.

But nearly 80% of the words people use in their day-to-day lives are not of French origin, but Germanic words. This shows how limited even a huge influence like Norman French can be.

You may also want to see:

Bambas, Rudolph C. 1980. The English Language: Its Origin and History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Jones, Charles. 1989. A History of English Phonology. London: Longman.

Bryson, Bill. 1991. The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way. New York: Perennial.

French is Not a “Foreign” Language!, American Association of Teachers of French. (just a packet)

Walter, Henriette. 2001. [u]Honni soit qui mal y pense : L’incroyable histoire d’amour entre le fran

[cloud2000]

it’s very kind of you . thank you!~

[ImaniOU]

Not to be (too) nasty, but as a college student, shouldn’t you be the one who is finding resources? Especially for a “dissertation”? That would make you a Ph.D. candidate, wouldn’t it? Why are you asking for information about French-English connections on a website for people living in Taiwan? No wonder you need help finding research…here’s some help…you’ll have better luck using a website dedicated to French speakers or foreigners living in countries where French is the main language, or…get this…for people who speak and study French.

[cloud2000]

so can you introduce some websites or fora to me .
i badly need them ~! and thank you for your advice.
i only can get a bachelor diploma.

[xp_10K]

@cloud2000

so can you introduce some websites or fora to me.

I’ve found a few things on the 'net. I hope they help. I don’t know whether there are any big, good sources of information about this on the 'net, but I’ll look some more later.

I have a question, though, and it’s an important one: Is your dissertation on the influence of the French language on the English language, or on the inflluence of French literature on English literature?

Anyway, here’s what I’ve found so far:

You can ask a linguist about these things, and he or she might be able to give you some more help. There’s a website called “Linguist List.” It has a feature called “Ask a Linguist.” It’s at
linguistlist.org/ask-ling/index.html

“A (Very) Brief History of the English Language”
wordorigins.org/histeng.htm#norman

“List of English Words of French Origin”
searchspaniel.com/index.php/ … nch_origin

If you want definitions of some of the words in the above list, you can feed the words into the search box at humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ART … .form.html

“English and Its Relationship with French” (11 pages long)
realfrench.net/pdf/eng.pdf

You’ll need Adobe Reader to read this. Your computer may have Adobe Reader already. Adobe Reader comes in different languages, and sometimes (not always) there’s a problem if the Reader is in one language and the document is in the other. If you have Adobe Reader, try it on the document; then, if you have any problems, you can go to adobe.com and download English language Adobe Reader.

“How French Has Influenced English”
french.about.com/library/bl-frenchinenglish.htm

You can see red-lettered links below the article. One of them is “French Vocabulary in English,” at french.about.com/library/bl-fren … h-list.htm

There’s a brief summary of Charles Barber’s The English Language. A Historical Introduction at ulg.ac.be/ferulg/2C.htm#_Toc31085600

Here’s a nice, fairly long article on French influence on English, at orbilat.com/Influences_of_Ro … rench.html

It’s part of a larger section of the same website, on Romance-language influence on English:
orbilat.com/Influences_of_Romance/English/

On that same site, there’s “The post-conquest lexical elements in the Peterborough Chronicle,” at orbilat.com/Influences_of_Ro … nicle.html

This is a very brief article. The Peterborough Chronicle is an 11th and 12th century English document that people study to see the first introduction of French into the English language.

If you’re looking for the influence of French on English Literature, you might want to begin with The Cambridge History of English and American Literature (published 1907-21), Vol. VIII; Chapter XVI, “The Essay and the Beginning of Modern English Prose”;

[xp_10K]

@MaPoSquid

The main influence is through such French writers as Dickens (actually authored by Dumas while in hiding, and published posthumously by his heirs) and Shakespeare (really penned by Robespierre).

Squid, go down to Supply and get me three cans of backblast and a dustpan for a squeegee.

[Tetsuo]

[quote=“cloud2000”]so can you introduce some websites or fora to me .
i badly need them ~![/quote]
This might be useful too.

[xp_10K]

[quote=“Tetsuo”][quote=“cloud2000”]so can you introduce some websites or fora to me .
i badly need them ~![/quote]
This might be useful too.[/quote]

Yeah, but non-native English speakers often have trouble with word-searches in English.

I would ask you why you’re up so late, but last time I asked someone that question, they seemed to take umbrage, so I won’t ask.

[Tetsuo]

Late? Pfft, this isn’t late. Ask again if I’m still posting at 3am.

[lane119_aka_Cola]

vous avez complement fetez moi le con avec cette poste parce que null persoone peu faire votre homework pour vous. etes vous une imbecile?

La vache qui rit = LVQR

[MaPoSquid]

@xp+10K

[quote=“MaPoSquid”]The main influence is through such French writers as Dickens (actually authored by Dumas while in hiding, and published posthumously by his heirs) and Shakespeare (really penned by Robespierre).

Squid, go down to Supply and get me three cans of backblast and a dustpan for a squeegee. [/quote]
Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have Ninja? Beats a bucket of prop wash any day.

[xp_10K]

@MaPoSquid

Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have Ninja? Beats a bucket of prop wash any day.

I think my dad would have liked that one were he alive today. He once bought a can of “liquid tuneup” for the car. Just pour it in the gas tank!

First I’d have to explain to him what a Ninja is. . . .

[cloud2000]

I have a question, though, and it’s an important one: Is your dissertation on the influence of the French language on the English [color=red]language[/color], or on the inflluence of French literature on English [color=red]literature[/color]?

so you find that i didnt add any subjects after [color=red]english [/color]

that means both of them.
and thank you very much!! 好人呀！~！！~

[xp_10K]

You’re welcome!