4. The Latin borrowings of different periods and their historical background Dark ages
The Germanic tribes who gave rise to the English language traded and fought with the Latin speaking Roman Empire. Many words from Greek.
Anchor, butter, camp, cheese, chest, cook, devil, dish, fork.
Christian missionaries coming to Britain in the sixth and the seventh centuries brought with them Latin religious terms:
Abbot, altar, apostle, candle, clerk, minister, monk, nun, pope, priest, school.
During this time the catholic church had great influence on the development of the old English language. Catholic monks wrote or copied texts in Latin (lingua franca). When a suitable old English word couldn’t be found a Latin words could be chosen instead. (bishop)
Middle ages
The Norman conquest of 1066 gave England a two-layer society with an aristocracy who spoke Anglo-Norman and a lower class who spoke English (many Latin-French borrowings)
Renaissance
During the English renaissance (1500-1650) 1000-1200 words entered the English lexicon including the word ‘lexicon’. (aberration, allusion, anachronism, democratic, enthusiasm, imaginary). Late Latin words also included borrowings from Greek.
Industrial age
The 17 and 18 centuries created the need for new words to describe new knowledge (Latin origin or Latin roots). (Apparatus, component, data, experiment).
Consequences for English. In addition to the large number of historical borrowings (Latinate words) continue to be coined in English – particularly in technical contexts. A number of more subtle consequences include numerous doublets (cow, beef); numerous cases of etymological unrelated terms for closely related concepts (hand, manual). Complicated etymologies due to indirect borrowings
5. French as the most important foreign influence on the English language.
Norman Conquest (1006) made up the new aristocracy – Anglo-Saxons became servants. They spoke Norman dialect of French – AS did not understand them (AS – English, German origin) => bilingual country. For 300 years French was the official language of administration (the king’s court, the law-courts, the church, the army & the castle, the intellectual life, literature & education). Lower classes in towns&countryside – English (only to spoken communication). Firstly without mingling but slowly began to permeate. 1400 loan words – 10000.
Contact with French.
Anglo-Norman Central French
The first period lasted from 1066 to
the loss of Normandy to England under king John
After this there is little or no direct influence of French on English. But the language remained fashionable. And the practice of borrowing words from the continental language continued well into the fifteenth centuries.
The central French period (during which influence from the region around Paris dominated) can be taken as the general status of English. The region is known as Isle de France. The label central French refers to late medieval speech. The difference between Anglo-Norman and central French loans is to be seen in famous pairs of words: catch-chase
Captiare-capture
Borrowings from French
The influx of French words continued in the late 15th & in the late 17th c. These French borrowings mainly pertain to diplomatic relations, social life, art & fashion. French remained the international language of diplomacy for several hundred years; Paris led the fashion in dress, food & in social life & to a certain extent in art & literature; finally, the political events in France in the 18-19th c. were of world-wide significance.
Examples of diplomatic terms are: attache, communique, dossier;
social life: ball, cafe, coquette, hotel, picnic, restaurant;
art: ballet, ensemble, essay, genre;
military terms are: brigade, maneuver, marine, police;
fashions in dress & food: blouse, corsage, cravat, champagne, menu, soup.
Words of miscellaneous character are: comrade, detail, entrance, fatigue, garage, machine, moustache, progress, ticket.
Most of these words haven’t been assimilated in English, retaining their spelling, the sounds & the position of the stress.