Course: C1 - Advanced READING COMPREHENSION Lesson: 25 The French Connection Have you ever wondered why so many words in English are similar to French? In 1066 William, Duke of Normandy defeated the Anglo-Saxons under their king, Harald Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings which began the Norman conquest of England. This was to have a BFOfouind impact on the English language. William the Conqueror, as he became known, brought with him Norman French, which became the language of the afist6€laey, government and the courtforover.three hundred years. English, itself the language of the earlier Angl6=Saxon conquerors, c6itinued to be used by ordinary people, and Latin was theilanguage of the church. Being the language, of the commoners, English at that time was rafely used in writing. After the conquest, it would go through a series of changes includingdeveloping a much more simplified grammar - the transformation from Old English to Middle English. Simultaneously, Norman French would become Anglo-Norman as it in turn was affected by English. ‘An interesting example of how we can see this history at work is the words for farm animals and their meat. While the word ‘cow’ comes from Old English cu, the Eotresponding word for the meat ‘beef’ comes from French boeuf. Similarly, the word ‘sheep’ comes from Old English sceap whereas the meat, ‘mutton! is derived from the French mouton ‘Pig’ comes from Old English picg and ‘swine’ from swinwhereas the meat, ‘pork’ comes from French porc. The reason is simple. The aristocracy, who spoke French, ate the meat while the commoners, who téfded the animals, spoke English. Over time, more than 10,000 French words found their way into English — especially words associated with goverment, law, art, literature, food, About three quarters of these words are still used, and words derived directly or indirectly from French now account for more than third of English Vocabulary. In fact, English speakers are familiar with FOUGHIY 15,000 French words, even before they start learning the language. In some cases, words with the same or similar meanings were borrowed from both Norman French and Parisian French at different times, For example warden comes from Norman French, while guardian comes from later Parisian French. French was for some time the liniglia franca and many languages, including English, adopted ‘loan words’ much later in history. English pronunciation and spelling were also affected by the contact with French. For example, the Old English spellings ew, sc and c became qu, sh and ch, so we now write queen rather than cwen, shiprather than scip, and shouldrather than scolde. So, next time you order some roast beef or pork, think about the poor Anglo-Saxon peasants tending the cows and pigs of their Norman feudal lord. Perfectly Spoken: Page lof 5Course: C1 - Advanced READING COMPREHENSION Lesson: 25 Vocabulary in Context Match the words highlighted in yellow with their definitions aristocracy ‘commoners corresponding derived feudal lingua franca profound roughly simultaneously tended ‘adjective equivalent, related ‘adjective. relating to a socio-economic system of relationship between peasants, who worked the land, and their lords, who owned the land. adjective. very important, strong ‘adverb. approximately adverb, at the same time noun. nobility, a class of people who hold a high status in society (dukes, earls, counts etc.) noun. ordinary people, notmembers of the ruling elite, noun. the language used between people who do not share the same native language. verb. cared for, lookedafter verb, to come from another source Perfectly Spoken’ Page 2of 5Course: C1 - Advanced READING COMPREHENSION Lesson: 25 Comprehension questions 1. The Norman conquest which began in 1066 aoge completely replaced English with Norman French for hundreds of years. ushered in a period where French was the language of the elite. had little immediate effect on language in England. became the language of the court and church. 2. Old English, the languagé'of the common people) pose would become more far more complex after thie conquest. remained fairly unchanged for many years. had almost no impact on Norman French. was principally an oral language. 3. The example of the words for animals and their meat in English is used to demonstrate 29.70 4. Now. a the superiority of French over English words. the close connection between history and language, that these animals were introduced into England by the Normans. the exploitative relationship between the Norman aristocracy and the Anglo-Saxon commoners. adays, words of French origin . account for roughly 60 per cent of the Englistyvocabulary. . come almost exclusively from the Norman period. b c. have changed almostbeyond recognition from the original words. d |. are so common in English that English Speakers have a ready-made vocabulary of thousands of French words. 5. The words ‘warden’ and ‘guardian’ pose 6. Theii aoe entered the English language around the same time came into the English language at different stages in history. have very different original meanings. are both Norman French words, impact of French on English Affected spelling, but not pronunciation Affected pronunciation more than spelling. Changed the spelling scto sh Changed the spelling cw to sh. Perfectly Spoken: Page 30f5Course: C1 - Advanced READING COMPREHENSION Lesson: 25 ANSWERS Vocabulary in Context Tingua franca oun. the language used between people who do not share the same native languages ‘commoners noun. ordinary people, not members of the ruling elite simultaneously | adverb. at the same time profound adjective. very important, strong feudal adjective. relating to a socio-economic system of relationship between peasants, who worked the land, and their lords, who ‘owned the land roughly, adverb. approximately derived verb, to come from another source tended verb, cared for, looked after aristocracy noun. nobility, a class of people who hold a high status in society (dukes, earls, counts etc.) corresponding __| adjective. equivalent, related ComprehensioW| question® 1. The Norman conquest whiich began in 1066 a. completely replaced English with Norman French for hundreds of years b. ushered ina period where French Was the language of the elite. c. had little immediate effect on language in England. d. became the language of the court and church. 2. Old English, the language of the common people ‘a. would become more far more complex after the conquest. b. remained fairly unchanged for many years cc. had almost no impact on Norman French. d. was principally an oral language. Perfectly Spoken’ Page4 of 5Course: C1 - Advanced READING COMPREHENSION Lesson: 25 3. The example of the words for animals and their meat in English is used to demonstrate the superiority of French over English words. . the close connection between history and language. . that these animals were introduced into England by the Normans. ._ the exploitative relationship between the Norman aristocracy and the Anglo-Saxon comn 4. Nowadays, w a. ac y 60 per cent of the ‘clusively from the Norman p almost beyond recognition fror mon in English that English speaker ry of thousands of French words. 5. den’ and ‘guardian’ the English language around the same time 10 the English language at different stag different original meanings. orman French words. 6. . Changed the Changed the spelling Perfectly Spoken* Page5 of 5 ‘All cours lessons and associated content i copyrightof Perfectly Spoken Limited ~ © Perfectly Spoken 2019. Alrights reserved