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French Impact on Grammar and Syntax |
When some language is related to a group of languages, it is usually
assumed that it has strong similarities in grammatical structure as
well as a common core of related lexical items with the languages in
the group. The pronouncements about the “grammatical” impact of
French on English are, obviously, more cautious, since structural
changes develop over a long period of time and are too involved to
be explained only by a single factor. There is no doubt, however,
that French has influenced English grammar and syntax in two ways:
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These two kinds of influence were usually combined. |
Thus, for instance, the French invasion accelerated the rate of
decay of the English inflexional system. The rapid and complete
victory of the –(e)s plural inflexion was partly due to the
universal French –s, which was derived from the Latin
accusative plural (muros, murs; rosas, roses,
etc.).
The coexistence of a Germanic and French patterns can be observed in
the use of the inflected genitive “the king’s son”,
corresponding to German des Königs Sohn, alongside with the
phrasal genitive “the son of the king” corresponding to
French le fils du roi.
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Germanic Pattern |
French Pattern |
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the king’s son
cf. German des Königs Sohn |
the son of the king cf. French
le fils du roi |
This example serves also as an illustration of the influence on
French on English in phrasing. During the ME period a large number
of phrases were borrowed from or modelled on French ones. It is
remarkable how pervasive this kind of influence has been and it was
not confined only to ME times. Any estimate of French influence on
English must take into account this type of borrowing and calquing.
For example:
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English |
French Model |
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plenty of
to the contrary
if need be
because of
to make peace
tender age |
plenté de
au contraire
si besoin est
par cause de
faire paix
tendre âge |
The influence of French on English in phrasing shows not just in the
adoption of foreign phrasal patterns, but also in the creation of
new ones. In the early period after the Conquest the practice began
of using two words for one, so that both Frenchmen and Englishmen
might understand, e.g. law and order; lord and master;
act and deed; on the model of which were later coined
acknowledge and confess; safe and sound; help and
succour; love and cherish; ways and means, etc.
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Anglo-French Doublets |
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law and order
lord and master
act and deed
acknowledge and confess
safe and sound
help and succour
love and cherish
ways and means |
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In Chaucer we find such examples as swink and laboure;
poynaunt and sharp; lord and sire; a lerned man, a
clerk. By his time such collocations had perhaps become a
literary device, but in Early ME literature the native word is
clearly explanatory of the borrowed one, e.g. from the Ancren
Riwle (early thirteenth century), cherité, that is luve;
ignoraunce, that is unwisdom and unwitenesse.
The habit of doubling (and even
of tripling and quadrupling) Anglo-French synonyms would become a major feature of
legal English. |
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Copyrighted material |
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