On E L The Norman’s Influence

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Mrs. Al Gabashi

1066 – 1204 :English in decline

• In 1066 the Normans invaded England, and the French of Normandy, together with Latin, was to become the language of court,

• English was still used by the majority of common people, but it had no prestige and there was no literature written in English for 200 years.

• few written records of early Middle English, especially between1100 and 1200

Mrs. Al Gabashi

• Situation of the ruling class speaking one language, and their subordinates another, could not last. Normans had to learn some English in order to communicate. Norman kings set off to the Crusades in the 12th century- they had to persuade people to go there; would have used English for propaganda- just like Alfred.

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Analyze the causes of French influence on English Language.

• The Norman Conquest and association with the ruling class;• political relations; • royal intermarriage and the fusion of

the two people;

Mrs. Al Gabashi

• the use of French by the upper class; nobility, aristocrats and finally its influence on the Middle class;• the extensive use of French literature in

court and the • Royal family's role in the promotion of

French poetry.(Adela)

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Words derived from FrenchWords which are mostly related to Law,

government, politics. Antiquate, and royal court.• accuse ,arrest• Parliament, treasure• soldier, lieutenant• ambulance , ballet, biscuit, camouflage,

chauffeur, coup d'etat,, coupon, crayon, debris, dentist, detour, diplomat, route, entrepreneur,, envoy, espionage, memoir, menu, regime, salvage, soufflé, souvenir, splendid, wardrobe

Mrs. Al Gabashi

• attaché attaché au contraire au naturel

avant-garde Innovative,

• blond "fair-haired“• bon appétit "good appetite“• bon voyage "good trip"

café au lait "coffee with milk" cerise "cherry" c'est la vie "that's life" chaise longue "long chair" chargé d'affaires "charged with business“

• chargé la'afemme

Mrs. Al Gabashi

The Transition to middle English1150 onwards

• Significant change:• 1. Spelling variations• Consonants and vowels written differentlyOE rot ME root• 1. Loss of inflections • 2. increasing importance of word order

(syntax)• In OE subject could be in diff positionsME= Subject+ verb+ object

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Middle EnglishThe Rebirth of English

• During the late 13th and in the 14th century, English was making a comeback. The mood towards France was becoming more and more hostile. Although French and Latin were still languages of prestige, English was becoming the language of communication, even among the nobility.

• Dialect of Anglo-French ridiculed in Paris, growing mutual dislike.

• The Hundred Years’ War with France (mid-14th – mid-15th cent.) marked a definite decline of French and the rise of English as a chief language.

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Middle English1348 – 1509: English triumphant

• 1348: first outbreak of the Black Death: one third of population dies- leads to social turmoil and worker shortages. Higher prestige for the lower classes and their language.

• 1362: English official language in legal proceedings.• English expands all over Britain, French only artificially

maintained.• London English emerges as basis for standard.• 1509: Henry VIII ascends to the throne and breaks with the

Roman Catholic Church. Thereafter, all religious services and documents are in English.

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Literature in Middle English• The second half of 14th century produced the first

great age of secular (=not religious) literature.• The best representative is Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘the

father of English poetry’. By making a conscious choice to write in English, he symbolizes the rebirth of English as a national language. His works also helped the London dialect of English become a standard.

• We can read and understand Chaucer’s English fairly well – this shows how much the language had changed.

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Middle English‘The Canterbury Tales’

• Chaucer’s most famous work is ‘The Canterbury Tales’ (about 1387), a long poem, or a collection of stories in verse. And it is real verse – another novelty. The rhyme has taken place of Old English alliteration.

• The story is about a party of pilgrims, the poet among them, traveling to Canterbury to visit the grave of Thomas a Becket. To pass the time, they agree to tell tales.

• Strong French and Anglo Saxon influences

Mrs. Al Gabashi

Web site to be visited

• http://www.krysstal.com/borrow.html