Review article
https://doi.org/10.47960/2303-7431.24.2020.163
Social elements in the Norman French influence on English
Zoran Pervan
orcid.org/0000-0001-8415-8910
; University of Mostar, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to show the influence of Norman French on English after the Norman Conquest. The research is limited to vocabulary analysis as well as social changes that were introduced by William the Conqueror and made it possible for the influence to happen. The loss of the English nobility and William’s replacement of it with the French, resulted with a discrepancy in the language of the lower and higher class. While the lower class continued to speak English, the higher class spoke French and speaking it soon became a matter of prestige, but also a matter of necessity for the lower class as they had no other means to communicate with the nobility. This soon led to the appearance of bilingualism which enabled the transfer and borrowing of French vocabulary into English.
Keywords
Norman French; Middle English; borrowings; language influence; history of the English language
Hrčak ID:
259532
URI
Publication date:
9.12.2020.
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