All Anglophones Speak French because of a bastard!

50 % of English words are French, 25 % German and the rest of them 25% are principally Latin and Greek. Were you au courant with this fact?

Consequently we can affirm that English is essentially a French language (with a strong Germanic influence).

As French is a Latin Language, we can also affirm that the 7 principal Latin languages are: English (1500 million), Spanish (567), French (274), Portuguese (267), Italian (85), Rumanian (20) and Catalan (10) (2016 figures from Wikipedia). To be more acurate about English it would be more appropriate to qualify it as a Latino - Germanic language (taking into consideration German language contribution in terms of vocabulary, grammar, spelling and promunciation on today's english). If you speak english using a basic register you will probably use a lot of german origin words (so we can say you speak a Germano - Latin language). But if you speak english using a high register you will probably use a lot of French or Latin words (consequently in this case we can say you speak a Latino - Germanic language). It depends on which register you want to speak. Do you prefer to say : annually or yearly, coup d'état or putsch, fiancé or girlfriend, impromptu or unprepared ? This up to you or as you desire.

All these languages are both: official language in minimum one country and spoken by more than 10 million people internationally. These 7 languages are spoken by 2 723 million people around the world (including native speakers, second language speakers and foreign language students). The top 3 Latin most spoken languages : English, Spanish and French are used by almost 1 person out 3 in the world (2 341 million people out of a world population of 7 511 million people).

These 3 languages are :

• official in more than 103 countries around the world (English: 53, French: 29 and Spanish : 21).
• spoken (together) by more than 80 % of the population on the American continent and more than 50 % of the population in Europe and Africa,

Why all Anglophones speak French? Because of a bastard! He is known as William the Bastard in England and William the Conqueror in France. In reality he was also a Frenchman (from Normandy region in France) and a Majesty (Her Royal Majesty William, the King of England). William was in fact a French Bastard Conquering England to become its King.

From 1035 to 1087, The Duke of Normandy (North of France) was William. He was the only son of Robert the Magnifique (Duke of Normandy) and Arlette her concubine. Arlette’s parents were furriers in Normandy. As Polygamy was officially recognized in Normandy and has his father Robert recognized him, William became naturally and officially Duke of Normandy after his father’s death in 1035.

In 1066, during the famous battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror invaded England and became Her Royal Majesty, William, the King of England. William was born in France (Falaise) in 1026 or 1027 and died in France (Rouen) in 1087 and buried in France (Caen). William used to speak French (old French in reality).

1- Old English (with strong German origin) was used in England from V Century to 1066:

At this time in England, people used to speak different types of old English principally made of German Language, because a few centuries ago, England was invaded by North European tribes (speaking German Language). These tribes were for examples: the Saxons, the Angles, the Frissons and the Jutes. So before the arrival of William the Conqueror, there was no common and unified English language (only different sorts of old English).

2 – Old French was the official language of England (from 1066 to 1349)

But after 1066, William and his successors have been promoting French as the language of the elite (Court, Administration, Aristocracy, International communications, etc.). Middle English became the language of the people and Latin the language of the Church. At this time there were a few thousands of Francophones and around 2 million Anglophones in England. 

During this period of time some French words were introduced in English language such as: government, age, cruel, fruit, grace, lion, tiger, noble, silence, table, state, parliament, miracle, justice, jury, liberty, prison, pardon, enemy, defence, fashion, button, dinner, orange, oil, art, image, music, cathedral, prey or leisure for examples.

3 – Middle English came back as the official language in England (from 1349):

After the Hundred years war, England lost its French Territories and started again to use English as an official language. In 1349 Oxford University started to teach in English. In 1476, William Caxton accelerated the use of English with the introduction of the printing. In 1480, English replaced French for government discussions and laws.

French remains, however, the language of culture. It is the second language of cultivated people. Language of communication, it allows the contact with the continent. But the mother tongue spoken at home is now English; a Germanic language heavily imbued with French, in pronunciation, vocabulary, as well as in grammar and spelling. In three centuries of coexistence, French has fed three-quarters of the English lexicon.

The seventeenth century heralds the apogee of France. This period is characterized by the political, literary and artistic prestige of France and the French language. From the 17th century, French became the language of culture and prestige, as a language of science and diplomacy throughout Europe, including England. French is the second language of all the elites in Europe. The greatest scholars and intellectuals, writers or scientists, express themselves and correspond in French. French is considered a perfect language, whose beauty and elegance are fixed by the development of dictionaries and grammars.

During this period of time some French words were introduced in English language such as: fashion, money, advice, honesty, habit, liberal, patriot, utensil, alert or war for examples.

From 1380 to 1680, England has wanted to hide the French origin of some of its own (English) words because at this time France was the enemy n°1. To do it they had decided to latinized many French words (examples: Saliva instead of Salive, Atrocious instead of Atroce, Anonymous instead of Anomyne, etc.). Apparently, even The Oxford Dictionary did not completely realize it! Amazing!

4 – Modern English was born in XVI Century (period of Shakespeare):

The main difference between Middle English and Modern English is in the pronunciation of long vowels. The Great Vowic Change is thus a stage of separation between the two major periods of language.

The most famous and one of the first Modern English writer is probably William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). Shakespeare's influence on Anglophone culture is measured by observing the many references to it, whether through quotations, titles of works or innumerable adaptations of his works. English is also often nicknamed the language of Shakespeare as this author has marked the language of his country by inventing many terms and expressions. Some quotations from elsewhere are passed as they are in everyday language.

One of the biggest contributors of French Words integration in English language is William Shakespeare (with words such as monumental, obscene or pedant for examples).

During this period of time some French words were introduced in English language such as: vision, automobile, camouflage, immense, sabotage, lingerie, carbon, rendezvous, RSVP, libertine, fuselage, déjà vu or coup d’état for examples.

5 – International English was born around 1940 (period of Churchill):

International English is the concept of English language as a global means of communication. It is also known as Global English, World English, Common English or Globish. There have been many proposals for making International English more accessible to people from different nationalities. For example, since its creation in 1940, Basic English received the active support of Winston Churchill. In a radio interview with the BBC in 1941, he declared that Basic English would become after the war the world language. Basic English is based on a voluntary simplification of the lexicon - reduced to 850 words - as well as syntactically (the syntactical difficulties inherent in modern English have been simplified).

After 900 years of time (1066 to 1966), English Language has been adopting more than 25 000 French words. In 950 years, English speakers went from 2 to 1500 million! English is a rich and sophisticated language made essentially of French, German, Latin and Greek.

From 1066 to 1492: 10 000 French Words were integrated into English.

From 1493 to 1700: 12 000 French Words were integrated into English.

From 1701 to 1966: 3 000 French words were integrated into English.

There are 4 types of English words with French origin:

1)  400 words with same pronunciation, spelling and meaning in both languages: (examples: fiancé, rendezvous, sabotage, automobile, lingerie, coup d’état, impromptu, ...).

2)  3 000 words with same spelling and meaning in both languages: (examples: village, massage, ambulance, couple, garage, machine, statue, carnage, incompetent, macabre, invincible, deluge, abominable, arrogance, debacle, miserable, irreparable, innocent, inexplicable, insatiable, ignorant, nuance, manipulation, massacre, mediocre, obstacle, pertinent, ravage, solitude, vituperation, puerile, …).

English words finishing by tion, ible, able, ence, ente, ance, ante, ment, age, al, ude, ure, ive or es have often a French origin.

3)  10 000 words anglicised with a slightly different spelling but often the same meaning in both languages: (examples: mute (muet), blue (bleu), letter (lettre), baggage (bagage), brilliant (brillant), certificate (certificat), marriage (mariage), envelope (enveloppe), giant (géant), ancient (ancien), toilet (toilette), please (plaise), mail (malle), pain (peine), mayday (m’aider), safe (sauf), border (bordure), battle (bataille), etc.

English words finishing by ty have often a French origin.

4)  12 000 words from old French. These words had the same spelling in both languages during middle age period but not in the 21 Century (examples: arrest (arreter), despite (dépit), spy (espion), damage (dommage), strange (étrange), spouse (épouse), request (requette), soldier (soldat), etc.

Some Middle Age French words integrated in English language (still used in English) are not used anymore in French (examples: alien (étranger), attorney (avocat), to rob (dérober), nice (agréable), single (seul), vegetable (légume), random (hazard), disease (maladie), etc.

My conclusions are:

1)  English is a Language with strong French roots (a Latino-Germanic language in fact),

2)  All Anglophones should learn English words with French origin to improve their level in English,

3)  All Francophones should start learning English words with French origin to learn quickly English.

My opinion is that: “Learning French to speak a better English” is a good idea.

Principal Sources of information:

“The Oxford English Dictionary”

"French Words Into English : How English people speak French without knowing it !" by Anthony The Nut.

ACCORDING OXFORD DICTIONARY ALL WORDS IN BOLB HAVE A FRENCH ORIGIN.

By Rémy de Lavergne – December 2017