and swine, when we speak of food, however the wards we use were ongirally borrowings from French, such as veal-beef, and pork , many of Many thousands of French words were borrowed into English during this period, so many, in fact, that the langu.ge gradually became quite different from the Old English spoken in earlier days. It is customary to refer to the type of English that developed from the eleventh to the fifteenth century as Middle English.
The large number of lexical items borrowed from French during the Middle English period is one of,tdie reasons why it is often easier for a speaker of Modern English to learn Frerch than it is for him to master German. Historically, of course, German and English were the same language, and, therefore, we might expect German to be easier for a speaker of English.
But the two languages were separated in the fifth century and have since gone their separate ways, now differing substantially in their sound systems and syntax, as well as in their lexi cons. The historical contact between French and English, on the other hand.
is much more recent, and of the thousands of French words borrowed into English, most remain in use today Three major factors were responsible for the great changes in the lexicon of English during the Middle English period: intercommunication, prestige, and necessity.
The most important was the widespread intercommunication among the monolingual English in habitants and the bilingual members of the ruljng and merchant classes, of both Anglo- Saxon and Norman ancestry.
But intercommunication does not always result in lexical borrowing, the Normans in England borrowed very few English words into their French Very likely, there was a prestige factor at work.
The language of the masses, English, was of no interest to the conquerors, but the prestige of the rulers was something others might wish to attain. One who used French words might hope to be identified with the upper classes. In other words, French possessed a snob appeal, but not English.
Perhaps of even greater importance than prestige, however, was necessity Even farmers who brought heir vegetables to the market may have had to use a few words of French in order to sell their goods. Some of the chief purchasers were speakers of French, and, even if they did know English, they might have been more likely to buy from someone who could use at least a few words of the language of the upper class.
Servants probably found that the use of borrowed French words made a better impression on their masters. Defendants in the law court, if they used French terms, may have found the judge to be a little more just University students were taught in French and Latin.
The clergy used French, for the Normans were Christians and brought their own religious leaders with them. Since the upper levels of the Church hierarchy were dominated by speakers of French, use of the language, or at least extensive borrowing from it, extended down to the local priest. And so, it was not only a few prestige-seeking social climbers who borrowed words from the conquerors' ianguage. Men and women of all occupations and social classes found it necessa y to do so as well :: must be noted that the necessity involved in the borrowing of lexical iterns is social, political, and economic, but not linguistic. Every language has available to it a n.arber of means for creating new lexical items in addition to borrowing.
We investigate ome of these in the next two sections.
Changes in society often result in the need for new words; every language is capable of filling this need.
Whether or not the kew words come 53