NORMAN FRENCH
Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
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1998
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© Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998, originally published by Oxford University Press 1998. (Hide copyright information)
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NORMAN FRENCH. The variety of Old Northern
FRENCH adopted in the 10c by the
Normans, Norse settlers who gave their name to Normandy. It extended to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. In its British context, it is often referred to as
ANGLO-NORMAN. Although native only to the aristocracy and their immediate retainers, Norman French was until the 13c dominant in England and important in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. It influenced English and was in turn influenced by it, as well as by Central (Parisian) French, which as the language of the French court was considered more refined. In Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales (14c), the Prioress is singled out as a speaker of English French: ‘And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly, / After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe, / For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.’ By the end of the Hundred Years War (mid-15c), French was no longer a living tongue in England, although elements of it were preserved for centuries afterwards, as in
Law French. Its last British remnant is in the Channel Islands.
Among the many Old French words in English, the oldest have a Norman French aspect (sometimes with doublets from Central French, shown in parentheses): (1) Hard
c as opposed to
ch as in
chair:
caitiff,
capon,
car (
chariot),
carrion,
carry,
castle,
catch (
chase),
cater,
cattle (
chattels),
cauldron,
decay,
escape,
pocket (
pouch). The Modern French equivalent is the
sh-sound in
chateau. (2) Hard
g as opposed to
j as in
James:
gammon,
garden,
garter.
Gaol has a Norman French spelling but a Central French pronunciation, whence the alternative
jail. The Modern French equivalent is the
zh-sound in
jardin. (3) A
w as opposed to a
g(
u):
ewer,
reward (
regard),
wage (
gage),
wait,
wallop (
gallop),
ward (
guard),
warden(
guardian),
warranty (
guarantee),
warren,
waste,
wicket,
wile (
guile),
wise (
guise). The Modern French equivalent is the
g(
u) in
garde,
guichet. (4) The
ch in
chair,
cherry,
chisel,
patch (
piece), etc. The Modern French equivalent is the
s-sound in
cerise. (5) The
sh in
ashet (ScoE),
brush,
cushion,
fashion,
leash,
mushroom,
parish,
push,
usher, etc. The Modern French equivalent is the
s-sound in
façon,
pousser.
Sh is notable in English verbs formed on Norman French verbs in
-ir:
abolish,
finish,
perish,
polish. (6) The
qu in
conquest (but not
conqueror),
enquire,
quality,
quarter,
question,
quit, etc. The Modern French equivalent is the
k-sound in
quitter. (7) An
ai,
ei, or
ey spelling (and an
ee or
ay pronunciation):
convey (
convoy),
deceive,
faith,
heir,
leisure,
prey,
receive,
veil. The Modern French equivalent is the
wa-sound in
loisir.
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