‘Polite’ became one of the most important words during the Restoration for it distinguished the speech of what came to be known as the English gentleman and the common brute. Polite usage was something quite separate from ordinary or colloquial usage.Two issues that stemmed from polite usage: proper pronunciation and appropriate vocabulary. It was common view at this time, according to N. F. Blake, “that pronunciation should be as close as possible to the written form” Thus, any speaker “who wished to be polite clearly had to be reasonably educated in order to read and to be familiar with the spelling system of the language”. Indeed, by making pronunciation dependent on spelling, nobody could be a natural polite speaker, not even the upper middle classes because it was not an imitation of a former aristocratic dialect. Education is what was of the utmost importance, not birth. Men like Jonathan Swift and John Dryden often ridiculed those who were or wanted to be members of the nobility and spoke in a strange way.
Blake observes that women were typically a target of harsh criticism because it was believed that the language they spoke was either “too affected or too coarse”. In this context affected literally refers to the use of unnecessary French loans. Hence in plays written in the Restoration period, it is quite common for female characters to be satirized for their affected use of French words.So in Dryden’s Marriage á la Mode (1673) there is ‘an Affected Lady’ called Melantha who is ‘one of those that run mad in new French words’. She peppers her conversation with phrases like mon cher, voyag’d, Bete, honete, home, bien tourney, obligeant, charmant, ravissant. In short, instead of speaking politely Melantha speaks what critics referred to as “á la Mode de Paris”.
Such satirical writing and branding however must be taken with a pinch of salt. Indeed, even Dryden was not opposed to the principal of borrowing. In fact, he defended the principal in the prefix to his translation of Virgil’s Æneid (1697). He states that our old Teuton monosyllables are all right for necessity, but if we want magnificence and splendour we must borrow words from aboard.
In assessing the linguistic situation and the criticisms, one cannot entirely rule out that it mattered who was introducing the French Loan.Women were often typically targeted because they were not permitted to influence the English language.Only the well educated and well respected gentleman/literati was permitted to borrow.When others borrowed irrespective of the reason, necessity or copia verborum, there choices and often even their character were ridiculed. To illustrate, let us take into consideration Addison remarks concerning the Duke of Marlbourough’s report on his successful campaign against the French on the continent:
The present War has so Adulterated our Tongue with strange Words, that it would be impossible for one of our Great Grandfathers to know what his Posterity had been doing, were he to read their Exploits in a Modern News Paper.The Warriors are very Industrious in Propagating the French Language, at the same time that they are so gloriously successful in beating down their Power.Addison objected to the new military words which had come into use such as manoruvre, bivouac, corps, terrain, and enfilade.However,these loans have become well established. Other military terms adopted after or just prior to the Restoration include: cartouche, brigade, platoon, mêlée, envoy, and aide-de-camp. Loans belonging to specialized registers such as the military were borrowed out of necessity.
While French loans did contribute to many specialized registers as demonstrated above, social loans such as repartee, liaison,naïve,class,décor, rapport, malapropos, métier, faux pas, beau, verve, ménage; and cultural loans such as rôle, crayon, soup, cabaret, cravat, memoirs, champagne, ballet, nom-de-plume, pool, denim, attic, mousseline and vinaigrette constitute the majority of loans.By cultural it is meant loans which would fit into the register arts, literature, dress, games and dancing, and food.
In the eighteenth century, food and cooking continued to attract French loans (e.g. casserole, croquette, ragout, hors d’ oeuvre, liqueur); so do literature, music, and art (critique, belles letters, connoisseur, vaudeveille, dénouement, précis,brochure).
The wholesale borrowing of French words was still a cause of much concern even by the eighteenth century. George Campbell protested against redundant synonymy:Are not pleasure, opinionative, and sally, as expressive as volupty, opiniatre, and sortie? Wherein is the expression last resort, inferior to dernier resort; liberal arts, to beaux arts, and polite literature, to belles letters?
In spite of such protests, many of the French loans which were branded as affections withstood the test of time as the analysis of Addison’s remark above demonstrates.As a result, the English lexis is very rich and speakers have a vocabulary at their disposal which allows them to express very fine nuances of meaning. Indeed, due to wholesale borrowing English speakers have the freedom to modulate their tone, to control the formality or informality of their language to fit the needs of their rhetorical situation, or by using the words, create the rhetorical situation they want. To illustrate, let us consider for example the French loan faux pas. Hypothetically, let us say you utter the following sentence “I realize I’d committed a serious faux pas by joking about his wife’s family” to friends (who do not have English or Linguistic majors) while telling an anecdote instead of saying “I made a serious blunder by joking about his wife’s family”. The first sentence to most native speakers feels slightly formal or even literary compared to the second sentence which is not felt to be stylistically marked.By choosing faux pas, instead of blunder or even mistake,one is modulating their style to fit the situation with its unique social variables. At any rate, many native speakers feel that the majority of social and cultural French loans are more formal or literary than their native counter part(s).
For a greater portion of the Middle English period (M.E.) French (Fr.) was the governing vernacular of England. It was the language of the ruling elite, many of which spoke little if any English, the language of the court, and the language in which polite literature was written. Hence, studies using the Oxford English Dictionary revealing that Fr. was the primary source of loans outnumbering Latin, the second largest source, four to one should hardly surprise us. As Baugh points out “where two languages exist side by side for a long time and the relations of the people speaking them are as intimate as they were in England, a considerable transference of words” is “inevitable”. As to the quantity of loans, Baugh states that it is “unbelievably great” and that “there is nothing comparable to it in the previous or subsequent history of the language”. Baugh, as well as many other linguists, believe that the upper classes carried over so many French words into English for the following reasons: to supply deficiencies in the English vocabulary; due to an imperfect command of the English vocabulary; yielding to a natural impulse to use a word long familiar to them. Whatever the motive or reason, the English lexis benefited greatly.It is necessary to point out that the majority of native speakers today would not recognize these words as foreign, because they have become apart of the common core.To illustrate, consider, for example, a sample of lexemes added to the military register: army, navy, peace, enemy, arms, battle, combat, skirmish,siege,defense,ambush, stratagem, retreat, soldier, garrison, guard, spy and the ranks of officers such as captain, lieutenant, and sergeant.They hardly seem foreign and it would be impossible to even imagine trying to discuss military matters without these lexemes.Other registers that were flooded with French borrowings were government and administration, law, ecclesiastical matter, fashion, food, social life, art learning and medicine. In the Early Modern English period (EModE), Fr. would continue to contribute to the English lexis; however, the quantity would be considerably less and motives would be different.
Because English was a “base speche” many writers such as Sir Thomas Elyot made a conscious effort to enrich the lexis. Their choice was not always a matter of practical consideration, coining new words for new concepts, but a matter of stylistic concern, providing richness to the lexis, known as copia verborum, which was considered the hallmark of a literary language.
French loans from the opening of the period to approximately the Restoration reveal that both of the aforementioned motives for borrowing are valid. To illustrate, let us take into consideration a number of military and naval terms: trophy 1513, pioneer 1523, pilot 1520, colonel 1548, volley 1573, and cartridge 1579. One could argue, and in those days many did, that the first three loans are examples of copia verborum because perfectly good native words −respectively, prize (1300), founder (1340), and steersman (1000)−existed to express these things while this cannot be said of the last three lexemes. Nonetheless, it is important to stress that one is walking on a fine line when labeling a lexeme as copia verborum. While the word steersman and pilot are almost completely synonymous at this point, the introduction of pilot did give the speaker the ability to express a fine nuance of meaning.
The latter part of Boorde’s comment that “the speche of Englande of late dayes is amended” is indicative of the shift in attitude towards the English lexis. Indeed, many felt that English was rich enough to express almost anything and that many were borrowing for the sake of magniloquence. This started a conflict known as the Inkhorn Controversy, which died down in the course of the seventeenth century.To be sure, those in favor of borrowing won the battle;however, the affectation of innovations, particularly French continued to be criticized, especially during the Restoration period.
Among the various types of changes which took place in the period in which Middle English borrowed from French through direct contact, are those which led to a mixing of Germanic and Romance elements. Thus one has cases of assimilation in which an English word was created on the basis of a similar sounding French word. Here one has an instance of the French form complementing the English one. For example, the English verb choose obtained a noun choice on the basis of a borrowing of French choix.
In some cases one can no longer decide whether the Germanic or the Romance form of a word has survived into Modern English. Thus in the case of the adjective rich one cannot tell whether it is a continuation of the Old English rice or the later French borrowing riche. However, one can in many cases see a contamination of the morphology of words due to French borrowing. With the previous adjective one can see the Romance suffix in the noun formed from it: richess as opposed to Old English richdom with the Romance ending -ess.
The form of a word may have been changed without its meaning having been affected. With the Old English word iegland / iland (cf. German Eiland) one arrives at the later spelling island under the influence of French isle. Note that the s here is unetymological, i.e. was never pronounced in English. Some French loanwords were influenced by changes later than Middle English. This is for example the case with Old French viage which was borrowed into Middle English but where the later French form voyage was borrowed into English and adapted in its pronunciation. The same is true of the Middle English noun flaute which was changed under the influence of later French flute.
The Norman Conquest of 1066 left England as a trilingual country,although most people would speak one or two of the dominant languages.Latin was the language for record keeping,learning and church.French was the language of the Norman aristocracy and therefore also the language of the common folk and menials.
When the Norman took over England,they changed the language of government and the court almost overnight and disregarded existing institutions.Instead,they took on almost wholesale institutions derived from France,including the feudal system which guaranteed strong control by the king.
There were three periods of French borrowings:The first period,from about 1066 to 1250 represents the height of Norman power.The language spoken by the Normans,known as Norman French(different from Central or Parisian French) was the language of the King’s court,the nobles’ castles and the courts of law.Norman French was therefore the language of honour,chivalry and justice.Indeed,Matthew of Westminster said,”Whoever was unable to speak French was considered a vile and contemptible person by the common people”(1263).There were not French borrowings,since English continues be used,largely in its own,low-level arenas and French and English speakers were kept separate.
We find the borrowings fall into several groups:
-Names for social roles and occupations that the lower classes would become familiar with through contact with a French-speaking nobility: baron,noble,
dame,servant,messenger,feast,minstrel,juggler,largesse.
-Labels introduced to English through literary channels:story,rime,lay
-Church terms(largest single group)-the need transfrer doctrine and belief from clergy to the people accounts for frequent transfer of words.
-In this period,the words were borrowed as foreign words,i.e.,the French words introduced into English were the sorts of words that people speakin one language often learn from people speaking another.
So what happens to distinguish the earlier from the later period?The Norman influence waned,and the Parisian/Central/Metropolitian French became more important.This shift corresponded with a set of historical events which argually created the conditions for the re-emergence of English in the higher social strata.About 900 words were borrowed during this phase,with most of them showing the effects of Anglo-Norman phonology.In the 150 years following 1250,when all classes were speaking or learning to speak English,French loan-words entered English via speakers who were accustomed to speakin French,who now transferred these words into their adopted language,English.
The second period,roughly from 1250 to 1400 represents the period of English-French bilingualism in individuals(not just in the nation).The number of French-loanwords ballooned in this period.Why was this?
Very briefly,this is what happened.In 1204,Normandy(in northern France,where the Normans came from)was acquired by the French king.Among other thing,it meant that the Norman aristocracy in England couldn’t travel back and forth between their lands in England or France anymore.They had to choose whether they wanted to remain in England or in Fance.Those who remained in England began to see England as their home.This led to the reassertion of English as the language of realm.Other reasons for the reassertion of English are:the Normans in England belonged to the Capetian dynasty spoke Norman French;this became non-prestigious in France as the variety spoken by the Angevian dynasty in France,Parisian French, became the prestige variety;because Norman French was seen as socially inferior,it was less dificult to abandon it in favour of English;subsequently,Enland became at war with France in the Hundred Years War(1337-1453).
Even as English was o its way in,the gaps in English vocabulary had to be filled by loanwords from French. These include items pertaining to new experiences
and ways of doing things introduced by the Normans. So whilst the English already had kings,queens,and earls,terms taken from French include”count, countess, sire, madam, duke, marquis, dauphin, viscount,baron,master.Other domains that became enriched with French loanwords include:
Government and Administrative:govern,government,administer,crown,state,
empire,royal,majesty,treaty,statue,parliament,tax,rebel,traitor,treason,exile,peer
chancellor,treasurer,major,noble,prince,princess,duke,squire,page (but not king,
queen,lord,lady,earl),peasant,slave,servant,vassal,sovereign,scepter,ruler,power,
policy,court,office,chancery,counsel,ambassador,wardon,mayor,charter,accord,seal
agreement, covenant, alliance, curfew ,duty ,reign, civil, nation ,tyrant,oppression.
Ecclesiestical:religion, theology, sermon, confession, clergy, clergy, cardinal, friar,crucifix, miter,censer lectern, abbey, convent, creator,savior, virgin, faith, heresy, schism, solemn, divine, devout, preach, pray, adore, confess, fraternity,
charity,chastity, chaplan,abbot, abbes, dean,confessor,person / parson, preacher,
evangelist,saint,chapel,closter,faith,bible,chapter,commandement,divine,service
prayer,sermon,absolution,procession,parish,baptize,praise,glorify,etc.
Legal terms: justice, equity, plaintiff, judge, advacate, attorney, felon,evidence, petition,inquest,sue,accuse,arrest,blame,libel,slander,felony,adultery,property,heir,estate,executor,privilege,statue,ordinance,judge, chief, crime, fraud, trepass, client,