- •Borrowings. Origin of borrowings. Source of borrowings. Translation Loans. Semantic Loans.
- •2.Assimilation of borrowings and its types and degrees.
- •3.Latin borrowings. Periods of borrowings from Latin.
- •5.Scandinavian loan-words in Modern English. Celtic elements in the English Vocabulary.
- •8. The Norman-French element in the English vocabulary system.
- •9. Definition of morpheme
- •12.Conversion. Different views on conversion.
- •11.Word-composition. Types of compound words. Different criteria for classification.
- •10.Productive ways of word formation. Principal ways of word derivation.
- •13. Shortening. Types of shortening.
- •Definition of meaning of a word. Types of meaning. Referential and functional approaches to meaning.
- •Polysemy. Semantic Structure of the Word
- •Synchronic and diachronic approaches to polysemy.
- •Change of word meaning.
- •Change of the denotational component of the word meaning. Extension and narrowing.
- •20. Change of the connotational component of the word meaning. Elevation and degradation of meaning.
- •21. The theory of semantic field. Thematic groups.
- •22. Synonyms. Types of synonyms. Sources of synonyms.
- •23. Antonyms. Definition. Morphological and semantic classification of antonyms.
- •24. Neologisms. Their place in the vocabulary system of the English language.
- •25.Free word-groups. Definition. Classification.
- •26. Valency. Grammatical and lexical valency.
- •27. Definition of phraseological units. Characteristic features of phraseological units. V. Vinogradov’s conception of phraseological units.
- •28. Different approaches to the classification of phraseological units: semantic, functional, contextual. A.V. Coonin’s concept of phraseological units.
- •29. Chief characteristic features of American English.
- •30. Types of dictionaries. History of English and American Lexicography.
8. The Norman-French element in the English vocabulary system.
Norman French is the 11th century language of France and England. It is an Indo-European language.In 1066, the Norman king, William the Conquerer, invaded England. Many Norman French words entered the language after this. In general, the Normans were the nobility, while the native English were their servants. The names of domestic animals and their meats show this relationship. The animal name is English ("cow", "sheep", "pig") while the names of the meats derived from these animals is French("beef", "mutton", "pork").
Many words have been borrowed from Norman French. These can be grouped into several types:
Legal terms ("adultery", "slander"), military words ("surrender", "occupy"), names of meats ("bacon", "venison") and words from the royal court ("chivalry", "majesty"). The non-metric unit of volume (the "gallon") is Norman French. There are many other words.
The Normans introduced the QU spelling for words containing KW ("question").
archer |
|
One of several military words from Norman French. |
bacon |
|
Cured pig's meat. One of many names for meats from Norman French. |
bail |
to take charge |
Security for a prisoner's appearance. |
bailiff |
carrier |
Officer who executes writs. |
beef |
|
Meat of ox or cow. |
PERIODS OF BOROWINGS FROM FRENCH
It is customary to divide the time in which English was in contact with French into two periods, 1) Anglo-Norman and 2) Central French. The first period lasted from the invasion of 1066 to the loss of Normandy to England under King John in 1204.
After this there is little or no direct influence of French on English but the language remained fashionable and the practice of borrowing words from the continental language continued well into the 15th century. The Central French period (during which influence from the region around Paris dominated) can be taken to cease gradually with the introduction of printing at the end of the 15th century and the general resurgence in interest and status of English.
The difference between Anglo-Norman and Central French loans in English is to be seen in famous pairs of words like catch and chase, both of which go back originally to Latin captiare, which itself furnished English with the later loan ‘capture’. The main differences between Anglo-Norman and Central French are outline in the tables below.
Anglo-Norman |
Central French |
/k/ |
/tʃ/ |
cattle /k-/ |
chattels /tʃ/ |
pocket /-k-/ |
poach /tʃ/ |
/tʃ/ |
/s/ |
catch /-tʃ/ |
chase /-s/ |
launch /-ntʃ/ |
lance /-ns/ |