Special Sub-Topic: 'Hastings' And The English Language Click Here To Play: 'Hastings' And The English Language

When English took over French words it often changed their stress pattern , and adapted it to the Germanic first-syllable stress tendency. MariAge became MARRiage.SerVICE became SERvice. What English word was born from a new way to pronounce French 'maniere'?

manner. In same way priSON became PRIson,marCHE MARket, chancellIER CHANcellor. First syllable stress is typically the dominant stresspattern in Germanic languages?

Many words that look as if they were pure English are in fact French in disguise. Example: 'beast' is from Old French 'beste', modern French 'bete'. The original Anglo-Saxon word for an animal had been 'deer'.What English word derives from French 'coupe'?

cup. French 'coupe' was a small open drinking vessel.From Latin 'cupa'. Another derivation from Lt 'cupa' was F. 'cuve' (tub) and 'cuvee' (what you 'brew' in a tub). 'Coupon' is from the French verb 'couper' (to cut), a piece that has been cut off (paper {document;} textile etc.) 'Coup' as in 'coup d' etat' is an altogether different word.From Latin 'colpus' a hit or stroke. Other common cases are: 'oil' from {'huile';} 'country' from {'contree';} 'proud' from {'preux';} 'castle' from 'castel', a variant of 'chateau'.

More intriguing is the fact that very often the French vocabulary that got mixed up with English did not come from Parisian French but from EITHER Northern French OR Norman French.Northern French had W- , where Parisian French had GU- or G- Sometimes English derived from BOTH types of French. From Parisian French gardien it derived guardian and from Northern French warden. Un garde became either a guard or a ward,(the person to be 'guarded). What English word was derived from the North-French for 'guerre'?

war. Northern French dialect had words beginning in w- as equivalents of Parisian French words in g(u).Sometimes English borrowed from BOTH types of language. It took 'guardian' from the Parisian French 'gardien', and 'warden' from the North French variant in w. 'Guard' (the person who takes care of) from Parisian French and 'ward' (when referring to a child in ward :the person who is taken care of) from Northern French.Similar case: a wild rabbit 'underground system of corridors' = French garenne but English warren from the North-French dialectical variant.War and guerra show the same g-w shift. By the way in English both guerrilla and guerilla occur as orthographies.

In a number of words Northern French had 'hard c' pronunciation as in 'cat',whereas Parisian French in similar words had the 'ch'of 'cheese','chat', etc.This led to parallel borrowings such as 'cattle'(from NF) and 'chattel' (legal term for movable possessions)from PF.As a parallel to a derivation 'chase' from Parisian French 'chasser' , there was one from the Northern French word for 'running and seizing' nl.: to __________ ?

catch. 'Capture' is from Latin capere and its past participle captus.'Cache' is from F.'cacher' to hide. 'Cash' is surprisingly from an Italian word 'cassa' deriving from Lt. 'capsa' 'a (money-)container'. A small 'capsa' was a 'capsule', which originally meant a 'dry seed-vessel'. 'Catch' is from 'cachier' the Northern French variant of Parisian French 'chacier', which later became 'chasser'.

From Parisian French English borrowed a word 'champagne' ( wine from the plains near Reims)with 'ch'-pronunciation as in 'chat',whereas from Northern French it took the parallel word 'campaign'(= battle in a plain)with 'hard c' as in 'cat'. The proper name 'Campion' is from Northern French and originally meant ' a fighter in a field' , later 'fighter in a tournament', and still later 'somebody who fights to defend the honour of a lady' or more generally' defender of a cause'.The equivalent of that word in Parisian French and in modern English is of course:___________

champion. In a similar way Norman French had words in -ey that alternated with Parisian French words in -oi or -oy.Sometimes the Parisian form was taken over: {envoy;} convoy.In other cases English borrowed the Norman-French pronunciation : convey, prey (cp. Parisian French : {proie);veil} ( Parisian French: {voile);receive} (Parisian French: recoivre).

For a long period the two languages were used in a kind of coexistence. There were even a number of 'double phrasings'. In which of the following example does the 'French' word precede the 'Anglosaxon' ?

We pray and beseech you. 'Beseech' is Germanic (compare Dutch verzoeken). 'Pray' is from French 'prier'. 'Leave' is related to German '(Ur)laub', Dutch '(Oor)lof.' 'Permission' is identical in appearance to French 'permission'.'Testament' is French. 'Will' is Germanic. 'Master' is from French 'maistre, maitre'.

Very often English kept the original Anglo-Saxon root-word as the substantive, but borrowed from French (and indirectly from Latin) to create an adjective. Which of these words is the Romanic adjective form that compensates for the absence of an Anglo-Saxon adjective for ' belonging to the house?

domestic. From Latin bovinus via French bovin it took 'bovine' :literally ox-like. From Latin domesticus via French domestique it took 'domestic': belonging to the household. From Latin urbs (city) and urbanus (belonging to the {city;} having the polite manners of city people) it took 'urban' via French 'urbain'.From Latin mens via French 'mental' , English 'mental': pertaining to the mind. Also Latin-French verbs were added to Anglosaxon substantives in this way :'petrify' for 'making into stone'.

Sometimes French words went new ways in English. Old French noise meant 'an outcry'.In English it developed the meaning: unwanted, unpleasant or loud sound, which in French is "bruit". In same way French "lard" originally had meaning fat bacon or pork, or internal fat of swine's abdomen.In English "lard" got the exclusive meaning of 'soft white creamy substance made from pig fat', used in cooking. The modern French word for English "lard" is: _________?

saindoux. Modern French lard still is either the "piece of meat" (English bacon) or the "fat of pork". For "smoked lean pork" however the French reintroduced the English word "bacon",which originally had a more general meaning of "ham", lean or fat. Jambon blanc is lean cooked ham. Schmalz is German for English lard. Speck is an ...Italian "bacon" speciality from Alto Adige or Süd-Tirol. There are many other "surprising" evolutions of French words getting new meanings in English.Dainty is from the extinct Old French daintie, a derivation from Latin dignitatem,: beautiful and worth having. Mischief from extinct Old French meschief: bad {luck;later:} trouble making. Revel is from an extinct French word reveler (to rejoice noisily) which itself derives from of all words ...rebellare ( to rebel), which probably was a noisy activity as well.

'Hastings' had its effects on the grammar of English as well. One of the examples: English took over some phrases in which the adjective FOLLOWS the substantive (as happens mostly in French). Examples:Lords TEMPORAL and Lords Spiritual. States GENERAL. From times IMMEMORIAL.The body POLITIC.- You find another example in the title for the 'official poet of the nation' in Great- Britain.That poet , who is honoured by the monarch and may occasionally be asked to write poems about important public events, is traditionally called the: _____ _______ ?

Poet Laureate. French alternates 'pre-position' and 'post-position' of the adjective. This can even be found in placenames: there is 'Chateauneuf', but also {'Neufchateau';'Neuchatel'} etc. Especially in Northern France 'pre-position' in proper names is frequent. This has been explained as proof of stronger Germanic influences in the north.

The ultimate effect of the French (or 'Romance')influence on English vocabulary is that it became an extremely rich language in which Romance words often offer good (near- or semi-)alternatives for the original Anglo-Saxon words. Which of these is however NOT a correct example of an 'Anglo-Saxon vs. French' pair, because neither word is Anglo-Saxon?

recipe, receipt. Ask,heart and weak are Anglo-Saxon. All the others are from Latin and,or French.Receipt and recipe are from Latin recipere (originally :to take back), which became Old French receivre or recoivre.