Download - French Vs English
French Vs EnglishKey historical facts and
effects on those 2 languages
Invasions
2 000 years ago, the Romans invaded Gaul (France).
Gaul people adopted their language : LATIN.
The Roman Invasion
500 years later, Germanic tribes from the North invade the Roman Empire and England.
English is born. French Latin borrows
some German words.
“Barbarian” Invasion
The Roman Empire 1st BC – 5th
German tribes
Celtic tribes
500 years later, in 1066 the Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror invades England.
Old French became England official language
for 2 centuries.
Norman Invasion
Old English merged with Old French.
More than 50% of English comes from French and Latin
Modern English is a hybrid language with
huge vocabulary.
2 main consequences
.
English was left as a market language
The grammar went through
simplification.such as disappearance of
declension, cases, genders…
English grammar became unique in
Europe.
French words in the English languageFrench words
Accepted latinate
(longer words)
Assimilated words
(short words)
en route
en masse
déjà vu
cliché
coup d’état
vis-à-vis
bienvenue
voilà
joie de vivre
savoir-faire
fashion / imagine
animal / activity
pleasant / leisure
transport / difficult
exercice / category
beauty / energy / culture / develop / trouble / souvenir / season / scissors / pupil / problem...
move / try / able
very / search / use / castle / car / calm / cash / catch / obey / note / envy / trip / trick / treat / taste / touch / sure / stew / spy / shop / screen / rush / rock / rice /
reply / real / proud / prove / hour...
English & Latinate homonymes
ENGLISH
Germanic = Latin
FRENCH
answer = respond flood = inundate
end = finishcome = arriveshut = close
wage = salarytown = citypig = porkearth = soilbig = grand
deadly = mortaldeap = profound
répondre inonder
finirarriver
clossalaire
citéporcsol
grandmortelprofond
2 good reasons to learn French
1. It opens the door to other Romance languages
2. Improve your knowledge of English
50% Germanic 50% Latin
LATIN
my rose ma rose mi rosa mia rosa
a fruit un fruit una fruta un frutto
to discuss
to prepare
discuter
préparer
discutir
preparador
discutere
preparatore
faculty faculté facultad facoltà