Formal & Informal Vocabulary: Using French words in English
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2017
- Have you ever wondered why we have so many words for the same thing in English? It's because we used to speak Anglo-Saxon until the French king William the Conqueror invaded us and brought the French language with him. French never became the language of the peasants and ordinary people; it was only spoken in the court of the king and among the powerful. For this reason, French words in English are more formal than their Anglo-Saxon synonyms. In this lesson, we will look at some English history, and I will give you examples of formal and informal words and where they came from. I am fascinated by the evolution of the English language -- how it has developed, changed, and adapted over time. Perhaps English is the world’s number one language for international communication because it always adapts, incorporating new words from different cultures and bringing these into the English language itself.
Striking the right register -- knowing the right word to use in the right situation -- is incredibly important in English. English learners often use vocabulary that is more formal than a native speaker would use, so watch the lesson to learn how to correct this, so you can sound more natural when speaking English. www.engvid.com/formal-informa...
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, everyone. I'm Jade. What we're talking about today is a little bit of a history lesson of the English language. We're going to talk about why English has so many synonyms, why we don't just have one word to things, sometimes there's more than one word for it. I'm also going to talk about informal language and formal language, why there's always so much of a choice in English. And the reason is because we always have this split in English between words that come from an Anglo Saxon origin and words that come from a French origin, and it's said that about 30... 30% of words actually have a... Can't speak today. Have a French origin and we still use those words today. And generally, the ones that come from French, they have a more formal quality to them, and the ones that come from Anglo Saxon are more neutral and they're the ones that native speakers use all time when they're speaking just among each other.
But first I'm going to recite a little bit of a poem for you because this poem comes from Middle English, and the English that you'll hear is really different to the English that I'm speaking now. It will be like I'm speaking a different language, but what you will hear is the blend between Anglo Saxon words and French words. Okay? So let's see if I remember it.
Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour.
And I could continue, but I won't. And that comes from a really famous poem in English taken from The Canterbury Tales, and it's the first part of The Canterbury Tales called the general prologue. And it's in Middle English, the time when the peasants spoke Anglo Saxon English-peasants are the poor people-and all the rulers spoke French. And the reason that happened is because in 1066 there was a big battle when a French king of a part of France called Normandy came and defeated the English king at that time, and then he became king of England. So when he became king of England, he brought all his people over and the language of power in England at that time became French. So everybody who was in a position of power spoke French. So in the course the... Every decision-maker in England spoke French. Meanwhile, all the peasants just carried on speaking Anglo Saxon like they did before, and the words that they used and the language they spoke came from Germany and Norway. They were different tribes and before they came over to England. So there were two different languages going on. Plus it was only much later that the two... The two languages blended to become one language that we speak now that we have both, have both Anglo Saxon words and French words in our language.
What else is important to say about it? I know there's something I've missed. Hopefully I'll remember what I missed. Oh yes. And because the kings and the ruling people spoke in French and the peasants spoke in Anglo Saxon, I feel like that distinction is still there. So when we're not trying to be formal or official or anything, we use words of Anglo Saxon origin. Only when we're trying to express ourselves in a very elegant way or an official way do we use the French origin words. So even though our language has become one thing, we're still keeping this idea in our language that the French words are sort of higher.
I have an excelent English profesor, she is in my home when ever I want and she will stay as much time as I want, and it is free!!! What a great world we live in!!!! Thank you Jade!!!
I absolutely second that! Thank you so much, Jade!
Are you talking about your mom
No! I mean Jade!
Is Jade your mother's name ?
Is shes already a professor?
Fun fact, once, George Bush said this :
"French don't have a word for entrepreneur" without knowing that it's an actual French word. :)
well it could be old french
@@nomore9004 Nope, it is a really current word...
It is symbolic of American behavior towards the French.
They don't have a word for "reservoir" either. 😉
Lol how could he not have known? It just sounds so French 😆
I am from Iraq 🇮🇶 I really appreciate your job and hope to you all the successful and best wishes
I'm learning what I've never been taught at school. Thanks a lot.
Exactly. I think useful lesson which helps understand why there are more than one word to describe e.g. hen. When learning vocabulary I considered why several words to describe the same thing but now I understand.
Sylwia M. She's amazing. Isn't she?
Yep, she is. There is another lesson on history of English by Gill from engVid - also very interesting.
Sylwia M. History of English by Gill? Ok. Thanks. I'll try to Google iť
Enjoyed the lesson!
As ESL speaker, french words seem more natural to me but if someone asks me to explain the word in simple way, I probably wouldn't have trouble putting it in anglo-saxon version.
Thank you very much Jade! It's really interesting to know these things. I am learning English and French at the same time and this video helps me a lot with learning both languages.
Dear Jade,
You are an amazing teacher and an amazing person
Please keep being the amazing teacher that you are on this channel
And please keep being the amazing person that you are on your personal channel
I like your personal channel where you talk about your personal experiences. I personally need your analysis of life experiences and can relate to them. I think there are many other people out there who need to watch your videos and hear your thoughts. I'd be much obliged if you consider keeping your personal channel.
I'm happy to see you again! Great video and very educational, as always:)
I wanted this lesson to last longer😢. What an amazing topic and so usuful to understand phrasal verbs, especially as Jade said for people who have a Latin origin language. 😍😍Thanks I wish for a sequel
I knew some of the aspects you mentioned about English history, but I didn't know some of them in detail. Now I have more to say when my students ask me about English history. Thanks, keep on that
It is very beautiful to see you again more powerful and energetic.
How nice. She's back. And she's again the same original Jade we were used to. Lively, brainy and positive. Welcome back dear.
it's really very nice to have you back.. Thank you very much for the videos.
Thank you for your amazing lesson!
Thank YOU!!! You make language and related life make more sense.
What an amazing class! Thanks Jade!
THE PHRASAL VERBS AND THE COMBINATION BETWEEN PREPOSITIONS AND NOUNS, VERBS , ADJECTIVE ARE WHAT GIVE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ITS GENIUSE !
Jade, cheer up! You are a wonderful teacher!!!
Being an English teacher I gain knowledge from your lessons
Hiya and so glad you're well and back!
Thank you for very interesting story! I'm looking forward to next topic;)
Thanks a lot for your valuable lessons!
I have an interest in studying Etymology. I really appreciate that you made such a wonderful video pertaining Etymology. merci beaucoup belle :>
Thank you Jade. This is very useful.
Thank you, love it🤗
Loved every bit of it
Hi, Jade, what a great teacher you are. Keep it up girl!
thank you very much for this excellent lesson
So introductive thanks
Great lesson on the history of English and etymology!
great English and history lesson
Thanks a lot!!!!
Continue doing it!
Or I should say
Keep on doing it!!!!
Your lessons!!!!
Treat to watch your videos MaM, i learn lots of new vocabulary!
this was very interseting piece of information
Thank you Jade !
Thanks for this super interesting video.
very interesting and in depth lesson
Great job! You the Jade who is providing your heart effort for better world. Not thanks because its simple.
Hi Jade, I like your movies very much. For me it is very informative and I learned some things about the language that I did not know before.
Thanks. Excellent class! ..and your voice is so lovely.
Love it, teacher Jade! Greetings from Brazil!
really appreciate this kind of high quality English classes, thak u
Happy to have subscribed to your channel.
It was a really really interesting lesson. Respect.
this is a life-saver
Very clear! Thanks
Please don't quit this channel~
My favourite English teacher. 😍
Hi Jade, you are doing a very good job
Your videos are really helpful.
It was very interesting to listen to you. Thx a lot!
Hope you keep uploading videos on this channel. Thank you.
hey, you look so professional and competent on engvid. it looks like jade of your other RUclips channel is a different person
As a Chinese, I often confused that so many different word are same meanings,now I understand,,thank you
Hi Jade! I saw your video about quit. I just want to say, no matter where you are, we are with you and love you.
Jade I'm from Brazil, I love your lessons. 💜
thank you very much good job
hi jade is good see you again, you are one of my favorite teacher. :)
such a nice video!!!
Good lesson!! I'm an Italian student and i can relate more with the french words;
Learning French aids in learning Italian. Alot!
Stunning Jade...
Thank you very much Jade! It's been really helpful!! I was wondering if there's any more resources that I can use to learn the 'informal' and 'formal' vocabulary?
Great video as usual! Very interesting and I understood everything you said and you're so cute...
that has been a very interesting video...
your voice wonderful 💚 thanks🙋
jaaaaade ur awesome
I might sound strange when speaking english, instead of phrasal verbs I often use the french rooted ones, easier for me as I am french. I could help giving you the translation ( but you are probably able to speak french yourself). Thank you for this video. I liked it :)
amazing Jade
wonderful
thank you
Interestingly (and logically), some French words (but not the majority) kept in English tend to have an "ancient" quality in French.
Ask for - enquire - s'enquérir
Keep on - continue - continuer
run away - escape - s'échapper
go up - increase - croître (Old French: encreistre)
go down - decrease - décroître (Old French: decreistre)
Words like "escape", "car", "castle" prove that English French was a Norman dialect, because it didn't undergo the palatalisation of "c" before "a" which occurred in Parisian French: "échapper", "char", "château" (older: "chastel"), etc.
Yet, I do think that "explode" and "extinguish" are original English derivations from Latin. Indeed, while the English verb comes directly from the original Latin infinitive (explode < explodere ; extinguish < exstinguere), the French verb either comes from a noun or a derived verb formed on the supin (exploser < explosion + er) or underwent further consonant changes (éteindre < *esteindre < exstinguere).
As for the social divide between "living animal" and "meat":
Sheep - mutton - mouton
Cow/ox - beef - bœuf
Swine/pig - pork - porc
Deer - venison - venaison
Some pretty common names are French too, including "very". It is the cousin of the French adjective "vrai", which means "true".
Very story. Well...I mean true.
Hi Jade :-) Almost every French word is of Latin origin. Around 60% of English words are of Latin origin. English borrowed heavily from Latin (mostly through French, but also Italian: forte, versatile, memories, manager, manual, dental (in Italian "dentale" from dente that means tooth), library (Latin: liber, Italian: libreria from "libro" that means book) etc. Some of these words are written in the same way. The Roman general Julius Caesar (Latin: generalis) invaded Gaul (France), Belgium, the Netherlands and part of Germany; the German word Kaiser means Caesar. The Romans invaded Britain as well. Here are some English words of Latin origin. Memory (Latin: memor), horror (Latin: horror), terror (Latin: terror), video (Latin: video, that means "I see or I watch"), computer (Latin: computare, computo, computas, that means to calculate), professor (Latin: professor), inspector (Latin: inspector), doctor (Latin: doctor), actor (Latin: actor), author (Latin: auctor), inventor (Latin: inventor), monitor (Latin: monitor, that means "to control, to keep an eye on"), superior (Latin: superior), inferior (Latin: inferior), structure (Latin: structura), explanation (Latin: explanatio), to admit (Latin: admitto, admittis, to produce (Latin: produco, Italian "produco), to commit (Latin: committo, committis), (The Romans. Latin: milia, mille passum, that means one thousand steps), record (Latin: recordari, from the Latin word "cor", "cordis" that means "heart". The Latins thought that memories resided in the heart. In Italian we have the words "ricordi" or "memorie" that mean memories), nature (Latin: natura), science (Latin: sciens), human (Latin: humanus), autorithy (Latin: auctoritas), library (Latin: liber), decimal, manual, to observe (Latin: observo), origin (Latin: origo, originis), infinity (Latin: infinitus), cerebral (Latin: cerebrum, that means "brain"), corpse (latin corpus, that means body), form (Latin: forma), labor (Latin: labor, that means work), salary (Latin: salarium, French: salarie, Italian: salario), sponsor (Latin: spondere that means promise), simple (Latin: simplex), summit (Latin: summus), animus (Latin: animus), ambitious (Latin: ambitiosus), conscientious, decide, decisive, determined, diplomatic, exuberant (Latin: exubero), gregarious (Latin: gregarius), intuitive (Latin: intuitus), question (Latin quaestio, quaestionis), problem (Latin: problema), inventive, modest (Latin: modestus), placid (Latin: Placidus), versatile (Latin: versatilis, Italian: versatile), cynical (Latin: cynicus), dogmatic (Latin: dogmaticus), impulsive, indecisive, materialistic, temerarious (Latin: temerarius), obnoxious (Latin: obnoxius), obstinate (Latin: obstinatus), possessive (Latin: possessivus), belligerent (Latin: bello, that means "war", Italian: belligerante, French: belligerant), to invade (Latin: invado), to study (Latin: studeo, Italian: studio), school (Latin: schola, Italian: scuola), to suppose (Latin: supponere, Italian: supporre), to remember (Latin: rememorari, old French remembrer, Italian: rimembrare), rejection (Latin: rejectio); reject (Latin: reiectus), to cover (Latin: cooperire, French: couvrir, Italian: coprire, ancient italian "covrire"), to discover, to pretend, to vanish (Latin: vanisco, vaniscis), to declare (Latin: declaro, infinitive: declarare), enquire or inquire (Latin inquiro, infinitive inquirere ), extinguish (it is an Italian word, from Latin extinguo, extinguis. Italian: estinguo, estinguere, French: eteindre); forte (Latin: fortis, that means "strong", Italian: forte that means "forte", but also "strong") Speaking French is my forte. In italian: parlare francese è il mio forte), continue (Latin, contunuo, continuis, French "continuer", Italian "continuare"), explode (Latin explodo, infinitive explodere, French: exploser; Italian: esplodo, esplodi, espode...), escape (Latin excappo, Italian scappare); increase (Latin incresco, increscis), decrease (Latin decresco, decrescis), reply (Latin replico, replicas, Italian replicare, French: repliquer), practical (Latin: practical), syllable (Greek origin, Latin Syllaba, French syllabe, Italian: sillaba), to have (Latin: Habeo, habes, habet, habemus, habetis, habent; old English "habban" and old German "haben" come from Latin), to call (old Norse kalla comes from Latin word "calo", "calas"), father (old Germam faeder comes from Latin "pater"), mother (old German mutter comes from Latin "mater"), brother (old German bruder, Latin "frater" that means brother, very similar to the English word "father"), German word schreiben (Latin: scribo, that means "to write"), source (Latin: surgere. Old French: sourdre).
you look good Jade, thanks for the lesson
I have a book of old English poetry with excellent Russian translation. Some verses I can understand in English but most no way!
The Canterbury tales partly were translated by Ivan Kashkin (1899-1963) - wonderful, just wonderful! Precious poetry!
thx god finnaly some amazing english etacher love you jade
Hi Jade, I wish you well on whatever path you have choosen to follow now. I've found you interesting as a person, it's the reason that I've kept up with you. New paths can be exciting, I hope yours is and I pray whatever it is you are seeking is on this path. Adieu.
Very interesting
Didn’t know those were French origin words. Everydays a school day. Thank you👈🥴🍸
the poem reminded me of the "French" spoken by the French princess in the series "Vikings"
Love ur teachings madam Jade
Good work madam keep it up...
hi jede. you are so learned.
thanks alot -Ali from republic of Yemen
First of all - it is very good and interesting lesson. The second - I understand better why English so rich and ''multicoloured''.
How amaizing you are ❤️!
nice video
As an American, I have noticed that we have removed the letter 'u' from words like "behavior, favorite, color, et. al." I always thought that the "our" suffix was from French influence but you showed that "behaviour" is the Anglo Saxon form of "manner" - where I would have said that the word "behaviour" itself was a French word. Shows how much I know...
In Romance language countries (Italy, french, spain, portugal), their native speakers speak very fast because of their long syllables in their vocabulary
It is quite contrast in English only simple syllables, they speak much slower
Interesting topic
Greetings from Perú
hi jade thanks very much becuase i didnt know that there are many french words in english language
please keep it going
Interesting video on the history, especially 1066 and the Norman Conquest, I read also that the upper class/royalty from France wanted to differenciate from the peasant folks , so a lawyer became Attorny, pig became pork, is this correct Jade ? Subscribed today , also what part of England are you from ? I like your presentation, unpretentous and sort of spontaneous ,chers and beers !
You are an extraordinary stunning fascinating lady!
hi jade well done
Thank God you are back. Alleluia
I love your accent
0:35 ❤❤❤❤❤
🙋hello! From🇦🇿.
lm looking through some French words use as an English words🤔ok! I see.Thanks❣️
Hi jade Nice to see you again! ❤️
Native, American English speaker. Had no idea these words were French.
Like! Like! Like! I like it!