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