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The French Lexical Influence on the Development of the English Language an Analysis of French Loanwords in Three Middle English Religious Texts (1200-1400)

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The French Lexical Influence on the Development of the English Language an Analysis of French Loanwords in Three Middle English Religious Texts (1200-1400) THE FRENCH LEXICAL INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AN ANALYSIS OF FRENCH LOANWORDS IN THREE MIDDLE ENGLISH RELIGIOUS TEXTS (1200-1400) Word count: 41,041 Alice MEVIS Student number: 01514538 Supervisor: Prof. Kimberley MOUVET A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Historical Linguistics and Literature Ghent University Academic year: 2018 - 2019 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical background ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1. Theories on borrowing ................................................................................................................. 7 1.1.1. Definition of borrowing ..................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2. Lexical borrowing: typology ............................................................................................... 9 1.2. The mechanics of lexical borrowing ............................................................................................ 10 1.2.1. Lexical borrowing: a long-term process .............................................................................. 10 1.2.2. Motivations for lexical borrowing ..................................................................................... 11 1.2.3. Changes in form and meaning .......................................................................................... 13 1.3. Lexical borrowing in the history of English ................................................................................. 14 1.3.1. Early Latin loanwords ...................................................................................................... 14 1.3.1.1. Continental Latin borrowing of the pre-Christian era (1st-5th century) .............................. 14 1.3.1.2. Pre-Christian insular borrowings (ca. 450-600) ............................................................... 15 1.3.1.3. Latin loanwords of the Christian era in the British Isles (from the 7th c.) ............................ 15 1.3.2. Scandinavian lexical borrowing ........................................................................................ 15 1.3.3. French lexical borrowing .................................................................................................. 16 1.3.4. Differences between French and Scandinavian lexical borrowing ........................................ 18 1.3.5. From French native speakers to English bilinguals ............................................................. 19 1.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 20 Aim, material & methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 21 Semantic analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.1. Preliminary considerations: influence of the genre ...................................................................... 27 3.1.1. The homiletic tradition: between continuity and rupture .................................................... 27 3.1.2. Moral purpose and literary quality .................................................................................... 29 3.1.3. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 30 3.2. Preliminary results .................................................................................................................... 32 3.3. Internal factors: filling a structural gap ....................................................................................... 36 3.4. External factors: reconstructing lexical change against the social changes of the time ..................... 43 3.4.1. Changes within the Church ............................................................................................... 44 3.4.1.1. Pastoral care and mendicant orders ............................................................................... 44 3.4.1.2. Confession and the treatment of the sins ....................................................................... 46 3.4.1.3. Contemplation ............................................................................................................ 51 3.4.2. Changes in secular government ......................................................................................... 58 3.4.2.1. Changing social order ................................................................................................... 59 2 3.4.2.2. Political change and the survival of old traditions: the military domain ............................ 61 3.4.2.3. The imagery of the Norman court of justice in religious writings ..................................... 63 3.5. Semantic evolution from the Ancrene Wisse to the Cloud ............................................................. 68 3.5.1. From spoken to written French influence (“scholarship, science & arts”) .............................. 68 3.5.2. From concrete to abstract terms (“psychological & mental processes”) .................................. 71 3.6. Conclusion on semantics ............................................................................................................ 74 Lexical integration of French loanwords ................................................................................................................................ 77 4.1. A closer look at the Ancrene Wisse .............................................................................................. 78 4.2. Phonology and spelling .............................................................................................................. 79 4.3. Morphology: evolution from the Ancrene Wisse to the Cloud ....................................................... 82 4.3.1. The Ancrene Wisse: laying the foundations for further integration ..................................... 82 4.3.2. Complex loanwords and derivational processes .................................................................. 83 4.3.3. Hybrids and loanblends .................................................................................................... 89 4.3.3.1. Hybrids with native base .............................................................................................. 89 4.3.3.2. Hybrids with a foreign base ........................................................................................... 91 4.4. Syntactic elaboration in the Cloud of Unknowing ........................................................................ 99 4.5. Mutual influence supports integration ...................................................................................... 102 4.6. Conclusion on lexical integration ............................................................................................. 106 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................... 108 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................................. 110 Appendix I: the Ancrene Wisse................................................................................................................................................ 115 Appendix II: the Northern Homily Cycle .............................................................................................................................. 130 Appendix III: the Cloud of Unknowing ................................................................................................................................. 138 Appendix IV: Database .............................................................................................................................................................. 152 Word count: 41 041 words 3 Introduction The history of the English language is one of fascinating encounters between different peoples and cultures in the course of time. If one was to pinpoint one of the decisive socio- historical events bringing about profound and enduring changes, however, the Norman Conquest would be a suitable candidate. The Norman Conquest profoundly altered the English society and dramatically influenced its linguistic evolution. For nearly four centuries, French took over as the official language of the English nation, while the cultural outreach of the French culture reinforced its hold on English throughout the Middle English period (ca. 1100-1500). A trilingual society prevailed in England during the late Middle Ages, English, French and Latin coexisting in some sort of symbiotic relationship, “interpenetrating and drawing strength from one another”, eventually shaping “one culture in three voices” (Lerer 2007: 55). Nowadays, however, the situation has reverted itself and English has come to occupy the place that French had
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