語言文化論文-法語對英語的影響.doc

語言文化論文-法語對英語的影響AbstractBothFrenchandEnglishbelongtotheIndo-EuropeanFamily.SincetheMiddleEnglishperiodFrenchhashadstronginfluenceonEnglish.TheinfluenceoftheFrenchlanguageupontheEnglishlanguagecanbedividedintotwomainstages.Thefirstoneisfrom1066to1500.ThedecisivefactorduringthistimeistheNormanConquest.AlargenumberofFrenchwordspouredintoEnglishasapartofEnglishetymology,extendinginfluencetogrammar,spelling,pronunciationandword-formation.ThesecondstageisfromEuropeanRenaissancetothepresentglobalization.Withtheincreasingcommunicationamongeconomy,cultureandtechnology,manyforeignborrowingshavebeenimportedfromdifferentcountries.FrenchasaborrowingcontinuesitscontributiontotheEnglishvocabulary.Byanalyzingthefusionofthetwolanguages,thispapertriestopresentthevocabularyevolutionanditsculturalconnotation.KeyWordsFrench；English；vocabulary；influence；NormanConquest；naturalization【摘要】法語和英語同屬于印歐語系,中古英語以來法語對英語就有著極其深刻的影響。法語對英語的影響主要分為兩個階段：第一階段從1066年到1500年,在這一階段諾曼征服是其決定性的因素。大量的法語詞匯進(jìn)入英語，構(gòu)成了英語詞源的一部分。其影響涉及語法、拼寫、語音以及構(gòu)詞等方面。第二階段是從歐洲的文藝復(fù)興到現(xiàn)在加速世界一體化的信息時代。各國之間的文化相互滲透，經(jīng)濟、文化、科技密切聯(lián)系。許多國家的詞匯進(jìn)入英語，法語作為外來語繼續(xù)豐富著英語的詞匯。本文通過分析兩種語言的融合來探討詞匯的發(fā)展演變過程及其所反映的歷史文化色彩。【關(guān)鍵詞】法語；英語；詞匯；影響；諾曼征服；歸化1.IntroductionThedevelopmentofacertainlanguagehasalonghistory.Itsinevitablethatdifferentlanguagesinfluenceandpenetrateeachotherintheirformationanddevelopment.Inaddition,aparticularlanguageassimilatestherefinedportionofotherlanguagestoenrichitself.Englishisthetypicalrepresentativeofthiskindoflanguage.Asacosmopolitanlanguage,Englishhasbeengreatlyinfluencedbyvariouslanguages,especiallybyFrench.SincetheMiddleEnglishperiodFrenchhadastronginfluenceonEnglish.TheinfluenceoftheFrenchlanguageupontheEnglishlanguagecanbedividedintotwomainstages.ThefirststageisfromNormanConquestto1500.OneofthemostinfluentialfactorsistheNormanConquest.AtthisstagetheFrenchwasusedbytheupperclassatfirst,andthenthetwolanguagesfusedtogetherandatlasttheFrenchwasacknowledgedbycommonpeople.Thesecondstageisfrom1500tothepresenttime.Onthewholethemostdirectandobservableimpactmanifestsitselfonthewordborrowing.Thescaleofvocabularyiswide.Wecanfindwordsrelatingtoeveryaspectofhumansociety,ernment,law,religion,militaryaffairs,foodandsoon.Moreover,thedegreeofvocabularyinfluenceisconsiderable.Somewordsareassimilated；somenativewordsarelostwhileotherwordsmeaningsareexpanded.Besides,FrenchalsoinfluencesEnglishgrammar,spelling,pronunciationandword-formation.Andnowtheinfluenceisstillgoingon.2.Indo-EuropeanFamilyThelanguagesbroughtintorelationshipbydescentorprogressivedifferentiationfromaparentspeechareconvenientlycalledafamilyoflanguages.Itisassumedthatthereareroughly300languagefamiliesintheworld,andtheIndo-European,oneofthese,ismadeupofmostlanguagesofEurope,theNearEast,andIndia.TheparenttonguefromwhichtheIndo-Europeanlanguageshavesprunghadalreadybecamedividedandscatteredbeforethedawnofhistory.Thesurvivinglanguagesshowvariousdegreesofsimilaritiestooneanother,thesimilaritybearingamoreorlessdirectrelationshiptotheirgeographicaldistribution.Theyaccordinglyfallintoelevenprincipalgroups:Indian,Iranian,Armenian,Hellenic,Albanian,Italic,Balto-Slavic,Germanic,Celtic,Hittite,andTocharian.1TheItalicbranchhasitscenterinItaly,andtomostpeopleItalyinancienttimessuggestsRomeandthelanguageofRome,Latin.ThevariouslanguagesthatrepresentthesurvivalofLatininthedifferentpartsoftheRomeEmpireareknownastheRomanceorRomaniclanguages.ThemostextensiveoftheRomancelanguagesareFrench,Spanish,Portuguese,andItalian.ThecommonformthatthelanguagesoftheGermanicbranchhadbeforetheybecamedifferentiatedisknownasGermanicorProto-Germanic.Thelanguagesdescendedfromitfallintothreegroups:EastGermanic,NorthGermanic,andWestGermanic.WestGermanicisthegrouptowhichEnglishbelongs.2Inshort,bothFrenchandEnglishbelongtotheIndo-EuropeanFamily.3.ManyEnglishwordscomingfromotherlanguages,especiallyfromFrenchAsweknow,theEnglishlanguageisofamixedcharacter.Ononehand,itshareswithWestGermaniclanguagesmanycommonwordsandsimilargrammaticalstructures.Ontheotherhand,morethanhalfoftheEnglishvocabularyisderivedfromLatin,Greek,notablyFrench.4.TheinfluenceoftheFrenchlanguageupontheEnglishlanguage4.1Thesocialbackgroundoftheinfluence4.1.1TheoriginofNormandyOnthenortherncoastofFranceisadistrictknownasNormandy.ItderivesitsnamefromthebandsofNorthmenwhosettledthereintheninthandtenthcenturies.TheNormanshadsoonabsorbedthemostimportantelementsofFrenchcivilization.TheygaveuptheirownlanguageandlearnedFrench.ForsomeyearsbeforetheNormanConquesttherelationsbetweenEnglandandNormandyhadbeenfairlyclose.In1002rhelredtheUnreadyhadmarriedaNormanwifeandtheirsonEdward,whohadthusbeenbroughtupinFrance,wasalmostmoreFrenchthanEnglish.In1042,EdwardwasrestoredtothethroneandhebroughtwithhimanumberofhisNormanfriendsandgavethemimportantplacesinthegovernment.AstrongFrenchatmospherepervadedtheEnglishcourtduringthetwenty-fouryearsofhisreign.4.1.2TheNormaninvasionAthissuccessionthemostinfluentialnoblewasGodwin,earloftheWestSaxonearldom.Hiseldestson,Harold,waselectedkingwhenEdwarddiedin1066.Buthiselectiondidnotlonggounchallenged.William,thedukeofNormandyatthistime,wasasecondcousintothelateking.AlthoughthisrelationshipdidnotgivehimanyrightofinheritancetotheEnglishthrone,hehadneverthelessbeenlivinginexpectationofbecomingEdwardssuccessor.Hehopedtoobtainthecrownbyforce.OnSeptember1066,WilliamlandedatPevensey,onthesouthcoastofEngland,withaformidableforce.HaroldwaskilledduringthebattleandtheEnglishweresooninfullretreat.OnChristmasDay1066,WilliamwascrownedkingofEngland.4.1.3TheNormanSettlementWilliamspossessionofthethronehadbeenamatterofconquestandwasattendedbyalltheconsequencesoftheconquestofonepeoplebyanother.Oneofthemostimportantoftheseconsequenceswastheintroductionofanewnobility.ForseveralgenerationsaftertheConquesttheimportantpositionsandthegreatestateswerealmostalwaysheldbyNormansormenofforeignblood.Similarly,Normanprelatesweregraduallyintroducedintoallimportantpositionsinthechurch.ItislesseasytospeakwithcertaintyoftheNormansinthelowerwalksoflifewhocameintoEnglandwithWilliamsarmy.Manyofthemdoubtlessremainedintheisland,andtheirnumberwasincreasedbyconstantaccretionsthroughouttherestoftheeleventhcenturyandthewholeofthenext.LikewisemerchantsandcraftsmenfromthecontinentseemtohavesettledinEnglandinconsiderablenumbers.ItisquiteimpossibletosayhowmanyNormansandFrenchpeoplesettledinEngland,butbecausethegoverningclassinbothchurchandstatewasalmostexclusivelymadeupfromamongthem,theirinfluencewasoutofallproportiontotheirnumber.4.2TheinfluenceofFrenchuponEnglishintheMiddleEnglishperiod4.2.1TheuseofFrenchbytheupperclassWhatevertheactualnumberofNormanssettledinEngland,itisclearthatthemembersofthenewrulingclassweresufficientlypredominanttocontinuetousetheirownlanguage.Thiswasnaturalenoughatfirst,astheyknewnoEnglish；buttheycontinuedtodosoforalongtimetocome,pickingupsomeknowledgeofEnglishgraduallybutmakingnoefforttodosoasamatterofpolicy.For200yearsaftertheNormanConquest,FrenchremainedthelanguageofordinaryintercourseamongtheupperclassesinEngland.ThenobilitychosetomaintainFrenchasthelanguageofsociety,administrationandcommerce.3AtfirstthosewhospokeFrenchwerethoseofNormanorigin,butsoonthroughintermarriageandassociationwiththerulingclassnumerouspeopleofEnglishextractionmusthavefoundittotheiradvantagetolearnthenewlanguage,andbeforelongthedistinctionbetweenthosewhospokeFrenchandthosewhospokeEnglishwasnotethnicbutlargelysocial.ThemostimportantfactorinthecontinueduseofFrenchbytheEnglishupperclassuntilthebeginningofthethirteenthcenturywasthecloseconnectionthatexistedthroughalltheseyearsbetweenEnglandandthecontinent.ThesubjugatedEnglishwerenotkilledoff,norweretheydrivenfromtheircountry.Theywererelegatedtothestatusofaninferiorpeople,goodswineherdsandservants.Therefore，Englandbecameabilingualcountry.TheNormansbelongedtoaraceofScandinavianorigin,butduringtheresidenceinNormandytheyhadgivenuptheirnativelanguageandhadadoptedtheFrenchdialectofthatregion.TheNormansintroducedintoEnglandavarietyoftheFrenchlanguagewecallNorman-French,theothervarietyisParisianFrench.BytheendofthethirteenthcenturyParisianFrenchbegantoenterEngland,andmorestillinthefifteenthcentury.AlargenumberofFrenchwordsmadetheirappearanceintheworksofChaucerandotherEnglishwriters,especiallyinmanyEnglishtranslationsofFrenchliteraryworkspublishedatthattime.4.2.2FusionofthetwopeoplesandtwolanguagesIntheyearsfollowingtheNormanConquestthestingofdefeatandthehardshipsincidenttosogreatapoliticalandsocialdisturbanceweregraduallyforgotten.Peopleacceptedtheneworderassomethingaccomplished；theyaccepteditasafactandadjustedthemselvestoit.ThefusionofNormansandEnglishwasrapid.AndtheearlyfusionofFrenchandEnglishinEnglandisquiteclearfromavarietyofevidences.ItisevidentinthemarriageofNormanstoEnglishwomen.ItisevidentfromthewayinwhichtheEnglishgavetheirsupporttotheirrulersandNormanprelates.Itisevidentinmanyotherways.Everywheretherearesignsofconvergence.4.2.3KnowledgeofFrenchamongthemiddleclassIfbytheendofthetwelfthcenturytheknowledgeofEnglishwasnotunusualamongmembersofthehighestclass,itseemsequallyclearthattheknowledgeofFrenchwasoftenfoundsomewhatfurtherdowninthesocialscale.InfacttheknowledgeofFrenchmaysometimeshaveextendedtothefreetenants.Sothetwolanguagesfusedtogetherandinfluencedeachother.4.2.4FrenchinfluenceonthevocabularyTheinfluenceoftheFrenchlanguageupontheEnglishlanguageisdirectandevident.Itismuchmoreobservablefromth