W. Rothwell
The Chaucer Review 36.2 (2001) p. 184-207
Rothwell studies the Prioress's tale, and Chaucer's description of her style of French. He locates her priory in a "fashionable" (now nondescript) part of London, Stratford atte Bowe, and discusses the role of French in England at the time.
Anglo-French of the year 1300 used French lexicon in a largely English grammatical base.The "batter" in fish and chips is from the French bature; the word "size" also comes from France. In some cases, Anglo-French speakers used a word used entirely literally in French and applied it metaphorically. These uses of French words would not have been understood in Paris.
He quotes Kristol, who says that it makes no sense to speak of "French" or "English," with complex multilingualism found in documents from medieval Britain.
Showing posts with label anglo-french. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anglo-french. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Henry of Lancaster and Geoffrey Chaucer: Anglo-French and Middle English in Fourteenth-Century England
W. Rothwell
The Modern Language Review, vol. 99, no. 2 (Apr 2004), p.313-327
"French played a major role in the lives of both Lancaster and Chaucer, at once linking and separating them."
"In all the literate sections of the community French played a major role, being used right down to the level of personal communications among native English speakers."
From French Middle English received Bastard, bawd, bugger, coward, glutton, harlot, lecher, traitor, and vile.
The Modern Language Review, vol. 99, no. 2 (Apr 2004), p.313-327
"French played a major role in the lives of both Lancaster and Chaucer, at once linking and separating them."
"In all the literate sections of the community French played a major role, being used right down to the level of personal communications among native English speakers."
From French Middle English received Bastard, bawd, bugger, coward, glutton, harlot, lecher, traitor, and vile.
From Latin to Anglo-French and Middle English: The Role of the Multilingual Gloss
W. Rothwell
The Modern Language Review vol. 88 no 3 (July 1993) pp. 581-599
The original Latin words did not morph directly into French; each Latinate word changed meaning slightly as it entered the French lexicon. "This complicated semantic pattern is the result of social, not phonological factors . . . (583)".Medieval glosses might provide more accurate definitions than literary works, although glosses have been ignored by scholars.
Thirteenth century Anglo-French glosses attest that the English "enter" came from the French "entrer," but with the added meaning of to enter into a book.
French is not simply "the Latin spoken in Gaul."
The Modern Language Review vol. 88 no 3 (July 1993) pp. 581-599
The original Latin words did not morph directly into French; each Latinate word changed meaning slightly as it entered the French lexicon. "This complicated semantic pattern is the result of social, not phonological factors . . . (583)".Medieval glosses might provide more accurate definitions than literary works, although glosses have been ignored by scholars.
Thirteenth century Anglo-French glosses attest that the English "enter" came from the French "entrer," but with the added meaning of to enter into a book.
French is not simply "the Latin spoken in Gaul."
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