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.
Showing posts with label rothwell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rothwell. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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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