{"id":1356,"date":"2018-12-14T23:09:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T23:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2018-12-14T23:09:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T23:09:14","slug":"french-is-alive-and-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/2018\/12\/14\/french-is-alive-and-well\/","title":{"rendered":"French is Alive and Well and (Even) Living in English"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Jacques Saleh<\/em><\/p>\n

For all the relentless drumbeat, if not frenzied alarm, in the French-speaking world (as often witnessed on numerous French-speaking talk shows), to counter or curtail the seemingly inexorable onward and forward march of English worldwide, and for all the alarmed French and Francophile luminaries, grandees and pundits who feel that the French language is under siege by the Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-American) linguistic onslaught, it behooves us to reassure those rearguard French and Francophonie defenders that all is not lost, and that in the spirit of cross-cultural comity and cross-linguistic camaraderie, French is still alive and well and living in English.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it hasn\u2019t seeped into the foundational structure of English as much as Frisian and other Germanic offshoots such as Dutch, Scandinavian or German, but English still seems to have more clearly recognizable Gallic terms in its lexicon than other Germanic languages, which over the years have morphed away\u2014in often unrecognizable fashion\u2014from their Teutonic roots. If, for instance, you join the British or U.S. military (militaires<\/em>) or army (arm\u00e9e<\/em>), at whichever echelon (echelon<\/em>), from the humble soldier (soldat<\/em>) to the sergeant, colonel, general, or admiral, you may think you have joined the ranks of the French military.<\/p>\n

And to add a bit of bonhomie to the whole competitive linguistic shebang, the French and Germanic or Proto-Germanic languages have peacefully coexisted in an ongoing d\u00e9tente within English, with English providing the basis for this ideal and idyllic rapprochement. In other words, English may have accomplished the near-utopian feat of making the French and Teutons gentle bedfellows, at least linguistically.<\/p>\n

By italicizing French-rooted or French-influenced words in English below, we will notice more vividly how French is intrinsically ingrained in the English language. And if we review<\/em> the text<\/em> above, a French-speaking sleuth a bit versed<\/em> in etymology<\/em> (NB: while Greek, the word \u201cetymology\u201d took this form through the French \u201c\u00e9tymologie\u201d) could easily count<\/em> more than a few dozen words with French ancestry, influence <\/em>or affinity<\/em>. Some (including frenzied, counter, curtail, march, vigorously, defend, languages, rearguard, competitive, peacefully, accomplished, feat, gentle, instance, and join) represent different alteration degrees <\/em>of the French words fr\u00e9n\u00e9sie, contrer, tailler, marche, vigoureusement, d\u00e9fendre, langues, arri\u00e8re-garde <\/em>(itself an alteration<\/em> of the Old French rereguarde), comp\u00e9titif, fait, gentil, instance, <\/em>and joindre. <\/em>Others are plucked wholesale and with seemingly little compunction<\/em> from French, e.g., words like d\u00e9tente, camaraderie, bonhomie, rapprochement<\/em> and the like.<\/p>\n

This article<\/em> is not meant to give a statistical or scientific<\/em> representation<\/em> of French within English, especially<\/em> with a limited textual sample <\/em>(Old French \u201cessample\u201d), but to show that one can write English using<\/em> a copious dose<\/em> of French-influenced or French-originated words, even if their semantic<\/em> and formal<\/em> iterations have deviated<\/em> from current<\/em> or even Old French. But this would be no different<\/em> from Canadian French using<\/em> French terms<\/em> that are uncommon<\/em> in France, or modern<\/em> French in France being quite different<\/em> from Old French but still influenced<\/em> by, or derived<\/em> from, it. Languages<\/em> do not remain<\/em> static, and whether the French words that seeped into English were quite different<\/em> semantically<\/em> and formally from their modern configuration<\/em> does not negate<\/em> the fact<\/em> that their origin<\/em> is French and that English has a solid<\/em> French linguistic identity<\/em> in conjunction<\/em> with its Teutonic one.<\/p>\n

If the Anglo-Saxons resent<\/em> this \u201cforeign\u201d influence<\/em>, they would then be using<\/em> a French-rooted word (\u201cressentiment\u201d) to express<\/em> their feelings, or they could hate it, in which case they would be using<\/em> a German-rooted or Dutch-rooted term<\/em> (\u201chassen\u201d or \u201chaten\u201d). It will be up to them to express<\/em> any xenophobic or perhaps bigoted sentiments<\/em> against this reality<\/em>, but if their resentment pushes <\/em>them to extirpate only French-rooted words from the English language<\/em>, English would become so different<\/em> as to become another language<\/em> and would no longer qualify<\/em> as English. As things stand, it won\u2019t be an easy task<\/em> to extricate English from French encroachment<\/em>, or for that matter, from its Teutonic manifestations<\/em>. If it were, English would have a major identity<\/em> crisis and would cease<\/em> to exist<\/em>. To prune<\/em> the Teutonic-Gallic branches<\/em> and roots from the English tree will be akin to uprooting and killing that tree. Ergo, RIP English.<\/p>\n

While the nuts and bolts of English are infused with Teutonic-originated terms, which permeate its building blocks <\/em>of prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions <\/em>and pronouns<\/em>, French suffuses its superstructure<\/em>, so to speak, including many terms used<\/em> in the military<\/em>, law, economy<\/em>, finance<\/em>, religion<\/em>, and politics<\/em>, among others.<\/p>\n

And speaking of the military<\/em>, the Brits conquered<\/em> a good chunk of global real estate<\/em> and built their empire<\/em> with plenty<\/em> of help from the French\u2014that is, French words. They had these French-rooted terms<\/em> to help advance<\/em> their colonizing or expansionist ambitions<\/em>: the army<\/em> and navy<\/em>, along with their assortment<\/em> of generals<\/em>, colonels<\/em>, admirals<\/em>, lieutenants<\/em>, sergeants<\/em>, corporals<\/em>, and soldiers<\/em>. And to this end they used troops, <\/em>the infantry, <\/em>and cavalry, <\/em>in addition <\/em>to the artillery<\/em>. They also used<\/em> battalions, brigades<\/em>, and squadrons.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

And to advance <\/em>their objectives<\/em> and promote <\/em>and consolidate<\/em> their newly established<\/em> regime<\/em>, the occupiers<\/em> did not hesitate<\/em> to use search <\/em>and destroy missions <\/em>to tame any recalcitrant elements <\/em>of the populace<\/em>, nor did they fail <\/em>to use<\/em> surveillance, reconnaissance missions, espionage intrigues, spies, guards, sieges, <\/em>and logistics<\/em>, all the way down to the lowly latrine.<\/em><\/p>\n

After setting their expansionist designs<\/em> on a region<\/em>, they applied <\/em>or established <\/em>their laws and rules<\/em>, again with much help from the French language<\/em>, introducing<\/em> in the process<\/em> French-rooted terms<\/em> like contracts, felonies, crimes, courts, tribunals, judges, jury, bailiffs, plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys, cases, bails, paroles, summons, claims, complaints, pleas, pleadings, petitions, motions, briefs, requests, appeals, jails, <\/em>and prisons<\/em>, among many terms<\/em> that could almost fill an English legal<\/em> dictionary. This gave the illegitimate presence<\/em> of the colonizers a semblance<\/em> of normalcy<\/em> and legality<\/em> that might have helped them further subdue<\/em> and control<\/em> the local<\/em> populace<\/em> by instilling a whiff of legitimacy<\/em>, accompanied<\/em> by a firm dose<\/em> of law and order<\/em>, to their conquest<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Naturally<\/em>, for further appeasement<\/em> and other self-serving<\/em> purposes, the new victors<\/em> probably <\/em>wanted their newly vanquished communities <\/em>and societies <\/em>to enjoy<\/em> a humming economy<\/em>. Such economy <\/em>would assist<\/em> those victors <\/em>in better managing<\/em> their own affairs<\/em> while profiting<\/em> even more from the existing<\/em> spoils <\/em>by rendering<\/em> the latter more productive<\/em> than from the simple<\/em> plunder of limited or unsustainable<\/em> resources.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

With such a symbiotic or collaborative arrangement<\/em> with the indigenous peoples<\/em>, the victors\u2019<\/em> ruling classes <\/em>and elites, <\/em>along with their acolytes<\/em>, would theoretically enjoy <\/em>a greater level<\/em> of prosperity<\/em> and riches, <\/em>some of which is allowed <\/em>to trickle down to appease<\/em> the oppressed masses<\/em> by easing <\/em>their economic <\/em>and financial<\/em> burdens, hence inducing <\/em>them into continuing collaborative comportment.<\/em> In this instance<\/em>, the reasoning<\/em> of the conquerors<\/em> might be that the robust economy<\/em> should serve<\/em> as the opium of the politically oppressed people<\/em> in the way religion <\/em>played that role <\/em>for those who championed <\/em>the cause <\/em>of the proletariat<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The above examples<\/em> should suffice<\/em> for now to give sufficient credence<\/em> to the present<\/em> thesis and, by extrapolation, should point<\/em> to the clear<\/em> etymological <\/em>and historical evidence <\/em>that seems overlooked by all those alarmist<\/em> French language<\/em> Cassandras and other linguistic doomsayers who think that languages, especially theirs, are or should be immutable<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Gallic doomsters might as well stop panicking <\/em>and stressing<\/em> over this issue<\/em>, and for that matter<\/em> they might as well vicariously enjoy <\/em>the English language (French-Teutonic to a large extent<\/em>) triumphs<\/em> without undue<\/em> compunction<\/em>, mindful of the fact<\/em> that the English language\u2019s French ancestry<\/em> is well-established<\/em>. They should also be mindful of the humbling fact <\/em>that, for all intents <\/em>and purposes<\/em>, all present<\/em> living languages <\/em>will eventually<\/em> sink into Latin-like or ancient Greek obsolescence and will succumb<\/em> to the inevitable <\/em>and dire<\/em> fate <\/em>of linguistic extinction.<\/p>\n

Thus, the Gallic doom and gloom merchants<\/em> and sundry linguistic fearmongers could join<\/em> the ranks<\/em> of those who take a grander <\/em>and more relativistic <\/em>and historical view<\/em> regarding<\/em> the transience of languages<\/em>, or of life for that matter<\/em>, and they could in particular<\/em> tone<\/em> down a notch <\/em>their strident <\/em>anti-Albion protests <\/em>once they realize<\/em> that French will be riding on the coattails of the English juggernaut for the foreseeable future<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In this case<\/em>, it bears repeating<\/em> that those with French predilection <\/em>who are still contesting<\/em> the current<\/em> linguistic status quo might as well vicariously enjoy<\/em> the English language<\/em> advances<\/em>, as they should be comforted <\/em>by the fact <\/em>that English has historically <\/em>and to a large degree<\/em> embraced<\/em>, assimilated <\/em>and absorbed <\/em>French, which played, along with Teutonic linguistic offshoots and to some extent<\/em> Latin, a predominant<\/em> role <\/em>in its inception.<\/p>\n

Therefore, once we consider<\/em> that English has a distinct, significant, recognizable,<\/em> and manifest <\/em>French identity<\/em>, the relationship <\/em>between the two languages should no longer be regarded <\/em>as a zero-sum game, as some alarmist<\/em> Francophile pundits would like us to think, but rather one of lineage<\/em> and pedigree<\/em>, or of parentage <\/em>and identity<\/em>, which in turn<\/em> entails<\/em> that French is not only alive and well for the French-speaking people<\/em>, but also living in English. Thus, French can legitimately<\/em> share in the successes <\/em>of English and celebrate its triumphs<\/em>. \u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s Note: What are your thoughts on the influence of English on the French language, and vice versa? Any amateur (or professional!) etymologists out there? Please join the conversation by liking or sharing this article along with your comments on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

======================================<\/p>\n

Jacques Saleh, PhD is an ATA-certified Arabic-to-English translator with more than 20 years of experience translating from Arabic to English and French to English. He holds a doctorate degree in philosophy from the City University of New York and a BS and MBA from New York University. He has taught translation, philosophy, and humanities courses both in the United States and abroad. You can find him on Twitter at @textoubli<\/a> or contact him through his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jacques Saleh For all the relentless drumbeat, if not frenzied alarm, in the French-speaking world (as often witnessed on numerous French-speaking talk shows), to counter or curtail the seemingly inexorable onward and forward march of English worldwide, and for all the alarmed French and Francophile luminaries, grandees and pundits who feel that the French … Continue reading French is Alive and Well and (Even) Living in English<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1356"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1511,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions\/1511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}