Why Are Half of My English Words French?

“Rendezvous.”“Cuisine.”“Déjà vu.” “Justice.” Take a moment and look at these words. They feel distinctly… elegant and familiar, don’t they? And very much like French. Because they are! In fact, an astonishing 30-45% of English vocabulary has French origins. So, why are half of your English words French? It has to do with an elaborate history of invasion, power and linguistic evolution. 

Our story begins in 1066. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (who spoke a dialect of French), successfully invaded England. Suddenly, the ruling class, the aristocracy, the courts, and the church all spoke French. The common people continued to speak Old English, but over the next few centuries, the two languages began to merge in extraordinary ways. French became the language of power, law, and refinement, while English remained the language of the common people. This dichotomy gave us a vocabulary that became richer and more nuanced. 

The French language also dominates the fields of cuisine such as gourmet, souffle, fashion such as couture, chic, boutique,  ballet and arts such as avant-garde, choreography, and even diplomacy such as attache, detente. All these are absolutely saturated with French terms. 

Learning French or English will be like embarking on a linguistic archaeological dig. Are you ready to become the next Lara Croft of language?