DoyoueverwonderwhytheEnglishhaveonewordforsomeanimalsandadifferentonefortheirmeat?Whydotheyusepigandporkcowandbeefandsheepandmutton?Tofinditoutwehavetogobackto1066whentheNormanFrenchinvadedEnglandandputaFrenchkingontheEnglishthrone(王位)whichnotonlychangedthegovernmentbutalsochangedthelanguage.Frenchbecamethelanguageoftheupperclassesofsociety.Anditremainedthatwayfor300years.Onlythesehighsocietypeoplecouldaffordtoeatmeat.AsaresultFrenchwordslikeporc(pork)andbeouf(beef)cameintotheEnglishlanguage.HoweverpoorEnglishfarmersraisedtheanimals.SotheEnglishlanguageretainedthewordspigandcowfromtheNativeAnglo-Saxon.
TheNormanFrenchaddedabout10000FrenchwordstotheEnglishlanguage.Seventy-fivepercentofthemarestillinusetoday.
InFrenchgrammarnounshaveeitheramaleorfemalegender(性别)soadjectives(形容词)takedifferentformsforeach.EnglishhasonlyoneadjectivethatdoesthisanditcamefromFrench.Theword“blond”describessomeonewithlight-coloredhair.“Blond”isusedformenand“blonde”describeswomen.Andtheyarealsonouns.
SomeFrenchwordsthatenteredtheEnglishlanguagehavetakenoncompletelydifferentmeanings.TheFrenchphrase“alamode”means“instyle”.InEnglishthephrasemeans“withtheicecream”.Someonemusthavedecidedsomethingeatenwithicecreamwasinstyle!
NowasyoulearnEnglishyou’reonyourwaytolearningFrench!
【小题1】FrenchwasoncepopularamongtheupperclassesoftheUKbecause_____.