(‘who’) to ask a question such as who did it?, and this corresponds to one use of qui. But French also used qui in a relative clause such as the man who lives next door, for which Old English used the completely different word pe. Under French influence, Middle English began to use who as a relative pronoun. [13]
(ii) Spelling and pronunciation
Influenced by French certain spellings and pronunciations of Old English changed after the Norman Conquest.
(1) The letter u pronounced [u:] was changed into the letter groups ou ow pronounced [au], e.g. hūs [hu: s] → house [haus], rūt [ru: t] → rout [raut], cū [ku:] → cow [kau], etc.
(2) The pronunciation of the letter ī pronounced [i:] was changed into [ai], e.g. īs [i:s] → ice [ais], līf [li:f] → life [laif], rīdan [ri:da:n] → ride [raid], rīsan[ri:sa:n] → rise [rais], drīfan [dri:fa:n] → drife [draif], etc.
(3) The letters v j were introduced into English by the Normans, e.g. five, drive, joint and ajar, etc.
(4) The letter ӡ was a French letter which was used as an English one in the early Middle English period, e.g. thoӡ (=though), ðoӡt (=thought), ӡer (=year), etc.
(5) The letter groups ai ei oe ui and oi were French spellings which were used in the words of Middle English, e.g. compaignye, deintee, people, build, bruise, noise, boy, etc.
(iii) Word-formation
In the centuries following the Norman Conquest, a number of hybrids appeared in the English vocabulary. On one hand many French affixes, such as -able, -ment, -ess, -ry, -age, -ance, etc. were added to native roots to form a lot of new words, e.g. answerable, bearable, eatable, likeable, readable, argument, endearment, fulfillment, segment, goddess, shepherdess, murderess, dwelleress, slayeress, seeress, husbandry, yeomanry, outlawry, cleavage, leakage, steerage, furtherance, etc. On the other hand, many native affixes, such as -dom, -est, -ful, -er, –hood, -ing, -less, -ly, -ness, -ship, -some, -wise, etc. were added to French roots to form a host of new words, e.g. dukedom, noblest, powerful, preacher, falsehood, preaching, colorless, princely, faintness, courtship, quarrelsome, costwise, faithfully, peacefully, powerfully, commonly, courteously, eagerly, feebly, fiercely, and justly, etc. [14]
4.3 The influence of French upon English after the Middle English period
4.3.1 The breadth of influence
After Middle English period, modern English vocabulary develops through several channels. Borrowing as one of its channels has played a vital role in the development of vocabulary. Thirty percent of them come from French. The words are connected chiefly with arts, with food and drink, with fashion and with diplomacy.
Words connected with arts are:
baroque, baton, matinee, nocturne, renaissance, repertoire, resume, etc.
Words connected with food and drink include:
bonbon, café, chef, menu, restaurant, sauté, etc.
Words connected with fashion, dress, and materials are:
beret, blouse, corsage, crochet, etc.
Among diplomatical terms we find:
a chargé d’affires ad interim, attaché, chargé d’affires, communism, dossier, entente, laisser-faire, secretariat, etc.
Among the common words adopted in the twentieth century are:
après-ski(social activity after a day’s skiing), avant-garde, black humor, détente, discothèque(a night club or other place of entertainment where customers or performers dance, sing, etc. to record music), extraordinaire, georgette, hangar, limousine, negotiant, revue,
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