What caused English eventually to triumph and French to be eliminated from use in England

【Abstract】The history of English in the three centuries after 1066 is of considerable interest. The Norman Conquest established Norman French as the High variety and English as the low variety. What caused English eventually to triumph and French to be eliminated from use in England （except as a clearly marked foreign language）？ Where did Latin fit into the overall picture？ The paper tends to explore the reason from sociolinguistic point of view.

【Key words】English； French； England

【作者簡介】閆淑梅（1973.09-），女，漢族，河南中牟人，烏魯木齊職業(yè)大學(xué)教師培訓(xùn)學(xué)院，本科，副教授，教研員，從事中學(xué)英語教研教學(xué)、中小學(xué)教師培訓(xùn)方面。

I. General History of English Language & Middle English

English has undergone dramatic changes throughout the three major periods of Old English （roughly from 449 to 1100）； Middle English （roughly from 1100 to 1500）， and Modern English （roughly from 1500 to the present）.

Middle English began with the arrival of the Norman French invaders in England under William the Conqueror in 1066. For about a century and a half after what is known as the Norman Conquest， French remained as the language of the ruling classes， as far as literature and administration were concerned.

When English came into use again as a literary language at the beginning of the thirteenth century， it was very different from the original “Englisc”. Apart from other developments that had taken place， Middle English had been deeply influenced by Norman French in vocabulary and grammar. For example， such terms as “army，” “court，” “defense，” “faith，” “prison” and “tax” came from language of the French rulers.

As the French influence was gradually drowned in the native culture of England， the London dialect of Middle English began to be regarded as a standard national language and remained so when English developed into its modern variety.

II. The Re-establishment of English

1. Diglossia condition

While we can be fairly sure about the number and influence of powerful Normans in England， the Frenchmen of lower classes are harder to talk about with much certainty. It is clear that considerable numbers of Normans and Frenchmen came to England in the years after the conquest and settled side by side with the English， but it is difficult to tell in the earlier periods of French influence in which contexts French， and in which English， was spoken and written. However， we can be sure that French was the language of the court and English was the language of the people， so that there must have been diglossia in England at the time， with French as the High language and English as the low language.

While we are not sure how many Frenchmen came to England at this time， we do know that their superior position meant that they were able to maintain their own language. Indeed， for two hundred years after the Norman Conquest French remained the language of the upper classes in England and the members of the upper classes may have tried to acquire some knowledge of English in order to converse with the people. Churchmen， at least at the lower levels， needed knowledge of English， though kings and queens most often used the services of interpreter， The language of the lower class remained English， and we assume that a lowly Norman soidier marrying an English girl would switch to English as his everyday language. In the beginning only people of Norman origin spoke French， but eventually through intermarriage and association with the ruling class numerous people of English extraction recognized the prestige of speaking French and began to use it. Eventually， facility with French was founded not on an ethnic but on a class basis. However， it must be stressed that speakers of French amongst the non-nobility were undoubtedly in a small minority， so that all degrees of mono- and bilingualism were present in England before the loss of Normandy in 1204.

2. The change of Diglossia condition

After 1200 conditions were to change. In 1204 King John lost Normandy， Englands vital possession abroad， in a dispute over his bride Isabel of Angouleme. The French king Philip I confiscated Normandy and the nobility was forced to relinquish possession of French estates. Rivalry began to develop between England and France， which culminated in the Hundred Years war.

This development naturally meant that English and French interests could no longer be the same， and it ultimately resulted in the re-establishment of English. When Louise IX declared that it was impossible to show allegiance to both England and France， the nobles were forced to declare themselves either English or French.

The split with France was not so straightforward， however， since many English nobles had land in southern France as well， and a new influx of southern French noblemen was encouraged by the close ties between the English and French royal families. Moreover， thanks to royal patronage a considerable body of French literature was produced in England from the beginning of the twelfth century.

Henrys favoritism caused great resentment amongst the native English. Eventually the barons and the middle class united against the French， the opposition resulting in the Provisions of Oxford （1258） and the ensuing Barons War（1258-65）. During this time the French were driven twice from England. When peace was finally established and Edward I （1272-93） ascended the throne， England was a nation aware of its national identity. All of the events leading up to this moment， though initially slowing down the spread of English， ultimately led to the awareness of the necessity of the adoption of English as the language of English affairs.

However， this process was not so easily carried out， as France was in the cultural ascendancy in Europe in the thirteenth century， and in high society a knowledge of French was essential. This naturally arrested the progress of English for some time， at least in English court circles. However， it is to be noted that the nobilitys use of French was a matter of culture and fashion， that is， a sociological choice， rather than an economic and political necessity， as it had been throughout the twelfth century. The nobility chose to maintain French as the language of society， administration and commerce. Many of the fashion-conscious or ambitious had to learn French as a foreign and the maintenance of French was therefore becoming increasingly artificial. By the middle of the thirteenth century foreign-language instruction books had to be written， presumably to teach the children of the nobility French， since their native language was by this time undoubted English. By the end of the thirteenth century the attitude had developed to one of advocating English as the language of Englishmen. Soon a knowledge of English was common at all levels of society.

3. Language and the Rise of the Middle Class

During the latter part of the ME period， serfdom and villeinage died out， the lot of the ordinary laboring Englishman improved and a new middle class developed. The plague （1348-50） caused a death rate of approximately 30 percent， certainly higher among the poorer classes than the rich. This resulted in a shortage of labor， and a concomitant increase in wages and the unification of the peasants whose campaign for better wages and working conditions culminated in the Peasants Revolt （1381）. The result was an increase in the importance of English， since the poor people now had more say in the affairs of the country. Moreover， the plague probably eradicated many of the educated teachers who could instruct in French and Latin， thereby paving the way for the rise of English in schools.

The growth of the English urban system brought with it an expansion of the power base of the craftsmen and merchant class， and by the beginning of the fourteen century everyone knew English again. The literature appears in English as well as in French.

Throughout the fourteenth century， English was used at occasions of important pronouncements. Thus， in 1337 Edward IIIs consultation with parliament about the invasion of France was conducted by a lawyer in English. In 1362 the Chancellor opened Parliament with a speech in English， and by 1388 English was gaining on Latin as the language of the town councils and guilds. When Richard II wasa deposed in 1399 the articles of accusation were read to parliament in Latin and English， while Henry IV made his speeches and his speech of accession in English. In 1362， after five years of the use of English in the London and Middlesex sheriffs court， parliament enacted the Statute of Pleading which stated that all lawsuits should be conducted in English， since French is much unknown in the said realm. This constitutes the official recognition of English.

4. Final triumph of English language

Eventually， English people who could speak French became exception， rather than the rule. It became a language to be used when traveling to France， rather than at home， and knowledge of French was purely a fashionable or cultural custom in the fifteenth century.

Latin and French were both， however， still competitors with English as the medium of writings in the fourteenth century. French had rivaled the unstable Medieval Latin for quite some time. But finally， in the fifteenth century， English succeeded in displacing them both.

Towns and guilds eventually adopted English as the language in which their records should be written. After 1485 Parliament publishes statutes and petitions in English and French and by 1489 French is completely eradicated as the language of parliament.

References：

[1]Barbara A.Fennell.A history of English：A sociolinguistic approach[J].Oxford：Blackwell Publishing Ltd，2005.

[2]何兆熊，梅德明.現(xiàn)代語言學(xué)[M].外語教學(xué)與研究出版社，2001.