10.3.2
French words in modern English
The discussion and examples in this section are based on Laure Chirol’s (1973) book Les ‘mots français
’
et
le mythe de la France en anglais contemporain,
which is an extensive survey of French words in
contemporary English. We have already shown that English is hooked on French words. The number of
French imports has risen steadily over the centuries. Chirol speculates on the reasons for this. She suggests
that the use of French words in English serves to project the stereotyped, positive image of France on to the
speakers themselves or the objects they speak about. And what is that image? It is an image of the French
146 ENGLISH WORDS
way of life, of high culture, sophistication in dress, food and social relations. This is reflected in the words
and phrases habitually employed when an English speaker wraps herself or himself in the tricolour. (The
fact that the real France and real French people might not live up to this idealised mythical image seems to
be of no consequence.)
The French, who are not at all coy in these matters, would say that the appeal of the French language is
probably due to the English-speakers’ admiration of the French contribution to civilisation, which is well
known. And, of course, the French never tire of reminding the world of it. France is perceived as the land of
the arts in the broadest sense—encompassing literature, music, architecture, ballet, painting and sculpture.
So, Chirol asks, what is more natural than that the nation which has given the world many of its greatest
artists and artistic movements should be the leading supplier of critical terms for talking about the arts?
Many English-speakers would concur. It is not that long since a sojourn in Paris by an American writer and
a spell in Dieppe by an English painter were very useful ingredients of a successful career.
Many essential technical terms used in the arts are French. We will take literature and painting first.
Examples are given below, together with the century when they appeared in English:
[10.18]
LITERATURE
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
ballade,
comédie noire,
enjambement,
engage,
chef d’œuvre,
brochure
genre
nouveau
précis
dénouement,
nom de plume,
roman
(résumé),
troubadour
pastiche
data
memoir(e)
faux amis,
mot-clé (key
word),
monologue,
intérieur,
œuvre
[10.19]
PAINTING
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
critique,
artiste,
avant garde,
art
chef-d’œuvre
baroque,
expertise,
nouveau,
embarras de
genre,
calque
richesse
motif,
collage,
renaissance
salon,
Turning to music, we observe that Italian (as we will shortly see) is the language which provides most
musical terms. But here too French loans are by no means insignificant.
A LEXICAL MOSAIC 147
[10.20]
MUSIC
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
aubade,
ensemble,
bâton,
musique
rêverie
pot-pourri
conservatoire,
concrète
suite,
timbre
French is the international language of ballet. Virtually all ballet terms used in English are from French.
[10.21]
BALLET
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
ballet,
pirouette,
pas de deux,
échappé,
jeté,
gavotte
terre à terre
chassé,
pilé,
coupé,
danseur,
tutu
pilé,
danseuse
fouetté
tutu
Society, refinement and fashionable living are also believed to be areas where the French excel. Hence
the borrowing of words and expressions such as those below in order to enable Englishspeakers to bask in
the reflected elegance of the French:
[10.22]
SOCIETY
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
doyen, finesse,
coterie, élite,
bête noire,
chauffeur,
bizarre,
clique,
camaraderie,
échelon,
brusque, tête
protégé(e),
débutante,
éminence
à-tête,
esprit de
divorcée,
grise,
rendez-vous,
corps,
fiancé(e),
haut mode,
par excellence
gauche,
milieu,
drôle, facile,
savoire-vivre,
prestige,
gaffe,
tout court, en
rentier,
folie de
route,
personnel,
grandeur,
nuance
nouveau
R.S.V.P
riche, élan,
c’est la vie,
blasé,
touché,
aplomb,
mot juste
risqué, volteface,
chez nous,
bon voyage
148 ENGLISH WORDS
Victorian values encourage the hypocritical ‘No-sex-pleasewe’re-British!’ mentality. Figures in public
life in Britain are hounded out of office and governments may collapse because of sexual peccadilloes. It
seems to be thought to be more important that public figures have impeccable private lives—no extra-
marital sex, and certainly no lesbian or homosexual tendencies—than that they are up to the job.
Probably this is why there is a secret admiration for the French who do not have such hang-ups about sex.
The British admire the sexual prowess of the French—or more precisely, the French attitude to sex. That
may well be the reason for the large number of words to do with love and sexuality that have been adopted
from French:
[10.23]
LOVE AND SEXUALITY
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
amour, belle,
chaeron
liaison,
cri du cœur,
beau, billet
affaire de
madame,
doux
cœur
menage a
trois,
gigolo,
mal
d’amour,
crime
passionnel
The French have always been renowned for their cuisine. So, naturally, French words to do with food and
cooking have been borrowed in substantial numbers down the ages (some French words have been fully
Anglicised, and are therefore presented in English spellings). A few fancy French phrases on the menu
always add to the quality of the gastronomic experience and are deemed to be worth an extra pound or two
on the bill.
[10.24]
CUISINE
14th–15th centuries
mustard, vinegar, beef, sauce, salad
16th–18th centuries
sirloin, gigot, carrot, cuisine, pastry, dessert, omelette,
meringue, haricot, cognac, crème caramel, sage, pâtisserie,
liqueur
19th-20th centuries
bombe, éclair, flan, gâteau, nougat, petit mousse, millefeuilles, flambé, garni, en casserole,
glacé, sauté, au gratin, brasserie, café, restaurant, à la carte, haute cuisine, rôtisserie, hors-
d’œuvre, entrée
A LEXICAL MOSAIC 149
French fashion has also been held in high esteem for centuries. Hence the extensive list of borrowing in
the area of clothes, hair, cosmetics etc. (See the advertisement for Yves St Laurent perfume on p. 214.)
[10.25]
FASHION
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
coiffure,
lingerie,
béret, chic,
après-ski,
blonde,
bouquet
boutique,
culottes,
brunette
haute couture,
brassière,
eau de
rouge
cologne,
crepe,
appliqué,
velours,
massage
Even fashionable car transport gets its terms from French, e.g. marque, coupé, cabriolet.
As we saw in section (
10.1.2
) at the beginning of this chapter when we discussed loan-translation, borrowing
from French is not restricted to individual words. Whole phrases and sayings are also borrowed, for
example:
[10.26]
à la rigueur
à propos
à la carte
au gratin
à la mode
au contraire
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