A high school student enters a French 1 classroom, anxiously waiting for their first class to begin. On the classroom wall, they notice words such as “café,” théâtre,” and “français.” Although they have never taken a French class before, they oddly recognize all these words.
Across all domains of the English language, words adopted from French are a key component of how meaning is formed. Take, for instance, the phrase “La conversation est importante.” How many words do you recognize? And what could explain this linguistic phenomenon?
The answer dates back to 1066 AD, when the Normans, a group of French-speaking Vikings from Northwestern France invaded England and left a lasting array of linguistic reforms that continue to affect native English speakers and French learners at JIS.
In 1066, William I of Normandy conquered England and replaced the English-speaking aristocracy with Norman elites who conversed in French, making it the official language of the English court and parliament.
But French influence did not transfer over to vernacular English, the language spoken by the lower classes.
Since they rarely interacted with the aristocracy, their exposure to French was limited. Consequently, they continued to talk in Old English, a Germanic language.
Accordingly, French grew increasingly dominant as the language of the aristocracy, while Old English remained confined to the lower strata of society.
This dynamic led to a sharp linguistic divide between formal written communication, which contained many French loanwords, and everyday speech, which remained overwhelmingly Germanic, setting the stage for the development of modern English.
Today, nearly a millennium later, around 80% of the 1000 most common English words have Germanic origins, while most words in specialized fields such as medicine, law, and science have entered English through French.
Picture a student writing a literary analysis essay for English literature. They might use sophisticated words such as “analyze,” “interpretation,” and “denotation,” all of which are loanwords from French.
Conversely, in casual conversation, the same student would likely use words that have Germanic roots, such as “scan,” “view,” and “meaning,” to communicate the same concepts. Thus, many “formal synonyms” are just French in disguise.
Moreover, English and French share many prefixes and suffixes. For example, the prefix “inter-” means “between” in both French and English.
Because of these many similarities, French is one of the easiest languages for native English speakers to learn.
The Foreign Service Institute of the United States reaffirms this, placing French in the easiest category for native English speakers to acquire. It estimates that it takes around 600 to 750 hours, or 24 to 30 weeks of intensive study, to become fluent in French, as opposed to over 1000 hours for languages like Greek or Russian.
At JIS, the Norman Conquest’s linguistic legacy affects hundreds of French learners.
Since most of them speak English as their native language, they have likely been exposed to French-learning strategies that utilize the lexical overlap between French and English.
Mr. Julien Le Sourd, a French teacher at JIS, said he helps French students build confidence by breaking down French words into their roots and showing the similarities between English and French “to reassure students.”
For many students learning French, these early moments of recognition directly impact their learning. “Reading comprehension is probably the area where [learning roots] helps the most,” said Mr. Le Sourd. Beyond basic literacy, he added that the parallels between French and English can become increasingly effective for students taking advanced IB French courses, “The more formal the language, the more similarities you have.”
When asked to recount an example of this, Mr. Le Sourd mentioned a student from England, who had never lived in a French-speaking country before, succeeding in IB HL French B, a course that requires near-native exposure, “She did really well at French HL, and I think her high command of English definitely helped.”
However, being fluent in English isn’t always beneficial for French language acquisition.
Ms. Soazig Purenne, another French teacher at JIS, warned about the existence of faux amis, French words that share roots with English words but have evolved differently.
According to Ms. Purenne, these words can seem really similar to their English equivalents, but their meanings can be entirely different.
Mr. Le Sourd recalled that one student assumed that the French verb “assister à” meant “to assist” instead of “to attend or be present at an event, show or meeting,” and wrote an essay based on this misconception.
“If you misunderstand one word because you think it’s similar to English, then it can lead you to be off-topic, and the grade won’t be as strong,” Mr. Le Sourd said. Thus, Ms. Purenne stresses the importance of learning about these words early on, “That’s something we teach; there’s a very specific list of [common faux amis].”
In essence, the many linguistic similarities between French and English create a recurring element of modern French language acquisition and both written and spoken communication for native English speakers. The next time you recognize that a French word sounds like English or vice versa, note that the Norman Conquest is the reason why.
So even though English has become the lingua franca and its lexicon continues to influence billions today, the words from the French remain its crème de la crème.
