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Why does the English language have so many French words in it?

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Because the last successful invasion of England was undertaken by the French. This is all highly simplified, but...... In 1066, William the Bastard (also known as William the Conqueror), invaded England in pursuance of his claim to the English crown. read more

But the Norman French language of the conquerors was not the reason for the many French imports; rather, England and the western half of France were one nation for a long time, and so, in the following centuries a lot of culture (Architecture etc) was imported from the continent to the island. read more

That explains why there are a lot of twin words that mean the same thing in the English language. It’s because though English is a Germanic language (the grammar and core vocabulary comes from that), there are a lot of words that come from the Romance (Latin-based) languages too which was leaked into English when French-speaking Normans ruled England. read more

Another reason why there may be more words of French origin in English than there are French words could be that a lot of Old French words have disappeared in the French language and still exist in English. read more

(1) The first has to do with the sources of English words. English is a Germanic language, and much of its vocabulary comes from older (and in some cases defunct) Teutonic languages. But because the Anglo-Saxons were invaded in 1066 and thereafter ruled by Anglo-Norman speakers for a few hundred years, English acquired a vast number of words from French and Latin as well. read more

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Is English language closer to German or French? - Quora
Source: quora.com