Member-only story
The Cultural Appropriation of Language
The English we speak today was heavily influenced by French and Latin, even the roots of modern-day English are Germanic. In fact, over 10,000 French words have found their way into the English language. The word beef comes from the word boeuf, which is a type of bovine or bovin in French. A king can be royal or roial in French.
We can trace the origin of this back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. William the Conqueror officiated French as the language of the court, government, and the upper class for three full centuries. English was used by ordinary people, and Latin was the language of the church. Three languages co-existed for three centuries within a single kingdom, with French being the dominant language. Over the course of 7 to 8 decades, English grammar was simplified to meet the needs of the lower class, a change denoted as a shift from Old English to Middle English.
We are constantly taught the Latin roots of words in grammar class. This comes up, especially when studying for the SATs. Latin is also prevalent in our modern-day English through mottos, phrases, science, and vernacular. ‘E pluribus unum’ translated to ‘Out of the many’ a very common motto which is on the Great Seal of the United States. Another phrase important to our justice system is ‘habeas corpus’ which means ‘great writ.’ Other phrases you may have heard include…
