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How many French words in English?

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  French and English are fundamentally different languages in term of grammar, structure and syntax. Despite this incompatibility, all English speakers understand a substantial percentage of French loanwords . 

Why do we say 'flea market'?

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March aux puces - original flea market still popular in Paris A mysterious term given that the market for fleas is limited. There are two (vaguely) plausible theories: 1. March aux puces? A translation of march aux puces. This was the popular name for a large outdoor market in Paris that became popular in the 1920s.  The name  march aux puces was "because there are so many second hand articles sold of all kinds that they are believed to gather fleas." [E.S. Dougherty, "In Europe," 1922]   2. Dutch Swamp? From the Dutch word for swamp is given as “vlie”, which sounds like flea when spoken in English. The Dutch settlers held markets in the then swampland that was Manhattan Island.  The OED goes with the French market explanation as the more probable. French words in English

How are French words pronounced in English?

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Patisserie is a typical example of a French 'loanword' There are several thousand French words French  in the English language. Their pronunciation can be tricky because in many cases there are no formal rules about the correct way to do this  By convention, pronunciation of French words  generally defers to the source. Ballet, for example, has a silent ‘t’, rather than a sounded one as in the Spanish equivalentl. Charles de Gaulle keeps his silent’s’ while Prince Charles becomes 'Charle' in spoken French. Anomalies There are many anomalies . Logic might suggest that a chaise lounge would be pronounced the same way as the lounge it is in.  Some common nouns have been completely anglicized like the hard ‘s’ in Paris . Unfortunately, for English language learners there is no absolute rule as to when this occurs.  The key is comprehension. The English pronunciation of the words Croissant and pan au chocolat approximate to the original French but neither requires an extra

What are loanwords?

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The number of loanwords in the English language is unusually large. English vocabulary borrows heavily from other languages, particularly Latin, Greek and French. See below for how this reliance on foreign words evolved. Loanwords are an important feature of English. They do not, however, affect the structure of the language. An English speaker may use the word ballet but he will not say a dancer of ballet ‚ as you would in French. A few imported terms retain their original syntax. The United Nations has a secretary general while the chief officer of the English legal system is the attorney general . But these are rare exceptions. Worksheets on the use of loanwords in English are included in the  English FAQ Teaching Pack   Use coupon code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99

How many new words are entering the English language?

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According to new research, the English language has doubled in size over the last century . It continues to grow ' by 8,500 words a year' and now stands at 1,022,000 words .'  And the speed of this growth is accelerating :  The language has grown by more than 70 per cent since 1950 .... The previous half century it only grew by 10 per cent ...     source Are all these new words in the dictionary ? English does not have an equivalent version of the Académie française. The only official recognition comes with an entry in the  Oxford English Dictionary  (OED). Interestingly much of this new vocabulary has not been formally recognised. Nearly half of the new words are not included in any dictionary and are dubbed lexical "dark matter". They are either slang or invented jargon.       Why does the OED restrict the words it includes? Because there are so many words in English! The OED is already more than three times bigger than the equivalent dicti

How many French words are there in English?

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Use coupon code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99 Crossword of French words in English Merriam-Webster's French-English Translation Dictionary, Kindle Edition Larousse Student Dictionary French-English/English-French