How English Words Came Into French After World War II

The English language has been borrowing words from French since William the Conqueror and his Norman followers invaded British shores in 1066. The French language, on the other hand, did not return the favor. In fact, French didn’t borrow many English words at all until nearly 900 years later when French, British, and American troops were in close contact as allies during World Wars I and II.

Types of Anglicisms

Loanwords in the 20th Century

Before World War II, the French language rarely borrowed words from English. Anglicisms, as they are known, rapidly increased in popularity during the war, when French and English-speaking troops frequently worked together as allies on the battlefield. American military tech entered the global consciousness along with the corresponding English-language names. It all happened so quickly that even though the French language authorities strongly resist the adoption of Anglicisms, they couldn’t do a whole lot to stop the influx of words like “tank,” “bulldozer,” and “jeep.” And as technology advances, that trend continues, with “drone” now also being commonly used in France too (Kostiuk, 2018).

After the end of the war, the American lifestyle of the 1950s captured the global stage and brought more Anglicisms right along with it. Some of these words, like “cow-boy,” referred to concepts that were new to the French. Other loanwords were adopted by French speakers so quickly and completely that there was hardly any time to do much of anything about it before they became everyday words and terms, like “baby-food” and tech words like “gadget,” “gif,” and “tablette” (Lazarev, 2017).

Current Categories

The linguist Paula Chesley from the University of Minnesota has grouped English words that come into French into 10 general topics (2010): everyday life, politics, economics and finance, law, sports, cinema, music, fashion, appearance, and food. Helpful words like “parking” and “agenda” permeate even the most professional settings, despite many French speakers insisting that they remain informal. According to a study by Maryna Kostiuk in 2018, the French have adopted words from every part of speech, from interjections like “wow” to verbs like “boost” or “flash,” though such verbs will often take on a French-ified suffix to indicate that they are, in fact, verbs, so they are pronounced “booster” and “flasher.” Verbs in particular are hard to ignore or replace with French equivalents, especially if they’re borrowed as part of a popular verbal phrase. Examples include “has-been,” “burn-out,” “stand-up,” and...

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips