English contains many words of French origin, such as art, competition, force, machine, money, police, publicity, role, routine, table, and many other anglicized French words. These are pronounced according to English rules of phonology, rather than French. Around 45% of English vocabulary is of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern English.
This article, however, covers words and phrases that generally entered the lexicon later, as through literature, the arts, diplomacy, and other cultural exchanges not involving conquests. As such, they have not lost their character as Gallicisms, or words that seem unmistakably foreign and "French" to an English speaker.
The phrases are given as used in English, and may seem correct modern French to English speakers, but may not be recognized as such by French speakers as many of them are now defunct or have drifted in meaning. A general rule is that, if the word or phrase retains French diacritics or is usually printed in italics, it has retained its French identity.
"Je ne sais quoi" is an Icelandic dancepop song composed by Örlygur Smári and Hera Björk and performed by Hera Björk, and was the Icelandic entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo, Norway on 25, 27 and 29 May 2010. The performance took place in the first semi-final on 25 May and was performed again in the final, four days later. The song is performed in English with some phrases in French (namely the phrases "Je ne sais quoi," I don't know what, and "Je ne sais pas pourquoi," I don't know why). "Je ne sais quoi" was the winner of the Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2010 contest, organised by Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) to select the Icelandic entry for the contest. Despite being one of the early favorites and the fans' favorite to win the contest and finishing 3rd with 123 points in the semi-final, the song ended up finishing 19th with 41 points.
I am standing strong
I've overcome the sadness
in my life
Now, I look up and see
The bright blue sky above me
And it's reflecting in your eyes
Je ne sais quoi
I know you have that special something
Je ne sais quoi
Something I just can't explain
And when I see your face
I wanna follow my emotions
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
When the clouds are gone
The stars come out around us, shining
All that we see is love
Our hearts aligned together
Tell me do you feel the same?
Je ne sais quoi
I know you have that special something
Je ne sais quoi
Something I just can't explain
And when I see your face
I wanna follow my emotions
Je ne sais pas pourquoi
I just love this crazy feeling
It's like I've known you all my life
Je ne sais quoi
Je ne sais quoi
I know you have that special something
Je ne sais quoi
Something I just can't explain
And when I see your face
I wanna follow my emotions
English contains many words of French origin, such as art, competition, force, machine, money, police, publicity, role, routine, table, and many other anglicized French words. These are pronounced according to English rules of phonology, rather than French. Around 45% of English vocabulary is of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern English.
This article, however, covers words and phrases that generally entered the lexicon later, as through literature, the arts, diplomacy, and other cultural exchanges not involving conquests. As such, they have not lost their character as Gallicisms, or words that seem unmistakably foreign and "French" to an English speaker.
The phrases are given as used in English, and may seem correct modern French to English speakers, but may not be recognized as such by French speakers as many of them are now defunct or have drifted in meaning. A general rule is that, if the word or phrase retains French diacritics or is usually printed in italics, it has retained its French identity.
WorldNews.com | 22 Aug 2018
WorldNews.com | 22 Aug 2018
WorldNews.com | 22 Aug 2018
WorldNews.com | 22 Aug 2018
The Times of India | 22 Aug 2018
WorldNews.com | 22 Aug 2018