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From: gmb@natcorp.ox.ac.uk (Glynis Baguley)
Subject: Re: Anglo-Saxons & Celts
Message-ID: <1995Apr4.145021.8871@onionsnatcorp.ox.ac.uk>
Originator: gmb@onions.natcorp
Organization: British National Corpus, Oxford University, GB
References: <3kqfl0$h0m@ss1.cam.nist.gov> <dnb105.137.2F70D101@psu.edu> <D5wry8.7HL@news.hawaii.edu>
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 14:50:21 GMT
Lines: 34

In article <D5wry8.7HL@news.hawaii.edu> hench@uhunix3.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Virginia E Hench) writes:
> Ferret (dnb105@psu.edu) wrote:
> [snip]
> Hi - I have some legal cases from England in the 1200s and 1300s - some e
> are in what I assume is Norman French, and others in Latin.  It
> appears that whoever was transcribing at the time picked the language
> of transcription.  Otherwise there is no apparent pattern as to when
> to use Norman French and when to use Latin.  Few if any are in English.
> 
> Sample of what I assume is Norman French: 
> 
> (From Eyre of Northamptonshire, 3-4 Edward II) 
> 
> "Vn hom fu troue copable de felonie par enquest en quel il se mist.
>  Fut enquis des chateus.  Lenquest dist qil fu vilein vn T.
>  _Scrop._ Les chateus qil pout auer vendu sont forfez al roi. 
>  Par quei les chateus furunt prises e liueres al viconte de respondre 
>  roi."  

At this period the French used in England was less distinctively
Norman than at the time of the conquest. In this passage we have
`chateus', from which we have `chattels' in English. The Norman French
cognate gave us `cattle', as the development that changed `c-' into
`ch-' in central French did not affect Norman French.

I don't know how long Norman French survived as a distinct dialect in
France, or whether English Norman French (Anglo-Norman) diverged
significantly from it.

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