How similar are French and English?
Similarities & Differences between French and English
As I sat in my first ever French class, I couldn’t help but notice similarities between English and French words popping up constantly. “La table” looked a lot like “table”, “le stylo” reminded me of “stylus”, and so on. But just as I was getting the hang of these easy cognates, I would be tripped up by “faux amis” – false friends like “blessé” (wounded) and “demander” (to ask). This rollercoaster from familiarity to confusion perfectly encapsulates the relationship between French and English: two languages with plenty in common yet filled with pitfalls for learners.
Key Takeaways
- French and English share an Indo-European origin and have similarities in vocabulary as a result.
- Cognates and false friends demonstrate the complex lexical relationship between the languages.
- French grammar, word order, gendered nouns, and liaisons create key areas of divergence from English.
- Mastery of both languages provides advantages like expanded cultural literacy.
The Indo-European Connection
Both English and French derive from the same ancestor language family – Indo-European. English is a Germanic language, linked to neighbors like German and Dutch. French, meanwhile, descends from Vulgar Latin and is firmly in the Romance language camp with Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Despite the family split, that common Indo-European great-great-grandparent means English and French still share DNA to this day.
| Language | Language Family | Related Languages |
|---|---|---|
| English | Germanic | German, Dutch |
| French | Romance | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese |
Plenty of Common Vocabulary
Learners looking at French for the first time are often struck by the sheer number of cognates – words derived from the same root that pop up in both languages. It’s estimated over 30% of English words have some form of French origin, legacy of the Norman invasion of England in 1066AD. From basic vocabulary like “table” and “chair” through to more advanced terms like “democracy” and “economy”, French echoes through the English language. Of course, it works both ways too – modern French has adopted many English techie and trendy terms wholesale in recent decades.
- Common French-origin words in English:
- Basic vocabulary – table, chair
- Advanced vocabulary – democracy, economy
- English words adopted into French:
- Techie terms – email, smartphone
- Trendy terms – cool, fitness
False Friends Lie In Wait
Learners buoyed by all these familiar vocabulary similarities often come unstuck thanks to the dreaded faux amis. These false friend words might look and sound comfortingly similar, but have different meanings in French and English. For example, “blessé” means injured rather than blessed, “sensible” means sensitive not sensible, and “demander” is to ask rather than demand. Adding to the confusion, some false friends actually do share one meaning, but not others – “eventually” can mean eventually or possibly dependant on context. Constant vigilance is required to avoid these French/English false friends!
- Common French/English false friends:
- blessé – means injured rather than blessed
- sensible – means sensitive not sensible
- demander – to ask rather than demand
Silent Letters Abound
Both French and English share the annoying trait of having silent letters that trip up pronunciation. For English learners, French words tend to pack in more silent consonants like the “h” in “l’homme” (the man) or the “p” in “sept” (seven). French speaker meanwhile struggle with English words like “knight” and “wrap” that go against the normal pronunciation rules. And let’s not even mention how the letter “g” can make different sounds in words like “giant” and “giraffe”!
English Has Far More Vowel Sounds
Get past the silent letters and English unleashes a Pandora’s box of vowel sounds that befuddle French speakers. English has at least 13 different vowel sounds like the “a” in “cat” versus “car” versus “cake”. French only has 5 pure vowel sounds that are always pronounced the same way regardless of placement. Trying to master these multiple English vowel pronunciations spells trouble for French learners.
Word Order Is Similar…Mostly
Both French and English broadly follow Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order in sentences. So in French you would say “Il mange le gâteau” (He eats the cake) and in English “He eats the cake”, with the same sequence of subject-verb-object. However, French sometimes switches this order around to emphasize certain elements, saying “Le gâteau, il le mange” (The cake, he eats it). In English though, word order tends to stay rigid in the standard SVO format.
French Grammar Is More Complex
As a Romance language, French grammar comes loaded with case endings, gender agreements and conjugations that English speakers struggle to wrap their heads around. For example, the French adjective changes to match the number and gender of the noun it describes, so “un stylo rouge” (a red pen) becomes “des stylos rouges” (some red pens). And don’t get me started on the multiple forms of “my” and “your” in French based on number and politeness level! English grammar seems like child’s play by comparison.
Punctuation Also Poses Problems
The complex punctuation rules also differentiate French and English writing. French uses more accent marks like the acute (é), grave (à) and circumflex (â) to denote specific vowel sounds that cause pronunciation headaches for English speakers. French also inserts mandatory spaces before question marks, exclamation marks, colons and semi-colons which English speakers are prone to forgetting. And French quotation marks look backwards compared to English ones!
Plurals And Verbs Provide Pitfalls
Both languages share plenty of irregular plural words that must be memorized – like “oxen” and “children” in English and “bijoux” (jewels) and “travaux” (works) in French. But French adds extra complexity by having multiple plural pronoun categories for “we” and third person “they”, an extra headache English avoids. Verb conjugations also get very intricate in French across different subjects, while English verbs mostly stay the same.
Adjective And Adverb Agreement
As a Germanic language, English adjectives and adverbs stand independent without changes. But in French, adjectives agree with the associated noun’s gender and number. French adverbs also must match the verb tense, mood, and form, requiring mental gymnastics English avoids. Memorizing all the correct adjective-noun and adverb-verb agreements challenges the hardiest English learner of French.
Different Language Diffusion Stories
While 27 countries count French as an official language thanks to France’s colonial legacy, its reach today as a world language does not compare to English. Fueled by the British Empire then American influence, English has official language status in over 90 countries. 1.3 billion people speak English, while French claims just over 220 million native speakers. So while French enjoys plenty of overlap with English, its global clout cannot compare.
In summary, the French and English languages draw from the same ancient Indo-European roots but split apart to follow divergent paths. Their shared ancestry is clear from the many common vocabulary words and similar grammar structures. However, false friend traps, complex pronunciation rules, punctuation differences and intricate grammar exceptions all combine to make French a significant challenge for English speakers. As I battle through French class, this complex push-and-pull of familiarity and confusion seems set to continue!