Why there are a lot of french words in English vocabulary?
In 1066 William of Normandy, who spoke a form of French known as Anglo-Norman, became the king of England, and for around 300 years, this was the “official” language of the court, widely spoken amongst the nobility, although Middle English continued to be the language spoken by the huge majority of the population, including most of the nobility on a day to day basis. Many English words which come from Old French are due to this influence – pork, beef and mutton for example (the words for meat, which was eaten mainly by the nobility, whereas the corresponding words for the animals themselves, swine, cows and sheep, which were looked after by the peasants, come from the anglo-saxon). Even after this period, for a while England maintained territories in France, and individuals remained land-owners in France, with plenty of resulting travel and trade to keep French as easily the most widely spoken foreign language in England, which it remains even today. As has already been pointed out, so
