The Trilingual England of Geoffrey Chaucer

Author / Editor
Rothwell, W[illiam].

Title
The Trilingual England of Geoffrey Chaucer

Published
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 16 (1994): 45-67.

Description
Examines the relations among Latin, French, and English in late-medieval England, using evidence from documents of the twelfth-fourteenth centuries, the "Chaucer Life-Records," and Chaucer's works. Argues that the Latin of the time was often influenced by French structures, reflecting use of oral and written Latin as a lingua franca.
Examines the close relations in vocabulary and word formation between French and English, demonstrating their common differences from Parisian French. Such evidence suggests that traditional study of English language history is based on simplistic models of development.

Chaucer Subjects
Language and Word Studies.