Are half the words in English from French?

More or Less: Behind the Stats

English - October 07, 2023 05:00 - 9 minutes - 8.93 MB - ★★★★★ - 740 ratings
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Are almost half the words in the English language of French origin? It’s a claim one of our loyal listeners found surprising. Tim Harford talks to Dr Beth Malory, lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London, who explains why so many words derived from French have ended up in English.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Daniel Gordon
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot

(Picture: A French dictionary showing the entry 'Dictionnaire'
Credit: NSA Digital Archive / iStock / Getty Images Plus)