You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded (入侵) what is now Britain. The Normans were from northern France and spoke French. During the Norman occupation, French became the language of England's rulers and wealthy class. This lasted for more than 300 years. Other people in England continued to speak English during this period.
Over time, the two languages combined and shared words. Some researchers believe that about 10, 000 French words eventually entered the English language. However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way.
Take the French word college for example. In English, college can often be used in place of the word university, or sometimes as a school within a university. However, in French, college actually means "middle school", or the level of schooling for students in grades five or six through eight.
There are many other similar words in the two languages with completely different meanings. In English, the word chat is a verb which means "to talk casually"; but in French, the word chat is the word for an animal: a cat.
If an English speaker says someone is jolly, that means he is cheerful or friendly. But in French, jolie means someone is good-looking or pleasant to look at. In any case, both are nice things to say to someone.
