Linguistic Analysis of a Passage from Both the “Miller’s Tale” Essay Example

sources were used together in most cases. Davis' Glossary was especially useful in investigating root words and words using Chaucer's spelling which were not standardized in either of the other two dictionaries.

Despite inconsistencies resulting from citing three sources, I favored the OED due to its comprehensive coverage and inclusion of hyperlinked connections to other words. The preface of the MED recognizes its achievements in scholarship but also acknowledges certain practical defects, highlighting that its completion in a timely manner would not have been possible without limitations of scope.

The 120 lines include words from different origins, including Old English, Old French, French, Latin, Frisian, Old Norse, Anglo-Norman, Middle English, and Middle Dutch. I classified the words without counting grammatical function words—pronouns, articles,demonstratives, auxiliaries,
prepositions,and conjunctions—as they all come from Old English. Yet,I included function words that demonstrated interesting word-formation cases.

In order to identify the use of Old English function words, I conducted a word count and compared it with the counts of other recorded data for content words. Nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, known as lexical content words, provide substance and meaning. Analyzing these content words will allow me to fully understand the foundation of the Middle English lexicon. To ensure fairness, I only counted each content word once and excluded any repetitions that could introduce bias towards a specific word. The inclusion of graphs illustrates the origins of content words based on their initial usage.

The Lawyer in The Miller’s Tale utilizes 45% foreign loans, while the Miller only uses 34%. This discrepancy reflects the Lawyer's occupation and expertise in legal matters, as he has access to specialized

terminology related to justice and the court. Additionally, the Lawyer incorporates 9% more vocabulary of French origin compared to the Miller, which includes a subset of 2% categorized as 'French.' It is possible that Chaucer strategically allocates vocabulary to individual characters in order to accurately depict their respective personas.

Although a traditional Miller does not usually include foreign loan words like Chaucer does, the Miller's works contain a significant number of such words. One possible reason for this is the influence of Chaucer, who was closely connected to the French language through his involvement in court and legal matters. As a result, these foreign words became integrated into everyday speech and were considered part of the native language.

The elite had access to the language, resulting in it being incorporated into their vernacular and explaining the Lawyer's proficiency. Additionally, French, being seen as more prestigious, was emulated by English residents aspiring to move up socially. As a result, it influenced the language in high-class areas such as government, food, and fashion.

The increase in French loans is attributed to the Norman Conquest, which solidified their use. The invasion accounts for the presence of Anglo-Norman words and the Lawyer uses them even more. The Miller can be seen as someone who wants to move up socially. Please refer to the appendix for comprehensive tables that show the total word counts. Tables 1 and 2 below display the Old English and Old French word usage in each Tale:

Of the 368 Old English words used by the Miller, 205 are repeated and only 119 are content words. This contrasts with his use of

42 French words, where 37 are content words. It is worth noting that all Old French words are used as content words, indicating that their use is more for semantic meaning rather than as function words in grammar, where repetition is unavoidable. The Lawyer's Tale exhibits a similar pattern.

The initial words used consist of 94 content words out of 114, leaving the remaining words as grammatical facilitators. In Middle English, Old English is utilized for basic words and concepts like body parts ('here', 'hand') and simple adjectives ('young', 'green', 'small', 'good'). On the other hand, foreign loans demonstrate specialized terminology, such as the Latin term 'astrologye'. Both passages display French loanwords used for fashion-related vocabulary like 'cent' (girdle) and 'cooler' (collar), as well as words related to government like 'ministry'. In terms of word-formation processes, Tables 3 and 4 categorize the words from the passages. The Miller's Tale features compounding, which involves combining free morphemes, more frequently than other word-formation processes. Many examples of this are prepositional words like 'balls', 'thereto', and 'therewithal'.

The Lawyer is more versatile and flexible with language compared to the Miller. Both passages contain affixation, where bound morphemes are added to roots to produce inflections or derivatives. However, the Lawyer exhibits affixes borrowed from Old French, such as the suffix '-essay', while the Miller uses Old English suffixes. This suggests that the Lawyer incorporates the French language more prominently.

The use of lexis and word-formation in both cases reveals the portrayal of a realistic character, highlighting the intended persona of the Tale. In conclusion, Chaucer's choice of lexicon and word formation reflects the language of its

time, particularly the prestigious use of French which was limited to the upper echelons of society. Chaucer portrays this through the Lawyer character, giving him access to a wider range of French-derived vocabulary in terms of lexis and word-formation.

Chaucer employs lexis to portray character and enhance the intricacy of his writing. Nevertheless, his personal experience with foreign loan words has influenced his work. Middle English inherited Old English for basic concepts and grammar, while loan words were needed to provide specialized vocabulary. The project argues that Chaucer's impact on language mainly originates from his style rather than the content of his writing.

The author was able to play with words in innovative ways by using vocabulary inherited from other sources, particularly in the formation of compound words. If there had been more time, the author would have analyzed other "Tales" extensively. The utilization of language and word-formation techniques varied based on people's backgrounds, reflecting their individual vocabularies. Therefore, the register of the lexicon should not be overlooked and can be considered more significant than etymology.