The Syntactic Adaptation of English Borrowings in Contemporary French

Abstract

This article explores the syntactic adaptation of English borrowings in contemporary French, focusing on how these borrowings are integrated into French grammar. Language borrowing is a natural consequence of globalization, cultural exchange, and technological advancement, with English serving as a dominant source of lexical enrichment for French. Through detailed analysis of borrowed nouns, verbs, adjectives, and idiomatic expressions, this study examines the grammatical modifications necessary for integrating English borrowings into French, including gender assignment, verb conjugation, and sentence structure. The article also highlights the challenges posed by phonetic and orthographic differences, as well as the tension between linguistic purism and natural language evolution. Drawing comparisons with other languages, such as Polish and Spanish, this comprehensive analysis provides insights into the future of English borrowings in French and the broader implications of linguistic adaptation in a globalized world.