Along with the other major languages of Western Europe, both English and French are descendants of proto-Indo-European. English is a Teutonic language, derivative of proto-Germanic via West Germanic (along with Dutch, Yiddish and German); French is a Romance language, derivative of proto-Italic via Latin (along with Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian). Though French and English are long-since separated on the Indo-European genealogy, the complex history of English and the role French plays in this chronicle create a few interesting issues in French/English translation.

English is frequently depicted as a Germanic language with a Romance lexicon. Old English started out as the language of various tribes of northern Europe – the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons – who strayed to the British Isles and dislodged the Celts. Once the Normans had appropriated England in 1066, Norman French became the language of the royal court, relegating English to the lingo of the common folks. As usage was confined to the day-to-day in this time period, English pared itself down and turned into Middle English, the language of Geoffrey Chaucer. The Normans retained command of the British throne for more than 300 years and, as they reigned, many words rolled into English. By the time English got back into favor as the main language of the Isles, it had metamorphosed into Early Modern English, the language in which William Shakespeare composed his sonnets and dramas. It is reckoned that from one quarter to one third of modern-day English vocabulary is descended from French.

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