Using examples of borrowings from, Greek, Italian, and English, I shall analyse the factors that have been of particular importance in the borrowing of words into French. Borrowing can be defined as the attempted reproduction in one language of patterns previously found in another. In using this particular definition from Haugen we then have to make clear that borrowing is a consequence of cultural contact between two languages. I will concentrate on three main important factors, which are necessity, prestige , and bilingualism. Although I am considering the three factors as separate entities it has to be taken into consideration that the factors can and do overlap each other depending obviously on the words borrowed into French and the three factors are linked. Often borrowings do not just take place because of one factor.

Within this factor, it includes various forms of linguistic necessity that require would borrowing into French. For example lexical gaps are created when there is quick advancement in one particular area therefore creating a need for new words which were not previously in the language before. Therefore it is logical to suggest that when French words do not exist in a particular semantic field to describe what is developing at a fast pace, then words will inevitably be borrowed into the language rather than creating new ones.

From the seventeenth century onwards according to Wise “the need for new scientific terminology increased exponentially”, this is because at this point in history science was developing at a fast rate, and therefore this created a gap in the lexis to describe different scientific terms. For example the terms oxgene and hydrogene were borrowed from Greek as there more advancements particularly with chemistry. As the Greeks were pioneers in these developments the words were therefore borrowed from the language rather than new words being created in French. This was also true in the 18th century when the music lexicon