Just found this interesting article. I posted part of it. If interested, you can find the full print here:
Pig or Pork? Cow or Beef? Now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. On this program we often talk about the origins of words and expressions that we use in American English. We also talk about how we use them in everyday conversations. Today we talk about animals--and...
learningenglish.voanews.com
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Pig or Pork? Cow or Beef?
Now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
On this program we often talk about the origins of words and expressions that we use in American English. We also talk about how we use them in everyday conversations.
Today we talk about animals--and animals we eat. In English, these two categories often have different names. Pigs turn into pork. Cows turn into beef. Sheep is mutton. Calves are veal. And deer is venison.
But why do we call these animals different names when we prepare them for a meal? Why is it “pig” on the farm but "pork" in a sandwich?
The answer is the Norman
Conquest of Britain in 1066. That is when many French words became part of the English language. Many of those French words related to the battlefield, such as “army” and “
royal.” Many related to government and taxation.
And many others related to food.
When animals were in the
stable or on the farm, they kept their Old English names: pig, cow, sheep and calf. But when they were cooked and brought to the table, an English version of the French word was used: pork (porc), beef (beouf), mutton (mouton) and veal (veau).
On several websites, word experts claim that this change shows a class difference between the Anglo-Saxons and the French in Britain at the time of the conquest.
Because the lower-class Anglo-Saxons were the hunters, they used the Old English names for animals. But the upper-class French saw these animals only at mealtimes. So, they used the French word to describe the prepared dishes. Today, modern English speakers — regardless of social class — have come to use both.