The word fiancé is in french then why it use in American English,is their other word in English, beside fiance?
2007-11-20 13:06:06 · 6 answers · asked by daark 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It was not replaced when Americans replaced many British English words. It stuck with us. Some people use the term : hubby-to-be or wife-to-be.
2007-11-20 13:13:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A man engaged to be married is a fiancé, the woman, a fiancée. Both words retain their acute accents in American English, and three variant pronunciations suggest that the word is becoming Americanized but has not yet lost some of its French pattern: FEE-ahn-SAI, fee-AHN-SAI, or FEE-ahn-SAI. See FOREIGN PLURALS; GENDER (2). 1
2007-11-20 21:56:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why use it? Because back in the Victorian era, the English nobility decided it was preferable to use French/Latin-rooted terms for certain things than the 'more vulgar' English/Germanic-rooted terms. It's one of the reasons why we eat beef (from the French 'boeuf') instead of cow.
There are English words -- betrothed", "engaged" -- that have similar meaning; but neither specifically means "man who is promised in marriage" (the word "fianceé" - pronounced exactly the same - means the bride-to-be). The closest phrasing would probably be "prospective groom".
2007-11-20 21:35:18 · answer #3 · answered by hogan.enterprises 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
We use lots of words from other languages, especially French, in English. For example, menu, a la carte, and entree are all from French.
What's wrong with that?
2007-11-20 21:17:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
We also say rendezvous, RSVP (respondez vous s'il vous plait), fiancée (female), as well as fiancé (male).
There are lots more cognates, but I can't think of them right now.
2007-11-20 21:23:04 · answer #5 · answered by Rose T 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could say betrothed.
2007-11-20 21:28:11 · answer #6 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋