Do you think this may have something to do with the wide influence of French on English during the Dark and Middle Ages, preceded by the Norman Invasion in the 11th Century?
The influx of Norman French at the time introduced many new concepts and synonyms into English, especially as the Normans became the ruling class and English was only spoken by the lower classes, who didn't write and mostly didn't read literature.
Later, during the Rinascimento (Renaissance), French, along with Latin and Greek, became the language of currency.
Even in more Modern times, French was the lingua franca of the world (only relatively recently superceded by English) and thus had uplifted status, as English does in many nations now.
Oh, and by the way, to use the word 'sophisticated' (from the Old French word, sophisticacioun) is to be sophisticated.