Moldova State University The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures English Philology Chair

Research project
Borrowings into English Language

Submitted by Bulatovici Cristina Gr. 311L

Checked by Sapa Elena

Chiinu, 2011

Table of contents

1 What s borrowings+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++..

2 Assimilation of borrowings+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.

3 Borrowings in such definitions ,interpretations(blending, international words

4 Types of borrowings+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++..

5 Borrowings into English++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

6 Scandinavian Loan-words in Old and Middle English+++++++++++++..

7 Scandinavian Loan-Words in Modern English+++++++++++++++++. . 8 French Loan-Words in Middle English++++++++++++++++++++++

9 French Loan-Words in Modern English++++++++++++++++++++..

10 Latin Loan-words in Old English++++++++++++++++++++++++. . 11 Latin Loan-Words in Middle English++++++++++++++++++++++..

12 Latin Loan-Words in Modern English+++++++++++++++++++++..

13Greek loan-Words++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.

Whats borrowings

Contemporary English is a unique mixture of Germanic &Romantic elements. (1;1). A lot of words in vocabulary of Modern English are of foreign origin. Borrowing has always been an important means of the enlargement of the English vocabulary. In comparison with other languages English possess great richness of vocabulary. (92,orembovskaya) . The process of borrowing from other languages is due to the more or less direct contact of one nation with another.(15.rayevska) The word "borrow" is often used in literature on loanwords to symbolize that a language uses a word that originally comes from another languages. The word "borrow" indicates that the item borrowed will be returned.( The number and the character of borrowings do not only depend on the historical condition ,on the nature and length of the contacts ,but also on the degree of the genetic and structural proximity of languages concerned. The closer the languages the deeper and more versatile is the influence(216a course of lex) A large number of the words were created in England on the basis of foreign words and foreign morphemes Foreign words generally come into a language in two principal ways: 1) As a result of so-called language cross 2) As a result of economic political and cultural relations between nations.(92,oremb). By tracing the origin of loan-words and analyzing the ways by which they penetrated into the English language we can throw some light on the relations between England and other countries. Loan-words have come through travel, commerce, literature and in many other ways.(217 corse). It must be taken into consideration that the closer the relation between languages ,the more difficult it is to distinguish the borrowings The influence of a foreign language may be exerted in two ways ,through the spoken word ,by personal contact between the two peoples ,or through the written word ,by indirect contact not between peoples themselves but through their literature.(16rayev). Oral borrowing took place chiefly in the early periods of history ,whereas in recent times written borrowing gained importance. Words borrowed orally are usually short and they undergo more changes in the act of adoption. Written borrowings preserve their spelling ;they are often rather long and their assimilation is a long and laborious process.(217a course of) It must be taken into consideration that the closer the relation between languages ,the more difficult it is to distinguish the borrowings 218 a course of) The process starts off with that bilingual people of a certain language community start using words from another language. These people often choose to use certain foreign

words because they feel that these words are more prestigious than their natives ones. More and more people start using the word and eventually the word has become a part of the vocabulary of the borrowing language( Borrowed words enter to the languages as a result of two main causes linguistic and extra-linguistic(smirnitky) As to the character foreign borrowings may be subdivided into the following four groups: 1) Aliens 2) Denizens 3) Translation-loans 4)Semantic borrowings Aliens are words borrowed from a foreign language without any change of the foreign sound and spelling. These words are immediately recognizable as foreign words. Denizens are easily associated with already existing native words and sometimes become indistinguishable from the native element.(16-17rayevska Translation loans or calques are words and phrases built up from the material already existing in the language, but according to the patterns of another language. Semantic loan is used to denote the development in an existing word of a new meaning owing to the influence of a related word in another language(93salapina. Semantic borrowings are comparatively more frequent in nouns(21rayev) In its second meaning the term borrowing is sometimes used in a wider sense. It is extended onto so-called translation loans and semantic borrowing. Translation loans are words and expressions formed from the material available in the language after the patterns characteristic of the given language, but under the influence of some foreign words and expressions.(210course) Further the term borrowing is used in its narrow meaning ,that is as a borrowing proper or a word taken over in its material form. It is important to note that the term borrowing belongs to the diachronic description of the word-stock. (211course) There is also certain confusion between the terms source of borrowings and origin of the borrowed words. This confusion may be seen in contradictory marking of one and the same word as, say, a French borrowing in one dictionary and Latin in another. It is suggested that the term source of borrowing should be applied to the language from which this or that particular word was taken into English. So describing words as Latin, French or Scandinavian borrowings we point out their source ,but not their origin. The term origin of the word should be applied to the language the word may be traced to.(211 course)

More than half of vocabulary of Modern English consists of words borrowed from different foreign languages. Latin and Greek, Scandinavian and French have been important sources of the elargement of the English vocabulary. Assimilation of borrowings A lot of loan-words have been assimilated in the English vocabulary and have become part or parcel of the English language. A word existing in a certain language develops according to the norms of the language and is subjected to the general changes in the language ,but when it is borrowed it begins to develop according to the norms of the language and is subjected to the general changes in the language, but when it is borrowed ,it begins to develop according to the norms of the language it has been borrowed into.(93orembovskaya) Since the process of assimilation of borrowings includes changes in sound-form, morphological structure, grammar characteristics. Linguists distinguish phonetic, grammatical and lexical assimilation of borrowings.(219course) Phonetic assimilation, comprising changes in sound-form and stress, is perhaps the most conspicuous. Familiar sounds or sound combinations the position of which was strange to the English language, were replaced by other sounds or sound combinations to make the words conform to the norms of the language. Some words retain their foreign pronunciation for a long time before the unfamiliar sounds are replaced by similar native sound(220course) In words that were added to English from foreign sources, especially from French or Latin ,the accent was gradually transferred to the first syllable .(220) Grammatical assimilation usually as soon as words from other languages were introduced into English they lost their former grammatical categories and inflexions and acquired new grammatical categories and paradigm by analogy with other English words(220course). All borrowings that were composite in structure in their native language appeared in English as indivisible root-words ,unless there were already words with the same morpheme in it ,but it has changed its quality, it is preserved in all the other grammatical forms of the word, which means that it has become part of the stem in English.(221 course) Lexical assimilation when a word is taken over into another language, its semantic structure as a rule undergoes great changes. Polysemanic words are usually adopted only in one or two of their meanings. In the process of its historical development a borrowing sometimes acquired new meanings that were not to be found in its former semantic structure.The semantic

structure of borrowings changes in other ways as well. Some meanings become more general, others more specialized. Sometimes change of meaning is the result of associating borrowed words with familiar words which somewhat resemble them in sound but which are not at all related. This process, which is termed folk etymology, often changes the form of the word in whole or in part, so as to bring it nearer to the word or words with which it is thought to be connected.(222sour) 3 Borrowings in such definitions ,interpretations Blends may be defined as formations that combine two words and include the letters or sounds they have in common as a connecting element International words play an especially prominent part in various terminological systems including the vocabulary of science, industry and art. The etymological sources of this

vocabulary reflect the history of world culture.

Types of borrowings

Borrowings enter the language in two ways through oral speech and through written speech.
The borrowings can be classified as: Phonetic borrowings are the most characteristic in all languages,they are called loan words proper.words are borrowed with their spelling,pronunciation and meaning - translation loans are word -for-word translations of some foreign words or expressions. Some translations loans appeared in English from Latin already in the Old English period. 1)(process)borrowing by means of literally translating words or word combinations,by modeling words after foreign patterns; 2)(result)translation loans (calques)-words and expressions formed from the material already existing in the English language but according to patterns taken from another language by way of literal word-for-word or morpheme-for-morpheme. -semantic loans-the term is used to denote the development in an English word of a new meaning due to the influence of a related word in another language.

- morphemic borrowings are borrowings of affixes which occur in the language when many many words with identical affixes are borrowed from one language to another.

The role of loan words in the formation and development of English vocabulary is dealt with the history of the language The number of borrowings on Old English was

meager
Scandinavian Loan-Words in Old and Middle English

Most of the Scandinavian words in Old English do not actually occur in written records until the Middle English period ,though there can of course ,be no doubt of their currency long before the beginning of this period. In the later part of the eleventh century the Scandinavians became gradually assimilated to English ways though Scandinavian words had been in the meanwhile introduced into English. Many Scandinavian words closely resembled their English cognates . Sometimes indeed they were so nearly identical that it would be possible tell whether a given word was Scandinavian or English. Late Old English and early Middle English loans from Scandinavian were made to conform wholly or in part with the English sound and inflectional system. More important and more fundamental is what happened to the Old English pronominal forms of the 3-rd person plural: all the th- forms are of Scandinavian origin. By the end of the Old English period English under went a strong influence of Scandinavian due to the Scandinavian conquest of the British Isles. Scandinavians belonged to the same group of peoples as Englishmen and their languages had much in common .As a result of this conquest there are about 700 borrowings from Scandinavian into English. Scandinavian Loan-Words in Modern English

Scandinavians and Englishmen had the same way of life,their cultural level was the same ,they had much in common in their literature therefore there were many words in these languages which were almost identical. A number of Scandinavians words have entered English during the modern period However there were also many words in the two languages which were different ,and some of them were borrowed into English, Even some pronouns and connective words were borrowed which happens very seldom,

French Loan-Words in Middle English

The loan-words of French origin occur in English earlier than 1066. The Norman Conquest made French the language of the official class in England. Hence it is not

surprising that many words having to do with government and administration are of French original. (334pyles) The lexical items reffering to the social hierarchy or differenciation in feudal society are Middle English loans from French.(58)Words designating English titles of nobility date from the period when England was in the hands of a Norman French rulling class(.336) In ruling the country, the law and its enforcement ,the administration of justice, played an important partand so did the language of the conguerors in the transaction of legal business. It French names were given not only to various animals when served up as food at Norman tables,but also to the culinary processes by which the English cow, pig were prepared for human consumption. (336pyles)

French Loan-Words in Modern English

-Words relating to government :administer,empire,state,government; -Words relating to military affairs:army,war,banner,soldier,battle. -words relating to jury:advocate,petition,inquest,sentence,barrister; -words relating to fashion:luxury, coat, collar, lace, embroidery; -words relating jewelry: topaz,emerald, ruby, pearl; -words relating to food and cooking:lunch,dinner,appetite,to roast; Words were borrowed from French into English after 1560, mainly through French literature ,but they were not as numerous and many of them are not completely assimilated. There are the following semantic groups of these borrowings: -words relating to literature and music:belle-lettres, conservatorie, brochure, nuance,pirouette,vaudeville; -words relating to military affairs:corps,echelon,fuselage,manouvre; -words relating to buildings and furniture:entresol,chateau,bureau; -words relating to food and cooking:ragout,cuisine.

Latin Words in Old English

The approximate time at which a word was borrowed is often indicated by its forms.(326,pyles). A large proportion of Latin loans found in Old English are shared by English with German and other Germanic languages.Continental borrowings entered English _German after the migration period and served to meet new communicative needs arising from the cultural changes brought about about in the process of Christianization. Many of these Latinloan-words have become an integral part of the basic vocabulary of our two languages and can easily be assignedto specific conceptual spheres(50).Part of the post continental borrowingsfrom Latin are found

in English only(50).. Many of these words,particularlythose from the later period,werecertainly never widely used, or even known. Some occur only a single time,or onlya single manuscript. Many were subsequently lost, some to be reborrowed, often with changes of meaning,at a later period from Frenchor from Classical Latin.(328pyles) These loan-words ,later learned ones as well as the earlier popular ones,we were usually made to conform to Old English declentional patterns,though occasionally, n translations from Latin into Old Englis,Latin case forms. As with earlier borrowings, there came into being a good many hybrid formations:that is native endings were affixed to foreign words.(328 pyles) "scol"(Latin schola) is obviously a later borrowing than "scrin"(Latin scrinium).At the time when "scol" was borrowed this sound change no longer operative. Had the word been borrowed earlier ,it would have developed into Modern English "school"The medial consonant of Old English "fefer"(Latin febris)on the other hand reflects a latin change Febrile, a learned loan came into English centuries later-specifically in the XVII century. The loan-words the later learned ones as well as the earlier popular ones ,were usually made to conform to Old English declensional patterns ,though occasionally in translation from Latin into Old English.

Latin words borrowed in Middle English

The influx of Latin loans continued during Middle English times(53).Frequently it is possible to tell whether a word is from French or from Latin, In the period between Norman Conquest and 1500 ,many Latin words having to do with religion appeared in English Latin Words borrowed in Modern English (328pyles). In cases of only minor formal differences between Latin andFrenchit is often impossible to decide with certainly whether the word in questioncame into English as a resultof direct borrowing or was introduced via its descendant language. There are enough cases to demonstate the growing importance of Latin as adonor in the process of the expansion of the English vocabulary. All through the Middle Ages Latin had played an important role as an official written language in England. Part of the literature of medieval England was written in Latin. Part of the words that entedre English from Latin at this time can be assigned to specific conceptualspheresor specialized areas of human activity such as Church and Christian doctrine,education,and the administration of law or neighbouring fields. The less easily classified Latin loans comprise a substantial number of verbs many of which have passed into common use. Other Latin borrowings broadly assignable to such fields as education, rhetoric and prosody, literature.(55-56)

LATIN WORDS BORROWED IN MODERN ENGLISH TIMES. The great period of borrowings from Latin and from Greek by way of Latin is the Modern English period. Classical borrowings continue to appear in Modern English as well. Mostly they are words formed with help of Latin and Greek morphemes.(329PYLES)

Greek Loan-Words into English Even before the Conquest a number of Greek words had entered into English by way Latin.Latin and French are the immediate sources of most loan-words ultimately Greek from the Middle English periodon,for instance, -(from Latin) -allegory, anemia, anesthesia, aristocracy, barbarous, chaos, comedy, cycle, dilemma, drama, electric, epithet, epoch, metaphor, phenomenon, rhytm. -(from French) -center, chronicle, character, democracy, diet, dragon, ecstasy, fantasy, harmony, lyre, machine. Straight from Greek come acronym, agnostic, anthropoid, antocracy, chlorine, rudos, oligarchy, pathos,phone, telegram. The richest foreign sources of our present English word-stock are Latin, French, and Greek. Greek had tremendeous prestige as a classical language there was comparatively little first-hand knowledge of it in western Europe until the advent of refuge Greek scholars from Constantinople. A considerable number of Latin words borrowed during the revival of learning are at present almost indistinguishable from the rest of the vocabulary

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