Introduction
The English language had several stages in its acquisition of contemporary graphical, phonetical and social implementation. Cultural, political and economical activities also contributed to the growth of it. The English vocabulary is a mixture of words borrowed from over fifty languages, among which the felt influence is concerned with Latin and French. For example, in Early Modern English the orthography on the example of and did not differ: loue (eModE) – love (ModE). “During the Rennaissance, an influx of Latin and Greek words was associated with a vogue for inkhorn terms” (Algeo & Pyles 140)… A silent was obvious for most words in Shakespearean time: manne (eModE) – man (ModE). “The part of speech is given immediiately after the repelling of the word” (Bromberg and Gale 22). In total an estimated seventy-five percent of words in English are borrowed.
It was related to constant conquest of English people and their going abroad. From French English borrowed such words as: musique – music; Saturnes dæg – Saturday etc. “The h of author, from Old French autor (modern auteur), going back to Latin auctor, was first inserted by French scribes, to whom an h after t indicated no difference in pronunciation” (Algeo & Pyles 143). In this respect the tendency of Great Vowel Shift was felt in the earlier period of eModE. The language has been persistent in borrowing words but inconsistent in adapting them for English usage. For instance, the borrowed from French word café is still unchanged in English. “The Rennaissance is a time of freedom of ideas; for lalnguage that means freedom in creating and borrowing words” (Gelderen 155). Some borrowed words have are adapted completely, others partially and others are unchanged in spite of their usage in English.
Some borrowed words are completely anglicized. This means that they have been completely absorbed in the English language, that it becomes almost impossible to be aware of their foreign origin. For example, the French word tur became anglicized and is now tower through changes in pronunciation and spelling. Another anglicized word is the itallian word novella which has beome novel.
- Neither a lender nor a borrower be;
- For loan oft loses itself and friend;
- And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry (Cited in Johnson BOS).
Other borrowed words are partly anglicized. They corresspond partly in English spelling, inflection and pronunciation. A good example is the word garage with its plural as garages. The second syllable is accented and gives the word a French pronunciation /ge-razh/. “French continues to be the largest single source of new words outside of very specialized vocabulary domains” (Kemmer 1). In British english the word has been anglicized completely and its first syllable is pronounced with an accent /garij/. The other word is the antenna borrowed from french. Its plural is antennae in its Latin regular form. In plural form is antennas. “The plural noun data is the antecedent and requires the plural pronoun them” (Baugh 12). The word antenna is an example of borrowed words in English that have two acceptable forms of plural, both the English and the foreign form.
The English language has also borrowed words that remain unanglicized yet acceptable in the English usage, namely like alumnus, the word which forms its plural according to Latin rules and retains its ending that indicates gender: John is an alumnus of Harvard (masculine singular); She is an alumna of Harvard (feminine singular); We are still alumni (plural). “Thus, syntactic change due to contact may lead to the borrowing of syntactic features” (Trips 45)…
Cultural contact
In fact, words borrow their current graphical shape and meaning from one language to another. The kind of borrowing in language does not mean the literal lending process. For example, English brotherhood unified Latin frater nitas for a specific patterning of student communities, i.e. fraternities. “The languages with which English has had closest cultural contacts – Latin, Greek, and French – have supplied a number of affixes freely used to make new English words” (Algeo and Pyles 232).
The borrowing process is complex; it involves many instances of word usage. Sometimes speakers of the borrowing language may know the source language. For instance, some among them are criteria, bête, etc. “Although our language has been persistent in borrowing words, it has been inconsistent in adapting them to English usage” (Bromberg and Gale 56). The speakers use borrowed words because they fit the ideas they may want to express. For example, the word Casanova reduplicates Italian word used in English with some direct points on its semantic coloring.
The period during which the English speakers borrowed words from other communities cannot be delimited sharply because other periods overlap. For instance, “the Norse influence on English began already in the 8th century A.D. and continued strongly well after the Norman Conquest brought a large influx of Norman French to the language” (Kemmer 1). The Celtic languages influenced English in three phases, Germanic, adoptions into Old English and the period of influence after Old English (Gelderen 92).
The first phase Germanic period
Celtic influenced both Latin and Germanic on the European continent. This was the period during which Latin words were borrowed into the English period. For instance, one example shows the use of Celtic dūn transformed into English hill. The period dates back to the time before the Angles and Saxons had left for England. “We should not expect to find many, for the British Celts were a subject people” (Algeo and Pyles 252)… Examples of words borrowed during this period were anchor from ancor, chalk from cealc, kitchen from cycene, cheese from ceas, wine from win, sack from sacc, pepper from piper and many others (Kemmer 1). Furthermore, a word like beak was borrowed from the Celtic word bacc that came into English through French (Gelderen 92). Other words are combe from cumb and badger from brocc (Kemmer 1). The whole picture of contemporary use of theses words does not make a speaker thinking about their origin. The loan words from Latin have undergone phonological developments. For example, the word chalk, dish, kitchen have ch- at the initial position, (-sh) and (-tch-) show that the old way of palatalization in Old English: “Aside from a small number of place names, the number of Celtic words in Old English was negligible” (Bromberg and Gale 36).
Second phase of Old English period
This period is estimated to be between 600-1100. Most of the words were borrowed from Latin. These words are Caesar or from casere, circle from circul, apostle from apostol, paper from paper, comet from cometa, and martyr from martir (Kemmer 1). “Somewhat later borrowings with an English form close to their Latin etyma were alter ‘altar’, (a)postol ‘apostle’” (Algeo and Pyles 250)… Many Latin words borrowed into English during the later period were not used widely; some were lost and later re-borrowed from classical Latin and French. For example, giant and sign were borrowed from Old French geant and signe (Algeo and Pyles 216). It concerns also the alphabet formation of the English language: “Some languages that use the Latin alphabet have more letters than English because they count some letters that include diacritical marks as separate letters” (Paxson 99). On the other hand, Scandinavian affected old English strongly. For instance, the third person plural consists of they, them, their. Due to the Scandinavian contact in the Old English it was represented in hie, hi, hiera hem. It is known that “the change from OV to VO word order was triggered by contact with Scandinavians” (Trips 332).
Middle English period (1100-1500)
During the ninth and tenth centuries, English borrowed words from Scandinavian countries. Most of those words were found in the written form in Middle English. These are raise, lump, doze, fellow, give, husband, their, want, wing, call, egg, blight and so on (Trips 12). From French the English language borrowed words from various fields. From the church words such as chapter, prayer, priest, saint, saint, sermon, sacrament, roast, stew, veal, poultry, broil. “It is well-known that Middle English is such transitional stage in the history of English” (Trips 97). Examples of words from law and government are verdict, noble, judge, government, attorney, chancellor, bailiff, state, plea, parliament, plaintiff, chattel. In military MidE stage of the English considers such examples as volunteer, navy, corporal, sergeant, battle, defense, captain, artillery. The source for having so many borrowings was the social and economical relevant stability in the Kingdom of England: “During the Middle English period Latin continued to exert an important influence on the English vocabulary” (Algeo and Pyles 115). In cultural dimension of peoples’ activities English loaned such words as claret, art, dance, fashion, diamond, jewel, fur, oboe, painting, sculpture, ruby, clarinet. In terms of the spread of the English territory throughout British Islands, the notion of nobility increased. Thus, following words appeared as baron, count, duke, princess, marquees, viscount, royal, prince, countess, queen, king, knight, lady, queenly etc. Many other words being widely used in English today are incorporated also due to the Middle English period: “…the observation that English word order achieved a more rigid status in Middle English could be interpreted as losing the possibility to scramble objects at the time the word order change took place” (Trips 98).
Early modern English period (1500-1650)
The English vocabulary expanded rapidly during the early modern period. During this time, the effects of Renaissance began to be felt in England. Many words from Greek and Latin were transferred to English through scholars who knew the two languages well: pneumonia, history, parasite, skeleton, atmosphere, tragedy etc. “The Germanic stress rules characteristic of Old and Middle English change in the Early Modern English period” (Gelderen 165). Yet, many other words in English were borrowed from many other language communities. English borrowed janitor, vindicate, gradual, expensive, discus, are, fictitious, habitual, dexterity, compensate, meditate, abdomen. Furthermore, morphemes like –ism and –ize were borrowed. From Arabic through Spanish English successfully loaned words as algebra, zenith, algorithm, alchemy, alcove. “The word stock of English was expanded greatly during the early Modern period in three ways” (Algeo and Pyles 140). English also borrowed Arabic words through romance languages. These are examples of the words borrowed coffee, saffron, sugar, and orange, amber and zero (Kemmer 1). On the other hand, during this period the English language underwent changes in its spelling and pronunciation. There were phonological changes that took place during this era than in other time before or since. “Hence, although the quality of all the Middle English long vowels had changed, their spelling continued as it had been at earlier times” (Algeo and Pyles 141). For example, the vowel [e:] in much of the words changed into [i:] yet, the spellings did not change to show the changes in the pronunciation. As a result, the phonological value of many letters in the alphabet changed.
Modern English 1650- present
This period saw the expansion of industrial revolution, colonialism and American immigration. During this period, English borrowed words form other European languages. From the French language, the word stock was filled with such words as cachet, chic, cognac, ballet, cabernet, champagne, corsage, quiche, faux pas, saloon, garden, to cry, garter (Johnson 31) From Spanish, adobe, mesa, vigilante, armada, armadillo, barricade. From Italian such words became apparent: fresco, alto, opera, piano, prima donna, sequin, tempo, violin, umbrella, stucco and others. The Dutch influence encountered such words as bow, bouy, cruise, dock, keel, skipper, freight, yawl, boom. This flow of words being already widely used is concerned with the spread and dominance of British presence all over the world. The policy of Colonialism and cooperation/competition with other colonial countries of Europe gave the English language possibility to increase in loans.
From German English borrowed bum, quartz, hex, lager, noodle, beer, pretzel, lager, feldspar, pinochle. Moreover, in the 20th century, more words that are German were borrowed into English: strafe, kindergarten, Oktoberfest, wunderkind, hamburger, wiener, frankfurter, hausfrau, apple, bundt, and spritz. “As Modern English developed, its vocabulary had to be enriched in order to meet the demands placed upon it by new knowledge and new activities” (Bromberg and Gale 37). From the Yiddish language community English borrowed most of the words during the 20th century: lox, bagel, kosher, chutzpah, schlimazel, matzoh, schnook. Furthermore, English borrowed from Russian community words such as vodka, icon, borscht, perestroika, glasnost (Kemmer 1). English not only borrowed words from European communities, but also from other communities of the world: “…development of science and the international upheavals of our own century have extended the vocabulary of English and affected its grammar and use” (Bromberg and Gale 37). Thus, from Hindi English borrowed bangle, cot, cummerbund, jungle, pajamas, thug, bungalow, chintz, shampoo, kedgeree. Words such as gumbo, jazz, banjo, boogie, zebra, yam, chigger, zombie, jitters, voodoo, goober, and gorilla represented special significance for English in its present stage of development (Kemmer 1).
American Indian languages also contributed to some of the words used in English. Some among the words are avocado, canoe, chili, maize, cacao, moccasin, papoose, pecan, tobacco, tomahawk, and succotash. In addition, many American States, rivers, communities and lakes derive their names from the Native Americans. “These include Kentucky (from the Iroquois people), Wyoming (Algonquin), Oklahoma (Choktaw), Connecticut (Mohican), Omaha (Omaha), and Chicago (a Poltawatomie word for “skunk”)” (Paxson 102). English borrowed also words from Chinese, namely: chop suey, tea, ketchup, chow mein. Some are from Japanese: geisha, sushi, judo, kamikaze, tsunami, soy, hara kiri, samurai (Kemmer 1).
Conclusion
Language is fundamental in human communication. Through language, cultures are transmitted from one generation to the another. Furthermore, through language, cultures are transmitted from one community to another. The English language has borrowed many words from language communities from all over the world. Some of the words have been anglicized and others have been incorporated into the language unchanged. The English language has development over time Its influence on other languages and culture is evident today. Through the kind of words borrowed into the English language, we are able to know the kind of activities that were taking place between the communities that exchanged words. It is not surprising now, why the English language is Lingua Franca.
Works Cited
Algeo, John and Pyles, Thomas. The Origins and Development of the English Language. 6th.New York: Cengage Learning, 2009
Baugh, Susan. Essentials of English Grammar: The Quick Guide to Good English. 3rd. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005
Bromberg, Murray and Gale Cedric. Vocabulary Success. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 1998
Gelderen, Elly. A Histroy of the English Language. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing company, 2006
Johnson, samuel. A Dictionary of the English language. London: S.n, 1812.
Kemmer, Susan. “Major Periods of Borrowing in the History of English.” 2009. Web.
Paxon, Peyton. Media Literacy: Thinking Critically About Visual Culture. Portland Maine, USA:Walch Publishing, 2004
Trips, Carola. From OV to VO in Early Middle English. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2002.