Borrowings

The term borrowing is used in linguistics to denote the process of adopting words from other languages and also the result of this proce ss, the language material itself.

Mostly they are word of Romanic origin.

There are certain structural features, which enable us to identify some words as borrowings and even to determine the source language.Pronunciation sound combinations, position of stress, letters j, x, z in initial position, combination of PH,Wh, eue,sk.(sk usually indicates Scandinavian origin).Borrowings can enter the language through 2 ways:orally and through written speech.The hisctorical circumstances stimulate the borrowing process. Each time 2 nations come into close contact.The nature of the contact may be different. It may be wars, invasions or conquests when foreign word are imposed upon the conquered nation.There are also periods of peace when the process of borrowing is due to trade and international cultural relations.
8.Classification of borrowings.

Borrowings can be classified according to different criteria:

a) according to the aspect which is borrowed,

b) according to the degree of assimilation,

c) according to the language from which the word was borrowed.

a) There are the following groups: phonetic borrowings, translation loans, semantic borrowings, morphemic borrowings.

Phonetic borrowings are most characteristic in all languages; they are called loan words proper. Words are borrowed with their spelling, pronunciation and meaning. Such words as: labour, travel, table, chair, people are phonetic borrowings from French; Translation loans are word-for-word (or morpheme-for-morpheme) translations of some foreign words or expressions.(«to take the bull by the horns» (Latin), «fair sex» (French)) Semantic borrowings are such units when a new meaning of the unit existing in the language is borrowed.. It can happen when we have two relative languages which have common words with different meanings(the meaning «дар», «подарок» for the word «gift» which in Old English had the meaning «выкуп за жену»)

b) borrowings are subdivided into: completely assimilated, partly assimilated and non-assimilated (barbarisms).

Accordingly borrowings are subdivided into: completely assimilated, partly assimilated and non-assimilated (barbarisms).

1 Completely assimilated borrowings are not felt as foreign words in the language start, window table,correct

2 Partly assimilated borrowings are subdivided into the following groups:

borrowings non-assimilated semantically, because they denote objects and notions peculiar to the country from the language of which they were borrowed, e.g. sari, sombrero. b) borrowings non-assimilated grammatically, e.g. nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek retain their plural forms (bacillus - bacilli c) borrowings non-assimilated phonetically. Here belong words with the initial sounds /v/ and /z/, e.g. voice, zero.

c) Latin and Greek borrowings: street, port, wall church French borrowings: administer, empire, state Italian borrowings: bank, volcano Spanish borrowings: cargo, embargo Scandinavian borrowings: bull, cake, egg German borrowings: cobalt, bismuth Holland borrowings: freight, skipper Russian borrowings: rouble, kopeck.

9.International words.Etymological doublets.Some times a word is borrowed twice frome the same language.As the result, we have two different words with different spellings and meanings but historically they come back to one and the same word(etymological doublets.)There are some groups of them:Latino-French doublets:Latin(camera)-English from Latin(camera)- English from French(chamber);Franco-French doublets borrowed from different dialects of French.(Norman(canal)-Paris(channel));Scandinavian-English doublets(skirt-shirt).Etymological triplets occur rare(hostel(Latin)-hostel(Norm.Fr.)-hot el(Par.Fr.))

It is often the case that a word is borrowed by several languages.Such words convey concepts which are significant in the field of communication.They are called international.They are of Latin and Greek orogin.Most names of science,terms of art, sports terms, scientific and technological advancrs,fruits and foodstuffs imported.
10.Morphological structure of English words. Types of morphemes.

The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of form. Morphemes cannot be segmented into smaller units without losing their constitutive essence, i. e. two-facetedness — association of a certain meaning with a certain sound-pattern.

Morphemes may be classified from the semantic point of view and from the structural point of view.

Semantically morphemes fall into two types: 1) root-morphemes and 2) non-root morphemes.

Root-morphemes (or radicals) are the lexical nucleus of words(remake, glassful, disorder the root-morphemes -make, glass- and -order are understood as the lexical centres of the words). Non-root morphemes include inflectional morphemes (or inflections) and affixational morphemes (or affixes). Inflections carry only grammatical meaning.. Lexicology is concerned only with affixational morphemes. Affixes are divided into prefixes and suffixes. A prefix is a derivational morpheme preceding the root-morpheme and modifying its meaning. ). A suffix is a derivational morpheme following the root and forming a new derivative in a different part of speech or a different word class. A free morpheme is defined as one that coincides with the stem or a word form. For example, the root-morpheme friend- of the noun friendship. A bound morpheme occurs only as a constituent part of a word. Affixes are bound morphemes for they always make part of a word. For example, the suffixes -ness, -ship, -ize in the words darkness, friendsh ip, to activize. Semi-bound (semi-free) morphemes are morphemes that can function in a morphemic sequence both as an affix and as a free morpheme. According to the number of morphemes words are classified into:

1) monomorphic;

2) polymorphic.

Monomorphic or root-words consist of only one root-morpheme (small, dog, make). Polymorphic words according to the number of root-morphemes are classified into

a) monoradical (one-root morpheme) and b) polyradical (words consisting of two or more roots).

Monoradical words fall into three subtypes:

a) Radical-suffixal words(acceptable,acceptability b) r adical-prefixal words(outdo, unbutton) c} prefixo-radical-suffixal words(disagreeable, misinterpretation) Polyradical words fall into two subtypes:

1) polyradical words which consist of two or more roots with no affixational morphemes (e.g. book-stand, lamp-shade)',

2) polyradical words which contain at least two roots and one or more affixational morphemes (e.g. safety-pin, light-mindedness, pen-holder)

11. The minor types of modern word building.There are some minor types of modern word-formation,e.g., blending, sound interchange, sound imitation, distinctive stress,back-formation .Blending is the formation a new word by combining parts of two words.Blends may be of two types:1.additive type that may be transformed into a phrase consisting of complete stems combined by the conjuction(smog-sm(oke)-(f)og) 2.restrictive type that transformed into a phrase, the first element of which serves as a modifier for the second(telecast-television broadcast). Soun-interchange is the formation of a word due to an alteration in the phonemic composition of its root.It falls into 2 groups:1.vowel-interchange(food-to feed), suffixation(strong-strength).2.consonant-interchange(advice-to advise).Consonant- and vowel-interchanges may be combined together(life-to live). Sound imitation is the naming of an action or a thing a more or less exact reproduction of the sound associated with it (cock-a-doodle-do (English)).Many onomatopoeic words fall into a few very definite groups:1.words denoting sounds produced by human beings in the procrss of communication or expressing feelings(chatter,babble).2. words denoting sounds produced by animals,birds,insects(moo,buzz).3.words imitating the sounds of water,the noise of metalling things. Back-formation is the formation of a new word by subtracting a real or supposed suffix from the existing words.(to butke’to act or serve as abulter’ is derived by subtraction of –er(butler)). Distinctive stress is the formation of a word by means of the shift of the stress in the source word(‘absent-ab’sent(v)).

12.Affixation.Suffixation. Affixation is one of the most productive ways of word-building throughout the history of English. It consists in adding an affix to the stem of a definite part of speech. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation.

The main function of suffixes in Modern English is to form one part of speech from another, the secondary function is to change the lexical meaning of the same part of speech. There are different classifications of suffixes:

1. Part-of-speech classification. a) noun-forming suffixes: -er (criticizer), -dom, -ism. b) adjective-forming suffixes -able, less, -ous (prestigious).c) verb-forming suffixes -ize (computerize), -ify.

d) adverb-forming suffixes: -ly (singly), -ward.e) numeral-forming suffixes -teen (sixteen), -ty. 2. Semantic classification. a) the agent of the action -er (experimenter), -ist, -ent.b) nationality-ian (Russian), -ese, -ish c) collectivity,-dom, -ry (peasantry, -ship, -ati.d) diminutiveness -ie (horsie), -let (booklet), -ling, -ette.e) quality, -ness (copelessness), -ity

3. Lexico-grammatical character of the stem. Suffixes which can be added to certain groups of stems are subdivided into: a) suffixes added to verbal stems: -er (commuter), -ing, - able, -ment (involvement), -ation.b) suffixes added to noun stems: -less, ful (roomful), -ism, -ster, -nik, -ish.c) suffixes added to adjective stems, such as: -en (weaken), -ly, -ish, -ness. 4. Origin of suffixes. a) Native (Germanic) -er,-ful, -less, -ly, ness, ing, dom, hood, ship, th, let,wise,b) Romanic: -tion, -ment, -able, -eer,-age,- ard,-ate,- ee, -ess, c) Greek: -ist, -ism, -ize.d) Russian: -nik. 5. Productivity. a) productive: -er, -ize, --ly, -ness, ation, ance, ry,able, ize,ifyb) semi-productive: -eer, -ette, -ward. c) non-productive: -ard (drunkard), -th (length), full,ous.
13.Affixation.Preffixation. Affixation is one of the most productive ways of word-building throughout the history of English. It consists in adding an affix to the stem of a definite part of speech. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation.

Prefixation is the formation of words by means of adding a prefix to the stem.. Prefixes can be classified according to the nature of words in which they are used: prefixes used in notional words and prefixes used in functional words. Prefixes used in notional words are proper prefixes, which are bound morphemes, e.g. un- (unhappy). Prefixes used in functional words are semi-bound morphemes because they are met in the language as words, e.g. over- (overhead). The main function of prefixes in English is to change the lexical meaning of the same part of speech. But the recent research showed that about twenty-five prefixes in Modern English form one part of speech from another (rebutton, interfamily, postcollege etc).

Classification: 1. Semantic classification:a) prefixes of negative meaning: in- (invaluable), non- (nonformals), un- (unfree).b) prefixes denoting repetition or reversal actions: de-, re-, dis- (disconnect).c)prefixes denoting time, space, degree relations: inter- (interplanetary), hyper- (hypertension), ex- (ex-student), pre-, over- (overdrugging) etc.

2. Origin of prefixes:a) Native (Germanic): un-, over-, under-, be, mis, un, over.b) Romanic: in-, de-, ex-, re-, ultra, pre, extra, en, emc) Greek: sym-, hyper-, anti, sym, syn.

14. Conversion. Is also called affixless derivation or zero-suffixation.Conversion is treated by different scientists(Smirnitsky treats conversion as a morphological way of forming words.)Conversion is the main way of forming verbs in Modern English.Verbs can be formed from nouns of different semantic groups and have different meanings because that:a) verbs have instrumental meaning if they a re formed from nouns denoting parts of human body(to finger,to elbow),tools,machine(to hammer,to nail).b)verbs can denote an action characteristic of the living being denoted by the noun from which they have been converted(to crowd,to wolf).c)verbs can denote acquisition,addition or deprivation if they are formed nouns denoting an object(to fish,to dust). D)verbs can denote an action performed at the time denoted by the noun from which they have been converted(to winter).e) verbs can denote an action performed at the place denoted by the noun from which they have been converted(to park,to bottle).Verbs can also converted from adjectives(to become or make time).Nouns can also be formed by means of conversion from verbs.a)instant of an action(a jump)b)process or state(sleep)c)agent of the action expressed by the verb from which the noun has been converted(a help)d)object or result of the action expressed by the verb from which the noun has been converted(a burn)e) olace of the action expressed by the verb from which the noun has been converted(a drive).
15.Word-composition. Composition is the way of word building when a word is formed by joining two or more stems to form one word. Classification of compounds:

1. According to the parts of speech compounds are subdivided into: a) nouns: baby-moon, globe-trotter.b) adjectives: free-for-all, power-happy,c) verbs: to honey-moon, to baby-sit, to henpeck,d) adverbs: downdeep, headfirst,e) prepositions: into, within,f) numerals: fifty-five.2. According to the way components are joined together compounds are divided into: a) neutral, which are formed by joining together two stems without any joining morpheme(ball-point, to windowshop)b) morphological where components are joined by a linking element: vowels «o» or «i» or the consonant «s», («astrospace», «handicraft», «sportsman»).c) syntactical where the components are joined by means of form-word stems(here-and-now, free-for-all., do-or-die)3. According to their structure compounds are subdivided into: compound words proper which consist of two stems(to job-hunt, train-sick, go-go, tip-top) derivational compounds, where besides the stems we have affixes(ear-minded, hydro-skimmer), compound words consisting of three or more stems (cornflower-blue, eggshell-thin) compound-shortened words( boatel, tourmobile).

16.Shortenings. There are two main types of shortenings: graphical and lexical.

Graphical abbreviations are the result of shortening of words and word-groups only in written speech while orally the corresponding full forms are used. They are used for the economy of space and effort in writing.Groups of them:a) days of the week(Mon – Monday)b) names of months(Apr – April)c) names of counties in UK, (Yorks – Yorkshire)d) names of states in USA,(Ala – Alabama)e) names of address(Mr., Mrs.)f) military ranks(capt. –captain)g) scientific degrees, e.g. B.A. - Bachelor of Arts).h) units of time, length, weight, e.g. f. / ft -foot/feet).

Initialisms are the bordering case between graphical and lexical abbreviations. There are three types of initialisms in English:a) initialisms with alphabetical reading(UK, BUP, CND)b) initialisms which are read as if they are words(UNESCO).c) initialisms which coincide with English words in their sound form, such initialisms are called acronyms. Some scientists unite groups b) and c) into one group which they call acronyms.

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