Luận Văn A study of major sources of borrowings in english vocabulary = Nghiên cứu những nguồn vay mượn chính trong từ vựng tiếng anh

ABSTRACT The study focuses on how some languages have affected English by specifically pointing out the major sources of borrowing of English vocabulary f rom each language.. The study i

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

HOÀNG THỊ MINH HẢO

A STUDY OF MAJOR SOURCES OF BORROWINGS

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

HOÀNG THỊ MINH HẢO

A STUDY OF MAJOR SOURCES OF BORROWINGS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would love to show my huge and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Do Tien Duc for his patience, guidance and support throughout the time I carried out my thesis, without whom this project would not have been completed I would also like

to thank all both Vietnamese and foreign teachers of English at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 for their guidance and advice during the time I did the study

I am also grateful to my family and friends who always stand by me in any situation to help me go over many troubles and difficulties through the course

ABSTRACT

The study focuses on how some languages have affected English by specifically pointing out the major sources of borrowing of English vocabulary f rom each language In detail, it fully deals with how words in English has been borrowed from some other languages and paves the ways for readers to be able to recognize loan words or borrowings in newspapers The study is done with the process of collecting a lot of data, synthesizing and analysing the materials in specific method to bring about reliable findings which are the four major sources of borrowings in English vocabulary from Celtic, German, Latin and French, along with the identification of loan words from these languages used in English newspapers The research hopefully meets the needs of discovering English language by readers and makes contributions to the development of language study

in general and learning English in particular

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled:

A study of major sources of borrowings in English vocabulary

Is my own study in the fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Art at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 The study is the result of hard – working time by the enthusiastic guide of my supervisor and other people

Student

Hoang Thi Minh Hao

Supervisor

Do Tien Duc

LIST OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS

Diagram 1: Germanic languages (Barber, C., 1993, p.34)

Diagram 2: North Germanic languages (Barber, C., 1993, p.35)

Diagram 3: West Germanic (Barber, c., 1993, p.35)

Diagram 4: East Germanic (Barber, C., 1993, p.36)

Table 1 Abbreviations of borrowings)

Table 2: Borrowings used in the extract)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Reasons for the study 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Research questions 1

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Methods of the study 2

6 Organi zation of the study 2

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAP TER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1.1 Native words and borrowed words 3

1.1.1 Native words 3

1.1.2 Borrowed words 4

1.2 Motivation of borrowings 4

1.2.1 Non-linguistic causes 4

1.2.2 Linguistic causes 5

1.3 Assimilation of borrowings 6

1.3.1 Definition 6

1.3.2 Types of assimilated words 6

1.4 Classification of borrowings in English vocabulary .7

1.4.1 In terms of the history of English borrowings 7

1.4.2 In terms of the manner of borrowings 9

1.5 Summary 10

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 11

CHAPTER 2: MAJOR SOURCES OF BORROWING IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY 11

2.1 Celtic borrowings 11

2.1.1 The Celtic language and its influence on the English vocabulary 11

2.1.2 Celtic borrowings- clues in place names 12

2.2 Germanic borrowings 13

2.2.1 A brief overview on the history of the German languages 13

2.2.2 Germanic borrowings 16

2.3 Latin borrowings 21

2.3.1 Historical contexts that lead to the borrowing of Latin word 21

2.3.2 Classification of Latin borrowings in English vocabulary 23

2.4 French borrowings 25

2.4.1 The Norman Conquest's influences on the English language 25

2.4.2 French borrowings 26

2.5 Summary 29

CHAPTER 3: EXAMPLES OF BOROWINGS USED IN ENGLISH NEWSP APERS 30

3.1 Introduction 30

3.2 Signs of borrowed words in copy 30

3.2.1 Italics 30

3.2.2 Accent and other marks 30

3.2.3 Plurals 31

3.3 Abbreviations 31

3.4 Signs of borrowed words 32

3.5 Sample article: the extract of “Radicals in Retreat” – by Conant 33

3.6 Summary 36

PART 3: CONCLUSION 37

1 Review of the study 37

2 Suggestion for further studies 37 REFERENCES

APPENDIX

PART I INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for the study

It is true that both English native speakers and non-native speakers can easily realize a lot of same words or same-looking words when they compare English and another languages like French or Latin This is because of the fact that English has a close relationship with other languages In other words, English vocabulary contains

a variety of borrowings from various source languages However, it is very difficult for those studying English to recognize which words are borrowed ones, and which source languages these borrowings originally belong to The researcher herself also finds borrowings a hard subject However, it is also the matter she is interested in most because it is difficult but interesting and useful for the study Last but not least, during her study at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2, the subject has not been seriously touched upon yet All of the reasons above have encouraged her to choose the subject on borrowings as her thesis for graduation

All the studies of English vocabulary so far have not clearly identified the major sources of borrowings in English vocabulary This encourages me to carry out a study about this as a way to discover from which other languages, a big part of English vocabulary originates

2 Aims of the study

In this study, the researcher would like to give an overview of the following issues:

 The generalizations about English borrowings

 The major sources of borrowing that have the most influence on English vocabulary

3 Research questions

The study aims to deal with the following research questions:

1 How was English vocabulary borrowed from other languages in the history of the English language?

2 What are some major sources of borrowings in English

4 Scope of the study

There are many languages that have contributed words to English vocabulary It is, however, due to the lack of time as well as experience, in this graduation paper I only focus on the major sources of borrowings that have the most influence on

English vocabulary, namely Celtic, Germanic, Latin, and French

5 Methods of the study

As this study is a theoretical-based one, the researcher collected materials and information as data related to sources of borrowings in English vocabulary, as well

as synthesized and analysed them to have an overview of the research topic Then all the detailed information is theoretically studied to get the results of how English vocabulary has been borrowed from other languages and major sources of these borrowings

6 Organization of the study

The thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion

Part 1: The introduction gives the reasons for the study, history, research questions, aims, scope and methods of the study It also shows the organization of the study Part 2: The development consists three chapters

Chapter 1 deals with the general knowledge about English borrowings

Chapter 2 works on the major sources of borrowings in English vocabulary

Chapter 3 mentions some (suggested) ways of identifying borrowings in English newspapers

Part 3: The conclusion presents a review of the study as well as suggestions for the further studies

PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Native words and borrowed words

English is considered as a multiple-characteristic language in the world One of the most common characteristic is the influence of foreign elements in itself Besides, many linguists supposed that English language system which contains grammar and phonetic system is very stable and difficult to be changed by any influence By considering the usage of different sides and many components of borrowed elements in enriching English vocabulary, people see the basement and the full development of English vocabulary Basing on the origin of words, they can be divided English vocabulary into two layers: native words and borrowed words (or loan words or borrowings)

1.1.1 Native words

Native English words are words of Anglo-Saxon brought to the British Isles in the fifth century by the Germanic They are subdivided into the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes

Surprisingly, this layer of words takes up only about 30% of the whole -English vocabulary (Truong, H T., 1995, p 101) but mostly makes up the basic stock of words- the foundation and the score of the English vocabulary They denote the

most common objects and phenomena of nature (e.g sky, earth, sun, star, rain,

wind, tree…), name of human beings (e.g man, woman, mother, father, arm, foot…), actions of everyday life (e.g eat, drink, do, make…), or primary qualities

and properties (e.g big, small, good, bad, cold, hot…) and so on and so forth

Native words have been undergoing considerable changes, that is, new words or new meanings of old words appear while some old words or meanings are no longer used or even drop out of the language entirely However, as we have mentioned, they mostly establish the underlying stock of words, so they are considered most

1.1.2 Borrowed words

Borrowed words are words borrowed from other languages (the source languages) The may be completely or partially assimilated in the English vocabulary and take

up approximately 70% of the total

Distinguishing between borrowings and loan words is necessary A borrowing can

be considered as a loanword Borrowing is the process of adapting words from a foreign language to native language "Loan" and "borrowing" are not literal terms that those who use different languages from their own mother tongue defined It is

advisable for her to use the word borrowing(s) throughout this graduation paper

English has come through many time periods in which a large number of words from other languages affected in it These periods occurred at the same time with periods of main cultural interference between English native speakers and those

speaking many foreign languages of which Latin, Germanic, Celtic and French

stand out as the major contributors, which, of course, have greatly influenced on the English vocabulary Apart from these significant sources of borro wings in the English vocabulary, Italian, Greek, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Persian, Japanese, Chinese and so forth have also done their part in the development

of Modern English vocabulary

It is also necessary to distinguish between “source of borrowings’’ and “origin of borrowings’’ It is commonly accepted that “source of borrowings’’ is the language from which some words were borrowed in English On the contrary, “origin of borrowings’’ is the language to which this word belongs or can be traced For

example, the word paper was borrowed from French, but its origin is Greek

1.2 Motivation of borrowings

1.2.1 Non-linguistic causes

English words may be borrowed through various contacts between Britain and other countries These contacts may have been through business, wars, periods of peace, culture and so on Among these, wars, including invasions and occupations, stand out as the primary cause that stimulates the borrowing process It is because during invasions and occupations the natural psychological reaction of the oppressed

nation is to reject and condemn the language of the oppressors However, the Norman Conquest (1066) seemed to be an exception since Norman’s level of civilization was much higher than that of the British, and the Norman culture of the eleventh century was likely superior to that of the Saxons The impact of the Norman Conquest on the English language like that made by the earlier Norse -speaking invaders was primarily confined to the word stock As a result, an immense body of French language was finally adopted to turn into a part of English language system

Despite the dominant interference of the foreign elements, the English language system has enrichened by adding a lot of new borrowings

1.2.2 Linguistic causes

It is hugely inadequate if we only mention the non-linguistic causes of borrowings into English A large number of English words are also borrowed under the necessity of new linguistic demands Firstly, as we can see, Britain once experienced a variety of invasions These invaders brought them words conveying the meanings of new things, ideas, notions, etc., which led to the necessity to name them For instance, Normans and Romans who used to occupy Britain for a long

time brought words like street, cheese, court, army, and state…to this country and

they have been used ever since Secondly, the cause can be traced back to the Renaissance in England that because of technology development, huge demand of discovering the world and printing techniques, more books written by Latin languages became popular To widen the number of readers, people change it into English and kept some special Latin words Examples of Latin borrowings include

benefit, exist, virus, fact, explanation, eradicate… Last but not least, it was also

necessary to replace a word group denoting one object or idea by a single word For example, “the ground of school or college’’ was replaced by the Americanism

“campus’’ In short, these reasons can thoroughly explain why English has been keeping borrowing words from other languages to enrich its extensive vocabulary Usually, borrowings are due to the combination of both linguistic and non-linguistic factors

1.3 Assimilation of borrowings

1.3.1 Definition

Assimilation is the combination of the phonetic, graphics, grammatical, and lexical rules of the receiving language

1.3.2 Types of assimilated words

According to the degrees of motivation (Truong, H.T., 1995, P 57), there are three groups: completely assimilated words, partially assimilated words and completely non-assimilated words

1.3.2.1 Completely assimilated words

Completely assimilated words are usually old borrowings Most of them are frequent and stylistically neutral words They make a significant contribution to word-formation in English

e.g., cheese, wine, street, etc (Latin)

Husband, fellow, happy, etc (Scandinavian)

Table, face, finish, etc (French)

It can be hard to distinguish a great deal of completed assimilated words from native words because all the words of this group follow all the phonetic, grammatical, and lexical rules of the English language

1.3.2.2 Partially assimilated words

This group of words can be subdivided into four types as follows:

• Grammatically non assimilated words are usually words that keep their original plural forms

e.g., crisis – crises

Index – indices

Phenomenon – phenomena

• Semantically non – assimilated words are words that denote objects, notions peculiar to the country from which they come

e.g., kimono (Japan), sheik (Egypt), kangaroo (Australia)

• Phonetically partially – assimilated words

- With the stress on the final syllable:

e.g., police, cartoon, prestige, etc

- With the whole different pattern:

e.g., potato, opera, tomato, etc

- With alien sound:

e.g., bourgeois, memoir, etc

• Graphically partially – assimilated words:

e.g., café, fiancé, ballet, etc

1.3.2.3 Completely non – assimilated words

Completely non – assimilated words are words used by the English in both spoken and written forms There are usually English equivalents for them

e.g., coup (or coup d’etat): a sudden seizure of state power

1.4 Classification of borrowings in English vocabulary

To classify borrowings in English vocabulary, linguists usually base on such different criteria as the origin of borrowings, the history of English borrowings, the manner of borrowings and so on However, within the framework of this graduation paper it advisable to deal with only the classification of borrowings in English vocabulary regarding the history of English borrowings and manner of borrowings

as follows

1.4.1 In terms of the history of English borrowings

The remarkable thing is the fact that English acquired some words from Latin before the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to English and brought English a number

of Germanic dialects However, as what is left today, the number of word is counted

under a hundred (e.g., wall, street, cheap, wine…), therefore could be declared that

Old English was majorly made by Germanic As a result, loanwords in this stage are not as much as borrowed words in Middle English and Modern English It is estimated that only 30% of Old English vocabulary contained loanwords, whereas the figure is 70 % in today’s English vocabulary

This brief historical summary of English borrowings helps lead us to the classification of borrowings in English vocabulary into Old English (OE), Middle English (ME) and Modern English (Mod E)

1.4.1.2 Middle English

Middle English is the name of other periods of language borrowings from 1066 (the Norman Conquest) to 1500 The Norman Conquest in 1066 exercised a major influence on the English language because French was an invading language or the official language of law and administration As the language of the aristocracy and

of almost all official bodies, French might conceivably have replaced English at that time This period saw the flood of French words entering the English vocabulary

As William Johnson (1984, p 454) points out that over 10,000 words were adopted from French during ME period Examples of French borrowings include

parliament, government, judge, jury, beauty, romance, and many others However,

English always remained the speech of the common people, and in its struggle for survival, strengthened its resources by, as we can see, absorbing approximately 10,000 words from French and innumerable other words from Latin

1.4.1.3 Modern English (from about 1500 to the present)

This period can be roughly subdivided into Early Modern English (1500 – 1800) and Late Modern English (1800 – present day) The Early Mod E was said to be the period of extensive borrowings, particularly from Latin and Greek At times, borrowings even displaced English words The influx of strange words and their use

In English sentences caused a reaction of distaste among writers of the seventeenth century The denounced “inkhorn’’ terms – their phrase for obscure and pedantic

words like accersited for “brought’’ and adjuvate for “aid’’, both derived from

Latin A few words were also borrowed from Italian and Spanish The Italian

borrowings include words to do with warfare (fuse, salvo, squadron…), with the art (opera, fresco, madrigal ) and with commerce (argosy, artichoke…) and so on Besides, Spanish loans, too, are often concerned with warfare (cargo, sherry…)

(Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009) Meanwhile, Late Modern English saw the spread of English around the globe, the development of overseas colonial dialects and the massive increase in vocabulary under the influence of technology and scientific achievements

1.4.2 In terms of the manner of borrowings

1.4.2.1 Doublets

Doublets are words originating from the same source but differing in phonemic

shape and meaning For example, the words shirt and skirt etymologically descend from the same root Shirt is a native word, and skirt is a Scandinavian borrowing

Their phonemic shape is different, and yet there is a certain resemblance, which reflects their common origin Their meanings are also different but easily associated: they both denote articles of clothing (Студопедия, 2015)

1.4.2.2 Hybrids/loan – blend

Hybrids/loan – blend are words which borrowed for a long past time but these are now changed into half-blood words English language They are usually words made

up of two parts each from a different language such as sociology (a French element

socio + a Greek element – logy), and hydroplane (a Greek element hydro + a Latin

e.g., skyskraber (Danish) – skyscraper (Mod E)

humor noir (French) – black humor (Mod E)

1.4.2.5 Semantic loans

Semantic loans are words that have obtained new connotation under the impact of different language In other words, English has borrowed a new meaning for an

existing word in the language Semantic loans are also called Meaning Extensions

The Old English word gift meant “the price of wine’’ while in the Scandinavian it means “present’’ It can say that the word gift has had new connotation under the

impact of the Scandinavian language

1.5 Summary

In this chapter, I have generalized the borrowings in English vocabulary It includes certain aspects of borrowings such as definition, motivation, assimilation, and classification of borrowings in English vocabulary

PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 2 MAJOR SOURCES OF BORROWING IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY 2.1 Celtic borrowings

2.1.1 The Celtic language and its influence on the English vocabulary

Why Anglo – Saxon culture and language spread swiftly across east and central Britain during the sixth and the seventh centuries, corners of the Isles retained the languages of the previous dominant culture, the Celtic people who are believed to have begun arriving in the Isles around 600 BC In fact, the Celts had huge impact

on people of German and almost central Europe For instance, though their languages did not became an official one in Europe, Latin which was changed by the Celts was still used frequently

However, instead of unifying with Celtic people, the Anglo - Saxon againsted them, therefore, Celtic dialects could not go over its border until a language system was built by the influence of the Norman Conquest Linguistically, Celtic languages are

divided into two branches, namely Goidelic (or Gaelic) and Brythonic (or British)

The Goidelic languages consist of Irish, Highland Scottish and Manx The Brythonic is made up of Welsh, Cornish and Breton Of these languages, perhaps, Welsh is the one to survive most strongly in the present day, mainly due to the efforts of the Welsh managing to preserve their culture and identity part from the English (Lovis, 2001)

Celtic borrowed words in English have gradually disappeared because the stigma of British community to it thousand years ago This language became weaken and left

a few traces in geographical words and place names (the latter will be discussed more in the following part).The survival of the Celtic language has been a matter of pride, and they have survived mainly where numbers were large enough to enable its survival though everyday usage, as well as having their importance emphasized through the establishment of a body of literary work Unfortunately, the various

standardization as an alternative to the centralized English social and political structure (Lovis, 2001)

2.1.2 Celtic borrowings- clues in place names

According to Jonathan Culpeper (1997, p.1), the most important factor in the development of English has been the arrival of successive way of invaders and settlers speaking different languages The history of place names in Britain is closely connected to the dominance of languages at various points of time

As we have mentioned, long before the Germanic tribes arrived in Britain Briton, one of the common Celtic clans has owned this land For generations, the language

of the Celts was referred to as “British” Even though, the influence of Celtic in English language is not much and has partially traces in place names:

- Cities: Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, London, York

- Rivers: Avon, Clyde, Dee, Don, Forth, Thames, Darent, Dart

- Regions: Argyll, Cumbria, Devon, Dyfed, Glamorgan, Kent, Lothian

We cannot be sure what these place names might originally mean because, like many other place names, they predate written records, which are preserved in significant quantities only from about 700 AD More specific, conjecture is also the way of studying the development of place names by putting these words (Celtics or Welsh) in comparison or infers hints in text Thus, people can roughly guess the

meanings of the following place – name elements.For example, Pen (Welsh pen) =

top, hill (e.g Pendock, Penrirth); Bar = wooded hill (e.g Barnet)

In some studies, especially one by Charles Barber (1993), linguists have tried to

explain the meanings of a few existing Celtic place names today For example, Avon and Ouse are Celtic words for ‘water’ and ‘stream’; Darent and Dart are all forms

of British names for ‘oak river’; the Thames is the ‘dark river’ (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009) Meanwhile, such region names as Kent and Devon are Celtic, and so

are the first elements in Cornwall and Cumberland, the latter means ‘the land of the Cymry (that is, the Welsh) (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009)

Apart from those place names, a number of names are compounds of Celtic and

Anglo – Saxon words (Lovis, 2001) Two Celtic words for ‘hill’ bre and pen appear

in a number of names – for instance, Brill in Buckinghamshire is a combination of

bre and dun; Pensax in Herefordshire means ‘hill of the Anglo – Saxons’ giving an

indication of the proximity but isolation in which Celtic communities would have existed until they were gradually pushed to the corners of Britain by the Anglo – Saxons (Lovis, 2001)

In short, though the contribution of the Celtic languages to the English language seems disproportionate to the importance and longevity of the Celtic culture within British society overtime, it is important to remember that the place names, which have been created, are still an useful reminder of the ways in which past society viewed their surroundings In addition, the names they chose feature the characteristics of the land as those who lived during that time observed it Moreover, the failure of Celtic to influence Old English to any great extent does not mean that the Britons were all killed or driven out (Lovis, 2001) Today the people who inhabit those areas take a pride in preserving the Celtic language, mainly surviving in place names, as a way of protecting their heritage (Lovis, 2001)

2.2 Germanic borrowings

2.2.1 A brief overview on the history of the German languages

The part of Indo – European language that English borrowed from is defined as Germanic It contained five units: German, Frisian, Dutch, Swedish, and Norwegian These five languages are subdivided by a couple of language which is Proto- Germanic, one of common dialects of Indo-European Proto – Germanic dialects were increasingly noticed when the number of people who spoke Germanic was expanded Hence, it is easier to determine three arms of dialect family consisting North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic as illustrated in the following tree:

Proto-Germanic

North Germanic East Germanic West Germanic

Diagram 1: Germanic languages (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009, p 87)

2.1.1.1 North Germanic

North Germanic belongs to the modern Scandinavian languages including Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, and Gutnish People found the first signal of North Germanic in about 300-AD runic inscriptions It was not much trace of dialectal diversity until the Viking Age (from about 800 AD onwards) affected in dialects From then, it rapidly has developed into the modern Scandinavian languages Below is a family tree for the North Germanic languages (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009)

North Germanic (Old Norse)

West Scandinavian East Scandinavian

Icelandic Norwegian Faroese Danish Swedish Gutnish

Diagram 2: North Germanic languages (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009, p 88)

2.2.1.2 West Germanic

This group belongs to the High German dialects of southern Germany, the Low German dialects of Northern Germany (which in their earliest recorded forms are called Old Saxon), Dutch, Frisian, and English (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009) Among these languages, Frisian seems to be most closely related to English because

it is said that before the Anglo – Saxons migrated to England, they had been near the neighbors of the Frisians However, in this group, it is the High German and the

Low German that make the greatest contribution to the borrowing process in the

English vocabulary The below diagram is a family tree for the West Germanic

languages

West Germanic

High German Low German Anglo – Frisian

Modern Yiddish English Frisian

East Germanic dialects were spoken by the tribes that expanded of the Oder around

the shores of the Baltic They included the Goths whose Gothic is the only one East

Germanic language that remains a few records today (Barber, Beal, & Shaw, 2009)

The main record of Gothic is the fragmentary remains of a translation of a Bible,

made by the bishop Wulfila in the middle of the fourth century (Barber, Beal, &

Shaw, 2009) However, all the East Germanic languages are now dead In other

words, no East Germanic language has survived into our own time (Barber, Beal, &

Shaw, 2009) Yet, the Gothic is even now being studied by linguists for it is the

earliest written language in Germanic group This chart shows clearer about East

Germanic languages

a General knowledge about Scandinavian borrowings

Though the Scandinavian (Scan.) invasions of England are cited in Old English stage, their effects on English vocabulary actually occur in written records in the

ME period As a result, most of Scan loanwords occured in this time by oral ways Many borrowed words were not used in text until few centuries later (the thirteenth century)

The settlements of the Scandinavians in England resulted in a big amount of names

of places in the North and the East, the common of which are with Scan components Consider the following examples:

Scan Components Meanings Place names

Table 1: Common Scan components

Indeed, the integration of the English and the Scan settlers progressed rapidly; in many districts, people became bilingual which was an easy accomplishment since many of the most common words in the two languages were much alike