Borrowings in NE

The development of Europe in the 16^th century is notable for its transition from feudal to capitalist relations. The growth of industry and the division of labour animated trade between the nations. The commercial ties of England with other European countries created favourable conditions for mutual enrichment of national vocabularies.

In the succeeding centuries England widened her commercial, political and cultural ties, and loan words in the NE period never stopped enriching the English vocabulary. The borrowings of the NE period are varied and numerous, their careful study is the matter of lexicology. Here we shall dwell only on a few layers of loan words. They are borrowings from classical languages: Latin and Greek and also borrowings from Spanish, Italian and French.

There are at least three big layers of Latin borrowings in the English language. The first of them is made up by Latin words adopted by the English language from the Celtic dialects. The second layer shaped itself after the conversion of England to Christianity

Another wave of borrowings from Latin came in the epoch of the Renaissance. This time the influx of Latin words was caused by the flourishing of sciences and the revival of learning. Most of the Latin words borrowed in this period are scientific terms or learned words. Mainly they are verbs (separate, operate, create, constitute, contribute, execute, elect, protect) and adjectives (permanent, important, evident, inferior, superior, private, obstinate).

Borrowings from Greek are also connected with the Renaissance. Like Latin words Greek loan-words are mostly scientific terms. Among these words there are a lot of nouns: atmosphere, botany, epoch, metaphor, simile, analysis, nucleus, radius, curriculum, etc.

Borrowings from Italian belong to the semantic fields of art, architecture, music. It is quite natural as the revival of interest to these spheres began in Italy. These words have become international. They are found in every IE language. The examples of Italian words in English are the following: violin, aria, bass, piano, duet, balcony, cupola, gallery, pedestal.

Spanish borrowings belong to different semantic spheres: negro, canyon, tornado, armada, sombrero, sherry, mosquito.

Many of them reflect historical events of the 15^th - 16^th centuries. Spain was the main rival of England in the policy of colonial expansion. Hence a number of Spanish borrowings denote articles of trade exported from its colonies: banana, tobacco, tomato, potato, etc.

French borrowings of the NE period may be grouped under several headings.

Military terms: brigade, barrage, corps, sentinel, manoeuvre, trophy, police, reconnaissance, etc.

These words were entering the English vocabulary while England was gaining military experience in the wars with France (1512 -1514, 1627), Spain (1588), Scotland (1547, 1639) and in the Civil Wars of 1642 - 1648.

2. Words denoting notions of art and culture: scene, grotesque, ballet, ensemble, genre, essay, etc.

As well as Latin, Greek or Italian borrowings these words are connected with the Renaissance.

3. Words reflecting life of the society: ball, cortege, picnic, restaurant, etc.

These words were introduced into the language by the English nobility that found refuge on the territory of France during the Revolution of 1640 - 1660.

Political terms: attache, communique, etc.

French political terms were adopted by the English language in the 18^th - 19^th centuries. They spread in several IE languages and became international words. Most probably the French influence on the political vocabulary of IE languages is connected with the events in France. These events (The French Revolution of 1789 - 1794 and the period of Napoleon) were significant not only for France, but for the whole of Europe.

5. Miscellaneous: machine, champagne, mirage, debris, chaise, magazine, chemise, etc.

French borrowings of the NE period are remarkable for their graphic and sound form. Unlike the loan words of earlier periods they preserve French spelling and pronunciation. Thus, the digraph ch stands for [∫], age is pronounced as [a: Z], que at the end of the word stands for [k], etc. In most cases these words are stressed on the last syllable.

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