Etymology as a branch of linguistics. Some basic assumptions

ETYMOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Etymology as a branch of linguistics. Some basic assumptions

Etymology is a branch of linguistics investigating the origin and development of separate words and morphemes.

The vocabulary in comparison with grammar and phonetic system is the most changeable and flexible part of any language. It is in the constant process of changing: some words are ousted by others, some words develop new meanings, the words that were formerly frequently used drop out of usage, new words appear.

The vocabulary is the product of several epochs and its development is closely connected with the history of people. English vocabulary at present is one of the richest in the world. According to its origin it can be divided into two large parts: native words and borrowed words.

The native element in the vocabulary of English comprises words of Anglo-Saxon origin brought to the British Isles in the 5-th century A.D. by the Germanic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Here also belong words that were coined later on the basis of these Anglo-Saxon words by means of various processes operative in English.

The borrowed element consists of words taken over from other languages and modified in phonemic shape, spelling, grammatical paradigm and meaning according to the standards of English.

Speaking of borrowed words in the language we should distinguish between the terms “source of borrowing” and “origin of borrowing”. The first term is applied to the language from which the loan word was taken into English. The second refers to the language to which the word may be traced.

If we take the word paper as an example, we shall find out that it was borrowed from French. In its turn, the French word papier was borrowed from Latin. Before that the Latin word papyrus had come to Latin from Greek, where it had the form papyros. So, defining its etymology, we should say that the English noun paper is a French borrowing of Greek origin. In the same way the English noun table is a French borrowing of Latin origin, the noun school is a Latin borrowing of Greek origin.

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