The influence of borrowings on the lexical system of English

The fact that up to 70 % of English vocabulary consists of borrowed words and only about 30 % of native words may be misleading. Though borrowings play an important role in the vocabulary of English, still the English language remains essentially Germanic. It is so, firstly, because its grammatical structure wasn’t influenced by the foreign element; secondly, the basic stock of the vocabulary is native by origin: prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs of time and place, auxiliary and modal verbs, adjectives with suppletive forms, many nouns denoting objects of everyday life are native words. In fact, it is only in the dictionary that borrowed words prevail. In actual speech the proportion of native to borrowed words is quite different. It also becomes evident if we analyze the language of some written texts. Shakespeare, for example, is said to have used in his works up to 90 % of native words and only 10 % of borrowed words.

On the other hand, there is no denying that English has benefited from the adoption of so many foreign words. The most obvious advantage is the wealth of synonyms which has been created by borrowing words from other languages in cases when English had its own words expressing the same notions. Thus in Modern English we have such pairs of words as: to ask – to question (F), to rise – to mount (F), teaching – instruction (L), brotherly – fraternal (L), happiness – felicity (It), etc.

Speaking of borrowings in the language, it will be helpful for the student of English to know certain structural features indicating that this or that word is a borrowing. Thus, the initial position of the sounds [v] and [ğ] is a sign that the word is not native: vacuum (L), valley (F), vanilla (Sp), genre (F), gendarme (F). The letters j, x and z in initial position and such combinations as ph, kh, eau in the root show the foreign origin of the word: philosophy (Greek), khaki (Indian), beau (F), journey (F), zinc (Ger.).

Some affixes also mark certain words as foreign: prefixes – ab normal, anti -aircraft, counter -attack, de mobilize, dis miss, ex- minister, inter national, non sense, post -war, pre -war, re form, sub division, super man, trans continental, ultra- modern, vice -president, etc.; suffixes – advoc ate, marri age, librar ian, appear ance, stud ent, godd ess, amaze ment, revolu tion, pover ty, cult ure, social ism, commun ist, fashion able, necess ary, joy ous, organ ize, etc.

The pronunciation of some letters and combinations of letters depends on the etymology of the word. The letter x, for example, is pronounced [ks] in native words (six), [gz] in words of Latin origin (example) and [z] in words coming from Greek (xylophone). The combination ch is pronounced [tſ] in native words and early borrowings (child, cheese), [ſ] – in late French borrowings (parachute) and [k] in words of Greek origin (epoch, echo, chemistry).

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