An Overview of English Loanwords from Perspective of Their Borrowing Process， Formation and Sources

孫韜

【Abstract】As an integrated imported part and orthography adapted from the receiving language， loanwords in English are derived from a donor language and a recipient language by specific methods. This essay is a tentative study of the structural features of English loanwords with an aim to help English learners have a better understanding of their formation， different categories and changes of English loanwords. Whats more， the translation of loanwords and internal formalization are also taken into consideration for the purpose of interpreting how they are formed and what they mean as well. By analyzing the structural features of English vocabulary， the transliteration and main sources of borrowing are interpreted to remind the English learners to have a rational attitude towards the loanwords.

【Key words】loanwords； formation； categories； changes

1. Introduction

Loanwords are words adopted by the speakers of one language from a diverse language （also called the source language）. A loanword can also be called a borrowing word， in which speakers adopt words from a source language into their native language.

English loanwords are derived from a donor language and a recipient language by specific methods. It is a kind of imported word， orthography adapted for the receiving language. Donor language terms frequently enter the English language as a regular structure in relation with exposure to the foreign culture. The structure of English loanwords is an essential component of the modern vocabulary. Therefore， a good grasp of the word-formation and structural features of loanwords is quite a crucial step for English learners. Detailed analyses could help English learners get a better understanding of formations， different categories and changes of English loanwords. The translation of loanwords and internal formalization should also be considered seriously.

2. Cultural Factors of English Loanwords

Borrowing is a result of cultural interaction between two language systems. Borrowing words can form in the same orientations between languages， but often there is an pattern—more words go from one side to another.

Being a universally world language， the influence of foreign words in English have been integrated into all aspects of the English language. They have become an indispensable part of the development of English. English has become a language that has the worlds largest vocabulary because of the absorption of foreign words. The absorption has enriched the development of foreign vocabulary in English， and made the English language smart as well， the absorption has also brought more abundant resources for itself.

3. The Borrowing Process of English Loanwords

3.1 Historical Events During the Process of Borrowing

In 597 BC， Roman Catholicism was first introduced into England which enlarged the impact of Latin to English. Words related to religion emerged in English. English loanwords during the first period were borrowed directly from the words of church， such as “abbo”， “nun”， “hymn”， “temple” and so on.

In 281 BC， the Anglo-Saxons came to England. Two centuries later， England was bothered by the Scandinavians， Danish and Norwegians frequently. With the invasion of Denmark， a lot of the Scandinavian words entered the English language and stimulated the development of English. In the modern English， nearly nine hundred words originate from the Scandinavian vocabulary directly. For instance， “crook”， “anger”， “cake” and so on.

3.2 The Previously Unknown Loanwords for Speakers

In fact， those who first used the new word might use it with speakers of the source language who acquainted himself with the word， but in some aspects they come to use the word which was not previously known. To these speakers the word may sound “unfamiliar”. At this stage， when most speakers who do not know the word and if they hear it might consider it as the source of another language. The word can be called a foreign word. There are many foreign words and phrases used in English such as bon vivant （French）， mutatis mutandis （Latin）， and Schadenfreude （German） （Jeff Allem，2005）. In fact， these loanwords were brought into the English lexical system when being considered to be entirely new words.

4. Different Ways of Loanword Formation

4.1 Derivation

Comparing French and English word-formation systems， one can find that affixation and compounding are commonly used in both languages. To make a loanword by derivation or composition is the most common way. For example， some words that begin with ch- in central French are usually transferred to the words begin with c-， such as car， caitiff， carpenter， carry and so on. Also among Middle English French loans， a huge number of words in age， -ance/-ence， -ant/-ent， -ity， -ment， -tion， con-， de-， and pre- show the historical evolvement of English loanwords affix.

4.2 Composition

Generally， a compound loanword， consisting of two or more characters， provides the specific lexical meaning. By the method of composition， the morphemes can be of different word classes.

Arabic numerals are first used to represent numbers in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system， then it was the Europeans who spread it worldwide. The use of Arabic numerals spread around the English world through European trade， books and colonialism.

For example， B2C， in English with its full name known as “Business to Customers” borrows “2” from Arabic numerals. No doubt that their pronunciation is quite similar. Its like an E-Commerce site where users can purchase and download package of wares.

4.3 Semantic Extension

Cite an instance， the word “Honeymoon” was beginning to show in the Spanish documents from early centuries （luna de miel）. Initially that meant drinking mead between Britain princes and princesses. By extension it means the new couple put down money for savings of a tour， and a tour after marriage is known as “the honeymoon”. Another example is “dumb”—“Dumb” solely means silence in ancient English， but it absorbed the meaning of “dumn” （stupid） in German afterwards. Semantic extension penetrates the process of words translation. It is generally difficult for foreigners to grasp the extended meanings of English words.

4.4 Transliteration

Transliteration is a simple means to borrow phonemic form of the foreign word， though with more or less replacement of native phonemes concerning the similar object， which represents in the donor language. The transliteration of the loanwords by both the simple and most easily accepted by Chinese and foreign people. Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon， in west central Africa. In fact， “Libreville” by French transliteration， meaning “l(fā)iberty city”. Also， there are a few Loanwords coming from Chinese， among which majority are related to food， like ginseng， litchi， tofu， jiaozi， typhoon， Confucius， kungfu. Mark the process of loanwords translation， transliteration is a method not to be neglected， with intense general.

5.Conclusion

After a brief look on the causes for borrowing and the problems involved in integrating loans into another language， the article first discusses the basic definition of borrowing. As the primitive language has developed to a certain stage， loanwords were beginning to be produced. The loanword， as a written form， is a carrier of culture and a tool for human communication. Translations of foreign words have made a great contribution to cultural exchanges. Whats more， the geographical and historical events also determine the process of borrowing. We should form a dialectical attitude towards the impact of loanwords. Borrowings may stem not only from another language， but also from a variety of languages， such as French， Latin， German， Chinese and Japanese. In the end， we aim to analyze how to keep our language pure. If we can hold an intelligent opinion towards the diverse culture and try our best to make a contribution to promoting the interaction between western culture and ours， thus a more harmonious and splendid future can be anticipated.

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