| The native element¹ | The borrowed element |
| I. Indo-European element II. Germanic element III. English Proper element (no earlier than 5th c. A.D.) | I. Celtic (5th 6th c. A.D.) II. Latin 1st group: 1st c. B.C. 2nd group: 7th c. A.D. 3rd group: the Renaissance period III. Scandinavian (8th 11th c.A.D.): sister, husband; happy, low; take, die IV. French 1. Norman borrowings: 11th 13th c. A.D. 2. Parisian borrowings (Renaissance) V. Greek (Renaissance) VI. Italian (Renaissance and later) VII. Spanish (Renaissance and later) VIII. German IX. Indian X. Russian: steppe (), rouble And some other groups |
¹By the native element we mean words which were not borrowed from other
languages but represent the original stock of this particular language.
Modern scholars estimate the percentage of borrowed words in the English vocabulary at 6570 per cent. This anomaly is explained by the country`s eventful history and by its many international contacts.
The native element in English comprises a large number of high-frequency words like the articles, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, auxiliaries and words denoting everyday objects and ideas (e.g. house, child, water, go, come, eat, good, bad, etc.).
Furthermore, the grammatical structure is essentially Germanic having remained unaffected by foreign influence.
Let us sum up what has been said in a table.
It was mentioned that the tribal languages of the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes, by the time of their migration, contained only words of Indo-European and Germanic roots plus a certain number of the earliest Latin borrowings.
By the Indo-European element are meant words of roots common to all or most languages of the Indo-European group. English words of this group denote elementary concepts without which no human communication would be possible. The following groups can be identified.
I. Family relations: father, mother, brother, son, daughter.
II. Parts of the human body: foot, nose, lip, heart.
III. Animals: cow, swine, goose.
IV. Plants: tree, birch (. . ), corn.
V. Time of day: day, night.
VI. Heavenly bodies ( ): sun, moon, star.
VII. Numerous adjectives: red, new, glad, sad.
VIII. The numerals from one to a hundred.
IX. Pronouns personal (except they which is a Scandinavian borrowing); demonstrative.
X. Numerous verbs: be (. . ), stand (), sit (), eat (), know.
The Germanic element represents words of roots common to all or most Germanic languages. Some of the main groups of Germanic words are the same as in the Indo-European element.
I. Parts of the human body: head, hand, arm, finger, bone.
II. Animals: bear, fox, calf.
III. Plants: oak, fir, grass.
IV. Natural phenomena: rain, frost.
V. Seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer (autumn is a French borrowing).
VI. Landscape features: sea, land.
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VII. Human dwellings and furniture: house, room, bench.
VIII. Sea-going vessels: boat, ship.
IX. Adjectives: green, blue, grey, white, small, high, old, good.
X. Verbs: see, hear, speak, tell, say, answer, make, drink.
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It has been mentioned that the English proper element is opposed to the first two groups. These words are specifically English having no cognates in other languages whereas for Indo-European and Germanic words such cognates can always be found, e.g.:
Stand: German stehen, Latin stare, Russian .
Here are some examples of English proper words. These words stand quite alone in the vocabulary system of Indo-European languages: bird, boy, girl, lord, lady, woman, daisy, always.
Answer these questions.
1. How can you account for the fact that English vocabulary contains such an immense number of words of foreign origin?
2. What is the earliest group of English borrowings? Date it.
3. What Celtic borrowings are there in English? Date them.
4. Which words were introduced into English vocabulary during the period of Christianization?
5. What are the characteristic features of Scandinavian borrowings?
6. When and under what circumstances did England become a bilingual country?
7. What are the characteristic features of words borrowed into English during the Renaissance?
8. What suffixes and prefixes can help you to recognize words of Latin and French origin?
9. What is meant by the native element of English vocabulary?
Vocabulary
account
arrogant
borrowing
christianization
confront ;
conquest
destine
esthete
etymology :
eventful
immense
refinement ,
renaissance ,
Lecture 5
