The problem of assimilation of borrowed words

2. The problem of assimilation of borrowed words

2.1 Phonetic assimilation of borrowed words

It is now our task to see what changes borrowings have undergone in the English language and how they have adapted themselves to its peculiarities.

All the changes that borrowed elements undergo may be divided into two large groups.

On the one hand there are changes specific of borrowed words only. These changes aim at adapting words of foreign origin to the norms of the borrowing language, e. g. the constant combinations [p n], [p s], [t p t] in the words «pneumatics», «psychology», «ptolomey» of Greek origin were simplified into [n], [s], [t], since the consonant combinations [p s], [pt], [p n] very frequent at the end of English words (as in «sleeps», «stopped») were never used in the initial position.

It is very important to discriminate between the two processes the adaptation of borrowed material to the norms of the language and the development of these words according to the laws of the language. This differentiation is not always easily discernible. In most cases we must resort to historical analysis before we can draw any definite conclusions. There is nothing in the form of the words «procession» and «progression» to show that the former was already used in England in the 11^th century, the latter not till the 15^th century. The history of these words reveals that the word procession has undergone a number of changes along side with other English words change in declension, accentuation, structure, sounds, whereas the word «progression» underwent some changes by analogy with the word «procession» and other similar words already at the time of its appearance in the language.

Since the process of assimilation of borrowings includes changes in sound-form, morphological structure, grammar characteristics, meaning and usage linguists distinguish phonetic, grammatical and lexical assimilation of borrowings.

Phonetic assimilation, comprising changes in sound-form and stress, is perhaps the most conspicuous. Sounds that were alien to the English language were fitted into its scheme of sounds. For instance, the long [e] and [E] in recent French borrowings, quite strange to English speech, are rendered with the help of [e i] (as in the words «communiqué», «chaussee», «café») Familiar sounds or sound combinations the position of which was strange to the English language, were replaced by other sounds or sound combinations to make the words conform to the norms of the language, e.g. German spits [spits] was turned into English [spits].

Substitution of native sounds for foreign ones usually takes place in the very act of borrowing. But some words retain their foreign pronunciation for a long time before the unfamiliar sounds are replaced by similar native sounds.

In words that were added to English from foreign sources, especially from French or Latin, the accent was gradually transferred to the first syllable. Thus words like «honour», «reason» were accented on the same principle as the native «father», «mother».

2.2 Grammatical assimilation of borrowed words

Usually as soon as words from other languages were introduced into English they lost their former grammatical categories and inflexions and acquired new grammatical categories and paradigms by analogy with other English words.

If a borrowed word loses its former grammatical categories and inflexions and gets new grammatical categories and paradigms by analogy with other English words we say the word is undergone grammatical assimilation. Sometimes the foreign inflexions are fallen off.

E. g. sputnik, sputniks, sputnik’s

Lat. consutare (v) English consult.

However there are some words in Modern English that have for centuries retained their foreign inflexions. Thus a considerable group of borrowed nouns, all of them terms or literary words adopted in the 16^th century or later, have preserved their original plural inflexion to this day, e.g.

Phenomenon-phonomena

Addendum-addenda

Other borrowings of the same period have two plural forms the native and the foreign, e. g. vacuum-vacua, vacuums, virtuoso-virtuosi, virtuosos.

All borrowings that were composite in structure in their native language appeared in English as indivisible roat-words, unless there were already words with the same morphemes in it, e. g. in the word «saunter» the French infinitive inflexion-er is retained, but it has changed its quality, it is preserved in all the other grammatical forms of the word. (saunters, suntered, sauntering), which means that it has become part of the stem in English.

It must be borne in mind that when there appears in a language a group of borrowed words built on the same pattern or containing the same morphemes, the morphological structure of the words becomes apparent and in course of time their word-building elements can be employed to form new words[4].

Sometimes in borrowed words foreign affixes are replaced by those available in the English language, e. g. the inflexion – us in Latin adjectives was replaced in English with the suffixes – ous or – al

Barbarus-barbarous

Botanicus-botanical

Balneus-balneal