3. New English

3.1. General Characteristics

The language in New English is growing very rapidly, the amount of actually existing words being impossible to estimate. Though some of the word existing in Old English and Middle English are no longer used in New English, the amount of new words exceeds the number of obsolete ones manifold.

Both internal means and external means are used for the purpose of enriching vocabulary, and the importance of either of them is hard to evaluate.

3.2. Means of enriching vocabulary in New English

3.2.1. Internal means of enriching vocabulary

The principal inner means in New English is the appearance of new words formed by means of conversion. Usually new words are formed by acquiring a new paradigm and function within the sentence. Thus, book (a noun) has the paradigm book – books. Book (a verb) has the paradigm book – books – booked – booking, etc. (the book is on the table – He booked a room)

Similarly:

Man (n) – man (v)

Stone (n) – stone (v) – stone (adj.)

(as in “a stone bench”), etc.

3.2.2. External means of enriching vocabulary

Very many new words appear in New English due to borrowing. It is necessary to say here that the process of borrowing, the sources of loan words, and the nature of the new words is different from Middle English and their appearance in the language cannot be understood unless sociolinguistic factors are taken into consideration.

Chronically speaking, New English borrowing may be subdivided into borrowings of the Early New English period – XV-XVII centuries, the period proceeding the establishment of the literary norm – in the XVIII-XX centuries, the period which is generally alluded to as Late New English.

• Early New English borrowings (XV – XVII centuries)

Borrowings into the English language in the XV – XVII centuries are primarily due to the political events and also to the cultural and trade relations between the English people and peoples in other countries. Thus, in the XV century – the epoch of Renaissance, there appeared in the English language many words borrowed from the Italian tongue:

Cameo, archipelago, dilettante, fresco, violin, balcony, gondola, grotto, volcano;

In the XVI century – Spanish and Portuguese words such as:

Armada, Negro, tornado, mosquito, renegade, matador

And also Latin (in the language of culture of that period), for instance:

• verbs, with the characteristic endings-iate, -ute ;

aggravate, abbreviate, exaggerate, frustrate, separate, irritate, contribute, constitute, persecute, execute, etc.

• adjectives ending in -ant, -end, - ior, -al:

arrogant, reluctant, evident, obedient, superior, inferior, senior, junior, dental, cordial, filial.

As a result of numerous Latin borrowings at the time there appeared many etymological doublets:

Latin

strictum

(direct ) strict strait (through French)

Siniorem

Senior sir

Factum

Fact feat

In the XVII century due to relations with the peoples of America such words were borrowed as:

Canoe, maize, potato, tomato, tobacco, mahogany, cannibal, hammock, squaw, moccasin, wigwam, etc.

French borrowings – after the Restoration:

Ball, ballet, billet, caprice, coquette, intrigue, fatigue, naïve.

• Late New English borrowings (XVIII – XX centuries)

• German: kindergarten, waltz, wagon, boy, girl

• French: magazine, machine, garage, police, engine, nacelle, aileron

• Indian: bungalow, jungle, indigo

• Chinese: coolie, tea

• Arabic: caravan, divan, alcohol, algebra, coffee, bazaar, orange, cotton, candy, chess

• Australian: kangaroo, boomerang, lubra

• Russian: borzoi, samovar, tsar, verst, taiga, sputnik, lunnik, glasnost, perestroika, etc.

In New English there also appeared words formed on the basis of Greek and Latin vocabulary. They are mainly scientific or technical terms, such as:

telephone, telegraph, teletype, telefax, microphone, sociology, politology, electricity, etc.