3.2.3 Borrowed, or Loan, Lexemes

When one language takes lexical units from other languages, we speak of borrowings or loan lexemes. The English language is an insatiable borrower. “Over 350 languages are on record as sources of its present-day vocabulary, and the locations of contact are found all over the world” (Crystal, 2003, p.126). Loan lexemes can be classified according to the following characteristics, either according to the source of borrowing or according to the degree of assimilation. According to the sources of borrowing, loan words are classified as borrowings of Celtic origin, Latin loans, Scandinavian borrowings, loans from German and Dutch, borrowings from French, Slavic, Hungarian, Turkish, and so on.

Borrowings of Celtic Origin

Celtic influence on the English language is minor. This may be explained by the fact that Celtic communities were destroyed or pushed back to the areas of Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, and the Scottish borders. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that “at Andredesceaster or Pevensey a deadly struggle occurred between the native population and the newcomers and that not a single Briton was left alive” (Baugh & Cable, 1978, p.72). Apparently, large numbers of the defeated fled to the West. A whole cluster of Celtic place-names exist in the northeastern corner of Dorcetshire (p.73). It is also likely that Anglo-Saxons married Celtic women. At least there was some contact between these two peoples—Anglo-Saxons and the Celts. Some words survived into Modern English such as crag, cumb (deep valley), carr (rock), dunn (dun, grey), bald, down, glen, druid, bard, cradle, and others (The Living Webster, 1977). A few place-names are believed to be of Celtic origin. They include the river names such as Thames, Avon, Don, Exe, Usk, and Wye. Town names include Dover (water), Eccles (church), and Bray (hill) (Crystal, 2003, p. 8).

Borrowings from Latin

The first large influx of foreign borrowings into English came with the Latin of the missionaries, as well as through cultural and trade relations with the continent. Latin was the official language of the Christian church, and consequently the spread of Christianity was accompanied by a new period of Latin borrowings. These words were associated with church and religious rituals, e.g., priest (L. presbyter), monk (L. monachus), nun (L. nonna), and candle (L. candela). Scholarly terms were also borrowed, e.g., school (L. schola), scholar (L. scholar), and magister (L. magister). Some loans were associated with plants and animals, such as oak (L. quercus), pine (L.pinus), maple (L.acer), rose (L. rosa), lily (L. lilium), orchid (L. amerorchis rotundifolia), a white-tailed deer (L.odocoileus virginianus), raccoon (L.procyon lotor), and grey wolf (L.canis lupus). Others were associated with food, vessels, and household items, e.g., kitchen, cheese, kettle, cup, plum, wine, lettuce, chair, and knife (The Living Webster, 1977). Joseph Williams states that the proportion of Latin borrowings during this period would roughly be as follows: plants and animals, 30 percent; food, vessels, and household items, 20 percent; buildings and settlements, 12 percent; dress, 12 percent; military and legal, 9 percent; religious and scholarly, 3 percent; miscellaneous, 5 percent” (1975, p.57).

Scandinavian Borrowings

The next big linguistic invasion came as a result of the Viking raids on Britain, “which began in A.D. 787 and continued at intervals for some 200 years” (Crystal, 1995, p.25); however, the similarity between Old English and the language of Scandinavian invaders makes it sometimes very difficult to decide whether a given word in Modern English is native or borrowed. Many of the common words of the two languages are identical, and if there had been no Old English literature, it would be difficult to say whether a given word is of Scandinavian or native origin. As a result of the Scandinavian invasion, a large number of settlements with Danish names appeared in England, along with the personal names of Scandinavian origin. Sawyer (1962) counts 1,500 such place names, especially in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Over 600 end in suffix –by, the Scandinavian word for ‘town’ or ‘farm,’ e.g., Derby, Grimsby, Rugby, etc. Many place names end in –thorp (‘village’), e.g., Atlthorp, Astonthorpe; thwaite (‘clearing’), as in Braithwaite, Applethwaite; and toft (‘homestead’), as in Lowestoft, Eastoft, and Sandtoft (as cited in Crystal, 2003, p. 25). The Viking invasions led to an increase in personal names of Scandinavian origin. They express kinship or relationship to a parent or ancestor, e.g. Johnson, Robertson, Davidson, and they end in –son. In certain cases, there are reliable criteria by which words of Scandinavian origin can be recognized. One of the simplest ways to recognize words of Scandinavian origin is by the sound [sk], e.g., sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt. In Old English, sk was palatalized to sh (written sc) and [∫] in Modern English, whereas Scandinavian countries still retained the [sk] sound. The borrowed words from Scandinavian did not undergo palatalization and are still pronounced [sk]: skill, scrape, scrub, and bask. The Old English scyrte has become shirt, while the corresponding Old Norse (O.N.) form skyrta gives us skirt. In the same way, the retention of the hard pronunciation [k] and [g] in such words as kid, get, give, gild, egg is an indication of Scandinavian origin.

Loans from French

Toward the close of the Old English period, an event occurred which had a great impact on the English language. This event was the Norman Conquest, in 1066. The conquerors brought French to England, and French became the language of the ruling class. The Norman Conquest reduced the linguistic penetration of Scandinavian into one major area where the Danes were superior to the native English: “national administration, in which equable division of governmental units, fair taxation, strong criminal law, regulated commerce, and a high sense of personal honor predominated” (Nist, 1966, p.100). The Norman Conquest made French the official language in England. The following French words penetrated English: government, attorney, chancellor, country, court, crime, estate, judge, jury, noble, and royal; in the religious sphere: abbot, clergy, preach, sacrament, vestment, and many others. Some words designating English titles are of French origin: prince, duke, marquess, viscount, and baron, and their feminine equivalents, princess, duchess, marquise, viscount, and baroness, are also of French origin. Some military terms are of French origin: army, captain, corporal, lieutenant, sergeant, and soldier. French names were given to various animals when served up as food at Norman tables—beef, pork, veal, and mutton. Culinary processes were also named in French, for instance, boil, broil, fry, stew, and roast.

Later French borrowings are not assimilated as much as older borrowings, such as police, picnic, soup, and others. Later borrowings include aide-de-camp, amateur, ballet, baton, beau, bouillon, boulevard, brochure, brunette, bureau, café, camouflage, champagne, chaperon, chemisette, chiffonier, chute, cliché, commandant, communiqué, crochet, detour, foyer, fuselage, genre, hors d’oeuvre, impasse, invalid, liaison, limousine, lingerie, massage, matinee, menu, morale, morgue, naïve, negligee, plateau, première, protégé, rapport, repartee, repertoire, reservoir, restaurant, risqué, roué, rouge, saloon, souvenir, suéde, surveillance, tête-a-tête, and vis-à-vis.

Spanish Loanwords

English has taken words from Spanish as well. “Spanish words or Spanish transmissions came from the New World” (Pyles & Algeo, 1993, p. 300); they include such words as alligator, anchovy, armada, armadillo, avocado, barbecue, bolero, cannibal, cargo, castanet, chocolate, cigar, cocoa, cockroach, cork, corral, domino, embargo, flotilla, galleon, guitar, junta, maize, mescal, mantilla, mosquito, mulatto, negro, palmetto, peccadillo, plaza, potato, sherry, sombrero, tango, tomato, tornado, tortilla, vanilla, and others.

Borrowings from Italian

From another Romance language, Italian, English has acquired musical terms, such as duo, fugue, madrigal, violin, viola, allegro, largo, opera, piano, presto, recitative, solo, sonata, adagio, aria, cantata, concerto, contralto, staccato, tempo, and trio. Other loan words from Italian include artichoke, balcony, balloon, bandit, bravo, broccoli, cameo, canto, carnival, casino, dilettante, firm, fresco, lasagna, lava, macaroni, malaria, pizza, replica, scope, spaghetti, stanza, studio, umbrella, vendetta, and volcano. These borrowings are usually concentrated on the areas of arts and food but may be related to other areas, too.

Loans from Dutch and German

Dutch and German also contributed some words to English. The following Dutch words penetrated English: buoy, cruise, deck, and yacht. Much of the vernacular of geology and mineralogy is of German origin, such as cobalt, gneiss, lawine, loess, nickel, quartz, and zinc. Other words taken from German include hamburger, frankfurter, noodle, wienerwurst, and schnitzel. The vernacular of drinking includes lager, bock, and schnapps. Seminar and semester are ultimately Latin, but they entered American English by way of German.

Borrowings from Slavic, Hungarian, and Turkish

Very minor sources of the English vocabulary are of Slavic, Hungarian, and Turkish origins. The Slavic sable penetrated English through French. Astrakhan and mammoth came directly from Russian. Later, English assimilated such Russian words as kopeck, muzhik, ruble, steppe, tundra, troika, vodka, and sputnik. Goulash and paprika came from Hungarian. Turkish borrowings include khan, horde, and tulip. Tulip received its name from turban(d). It is believed to have looked like Turkish headgear (Pyles, 1964, pp.339-351; The Living Webster, 1977). Sometimes, words come to the English language indirectly. This is the case with the word coffee. Probably, even the Turkish are not aware that coffee actually originated in the Turkish language: kahveh (Turkish) > kahva (Arabic) > koffie > (Dutch) > coffee (English).