B) the scandinavian element

There is a special difficulty in the question of etymology as regards Scandinavian words. This is due to the fact that there was great similar­ity between the languages of the English and Scandinavian. In distin­guishing them we may apply the criteria of sound.

Thus, for instance, many words with k sound before e and i and numerous Germanic words in English with the sk sound are to be as­signed to Scandinavian origin. In native English words the sk sound had regularly changed to sh and the k before the vowels e and i had changed to ch.

It is supposed that the Scandinavian element in Modern English amounts to 650 root-words. Among Scandinavian loan-words we find such everyday words as: Nouns ( anger, cake, crop, egg, fellow, guest, knife, root, score, skin, sky, wing, window),Adjectives (ill, low, mean, ugly, wrong, rotten),Verbs (cast, die, guess, thrust, get, give, scream, seem, take, want,etc.)

Scandinavian borrowings are numerous in geographical names in Northern England, such as:

Braithwaite, Whitly, etc.

It will be remembered that most of Scandinavian borrowings be­ long to the fundamental stock of words. It is interesting to say that there are words in English vocabulary that exist side by side for a long time, sometimes for centuries, two slightly different forms for the same word, one the original English form and the other Scandinavian. They have developed slightly different meanings: whole- hale, rear- raise, skirt- shirt.

c) THE CLASSICAL ELEMENT

The Latin influence on English as on the other Germanic lan­guages began very early and had a continuous nature. It is at first the influence of a living language, dating from old times, it persists as an in­fluence of a dead language down to present day.

Some idea of the Latin element may be gained from the large number of words in English with Latin prefixes and suffixes.

Early Latin Loans. Among the words of early loans from Latin are:

English Latin

Ass asinus

Colony colonia Cook coquus

Mile mille Street strata

To this period English owes geographical names ending in Chester, as in Manchester, Glouchester, Lancaster. A distinctive feature of the oldest Latin loans as opposed to later borrowings is the fact that they were learnt in a purely oral manner.

Later loans. The second installment of Latin words come to Britain in the 7^th century, when the people of England were converted into the Christianity. Examples: altar, chapter, candle, creed, cross, feast, disci­ple and so on. Names of some products which were brought into Eng­land by the Romans.

Thus since Old English times there has been a gradual but con­stant adoption of Latin words. The English had made such regular use of Latin words (modified in form) that they seem like native words today.

Greek loans. A great many Greek words introduced into English came in through the medium of Latin, for Latin language itself was largely indebted to Greek.

Modern scientific and technical terms of Greek origin are nearly all of international currency. Greek borrowings were more or less latinized in form. Among numerous Greek borrowings in the English vocabulary we find the following: analysis, gymnastics, chorus, comedy, epilogue. dialogue, physics, philosophy, prologue, rhythm, scheme.