2.Assimilation of loan words.

The role of loan words in the formation and development of English vocabulary is dealtwith in the history of language.

Lexicology is chiefly concerned with the material and the results o f assimilation.

The main problems of etymology and borrowed words are comprehensively andconsistentlytreated by prof. Smirnitzky A.J. in his book ("Lexicology of the English Language",M. 1956.). Prof. Smirnitzky deals with these issues mainly in terms ofword sameness reflecting his methodological approach to the theory.

The term assimilation of loan words is used to denote a partial or total conformation to the phonetic, graphical and morphological standards of the receiving language and semantic system. The degree of assimilation depends upon the length of period during which the words has been used in the receiving language,upon its importance for communication purpose and its frequency. Oral borrowings are assimilated more completely and more rapidly than literary borrowings, i.e. borrowings through written speech. A classification of loan words according to the degree of assimilation can be only very general. The following three groups may be suggested: completely assimilated loan words,partially assimilated loan words and unassimilated loan words or barbarisms.

3. Etymological doublets

The changes of a loan word has had to undergo depending on the date of its penetration are the main cause for the existence of the so - called etymological doublets.

Etymological doublets are two or more words of the same language which were derived by different routes from the same basic word.

They differ in form,meaning and current usage to a certain degree. Two words at present slightly differentiated in meaning may have originally been dialectal variants of the same word.

Thus we find in doublets traces of Old English dialects. For ex. whole (in the old sense of “healthy” or” free from disease”) and hale. The latter has survived in its original meaning and is preserved in the phrase ' hale and hearty'; ‘raid' and 'road'. Their relationshipremains clear in the term 'inroad' which means a hostile incursion, a 'raid'.The verbs 'drag' and 'draw' both come from OEdragan.- Lat 'discus'='dish' are also doublets. 'Shirt' - 'skirt'are respective doublets. 'Skirt' is etymologically cognate Scandinavian borrowing. Other doublets that for the most part justify their names by coming in pairs show in their various ways the influence of the language or dialect systems which they passed before entering the English vocabulary. Compare words borrowed in Middle English from Parisian French: chase, chieftain, chattels, guard,gage with their doublets of Norman French origin: catch,captain, cattle,ward,wage. 4.International words.

As the process of borrowing is mostly connected with the appearance of new notions which the loan words serve to express,it is but natural,that the borrowing is seldom limited to one language.

Words of identical origin that occur in several languages as a result of simultaneous or successive borrowings from one ultimate source are called international words. They play an especially prominent part in various terminological systems and among words denoting abstract notions. They should not be mixed with words of the common Indo - European stock that also comprise a sort of common fund of the European languages. A few examples of comparatively new words due to the progress of science will suffice to illustrate the type: antenna, antibiotic, atomic,automation,autostrada,bionics,cybernetics and many other show sufficient likenessinEnglish,French,Russian and many other languages.

This layer is of great importance for the foreign language teacher as he must know the most efficient ways of showing the points of similarity and difference between such words as control- контроль, general-генepaл, industry-индустрия. The treatment of international words at English lessons would beone - sided if the teacher did not draw his pupils’attention to thespread of the English vocabulary into other languages. We find numerous English words in the field of sport: football,out,match, time,game,goal-keeper. A large number of English words are to be found in the vocabulary pertaining to clothes: pullover, jacket, sweater, tweed,cardigan,jersey,etc. Cinema and different forms of entertainment are also source of many international words of English origin: film,club, show, cocktail,jazz.

It is important to note that international words are mainly borrowings.

To sum it up it is necessary to stress that we should be concerned with the changes of the new language system into which the loan words penetrate and on the other hand,look for the changes occasioned by the newcomer in English. Vocabulary when in finding its way into the new language pushes some of its lexical neighbours out.

LECTURE 4.

THEME: Morphological structure of English Words.

1. Mowhemes. Free and bound forms.

If we describe a word as an autonomous unit of language,we have the possibility to distinguish it from the other fundamental language unit,namely,the morpheme.

A morpheme is an association of a given meaning with a given sound pattern. But unlike a word it is not autonomous.

Morphemes occur in speech only as constituent parts of words not independently,although a word may consist of a single morpheme. Nor are they divisible into smaller meaningful units. That is why the morpheme таиbe defined as the minimum meaningful language unit.

The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of form. A form in these cases is a recurring discrete unit of speech.

A form is said to befree if it may stand alone without changing its meaning,if not,it is abound form,so called because it isalways bound to something else. For ex. if we compare the words "sportive" and "elegant" and their parts,we see that sport,sportive,elegant may occur alone as utterances, whereas "eleg-",- ive,-ant" are bound forms because they never occur alone. Thus morpheme is said to be either bound or free.

According to the role they play in constructing words, morphemes are subdivided intoroots and affixes.

The latter are further subdivided into prefixes and suffixes according to their position j and according to their function and meaning- intoderivational andfunctional affixes_, the latter also calledendings or outer formatives.

Unlike roots,affixes are always bound forms. The difference btw. suffixes and prefixes,it will be remembered,is not confined to their respective position, suffixes being "fixed after" and prefixes "fixed before" the stem.(Note: a stem may be defined as the part of the word that remains unchanged throughout its paradigm). The difference btw.suffixes and prefixes also concerns their function and meaning.

A suffix is a derivational morpheme following the stem and forming a new derivative in a different part of speech or a different word class. E.g. en,-y,-less:hearten,hearty,heartless.

A prefix is a derivational morpheme standing before the root and modifying the meaning. E.g. to hearten – to dishearten.