English loanwords in modern russian language

ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN MODERN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
Eshboyev Sardor
A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of World Languages in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies (Russian and East European Studies).

Approved by:

Eshboyev Sardor Advisor
Itolmasov Mehirddin Reader


ABSTRACT
MIROSLAV STYBLO JR.: English Loanwords in Modern Russian Language

(Under the direction of Laura A. Janda)

English loanwords are presently entering the Russian language, often replacing their native counterparts. This thesis addresses the question of why Russian speakers adopt English loanwords instead of using the existing native counterparts. By utilizing content analysis of word frequency data from the Russian national corpus, this thesis demonstrates that loanwords and their counterparts often have some semantic differences. These differences are revealed by examining the meaning and frequency of adjectives collocated with loanwords and their counterparts. Some adjectives are more likely to collocate with a loanword but not its counterpart, often resulting in narrowing of originally broad loanword meaning into a niche meaning. When an English loanword and its Russian counterpart have different meanings, the loanword has an advantage in lexical competition, and is therefore more likely to be adopted and used by Russian speakers. This thesis presents an objective and quantifiable method of determining such an advantage.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................vii
Chapter

1. 
   INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1
   

Terms ................................................................................................................ 4

2. 
   BACKGROUND .............................................................................................. 7
   

Overview........................................................................................................... 7
Language Contact ............................................................................................. 9
English Loanwords in Russian........................................................................ 13
Similar Works................................................................................................. 22
Summary......................................................................................................... 25

3. 
   METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 28
   

Overview......................................................................................................... 28
Method............................................................................................................ 28
Resources........................................................................................................ 30
Protocol........................................................................................................... 32
Pilot study....................................................................................................... 33
Summary......................................................................................................... 35

4. 
   DATA ANALYSIS......................................................................................... 37
   

Overview......................................................................................................... 37 Data................................................................................................................. 39
Assumptions.................................................................................................... 41
Analysis........................................................................................................... 42 Summary......................................................................................................... 58

5. 
   CONCLUSION............................................................................................... 64
   

APPENDIX................................................................................................................. 66
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................... 71