Etymological survey of the English word-stock

Etymological survey of the English word-stock

Topics for discussion.

1. 
   Words of native origin and their characteristics.
   
2. 
   Foreign elements in Modern English. Classification of borrowings according to the language from which they were borrowed. Scandinavian borrowings, classical elements-Latin and Greek, French borrowings. Borrowings from Spanish and Italian.
   
3. 
   Classification of borrowings according to the borrowed aspect.
   
4. 
   Assimilation of borrowings. Classification of borrowings according to the degree of assimilation.
   
5. 
   Etymological doublets, hybrids.
   
6. 
   International words.
   
7. 
   Peculiarities of modem borrowings in the English language.
   

Reference books

1. Arnold I.V. The English Word. M., 1986. -P.252-260.

2. Ginzburg R.S. et. al. A Course on Modem English Lexicology. M., 1979.- P. 160-175.

3. Амосова Н.Н. Этимологические основы словарного состава современного английского языка. M., 1956.

Questions

1. What is the difference between words of Common Indo-European and Common Germanic word stock in the English Vocabulary?

2. What historical events in the life of the country are connected with the influx of borrowed words?

3. What languages contributed greatly into the vocabulary of the English language?

4. How did classical borrowings enrich the English language?

5.What semantic spheres can be pointed out in French borrowings?

6. How can you account for a high degree of assimilation of Scandinavian borrow­ings in English?

7. What are the semantic peculiarities of Italian and Spanish borrowings in English?

8. How does English adopt borrowed words?

9. What are the most popular etymological Dictionaries of the English language?

10.What is the difference between 'source of borrowing' and 'origin of borrowing'?

11.What do we call words and expressions formed from the material existing in Eng­lish but according to patterns taken from other languages?

12.What do we call loan words denoting objects and notions peculiar to the country from which they come?

13. What is a barbarism?

14. What is the basics of Etymological doublets?

15.What do we сall words of identical origin that occur in several languages as a result of simultaneous or successive borrowings?

Exercise 1.

Analyse the following words from the point of view of the type and degree of assimilation. State which words are: a)completely assimilated; b) partially assimilated; c) non-assimilated: prima-donna, ox, caftan, city, school, etc., mazurka, table, street, they, century, sky, wall, stimulus, reduce, cup, present.

Exercise 2.

Comment on the different formation of the doublets and on the difference in meaning, if any: balm-balsam, suit-suite, senior-sir, legal-loyal, skirt-shirt, emerald-smaragdus, major-mayor, pauper-poor, of-off, history-story, catch-chase.

Assignments

Assignment 1

Find Cognates to the Following Native Words of Common Indo-European and Ger­manic Word Stock:

Ear, mother, fish, sit, water, eat, ask, brother, green, foot, beaver, head, work, three,

winter, tell, blood, red, cold, new, apple, I, song, heart, old.

Assignment 2

State the Origin of Words Given Below:

Bird, girl, dog, bog, kilt, bear, cart, kill, owl, pen, glen, end, fun, fox, bard, may, cosy, spot, Tory, mood, crowd, well.

Assignment 4

Give Etymological Doublets to the Following Words:

Major, senior, ward, captain, salon, cart, poor, fragile, memory, shade, skirt, hospital, screech, corps, canal, artist, wage, cavalry, abridge, disc, legal.

Assignment 5

Comment on the Structure of Etymological Hybrids:

Eatable, fortune-teller, undertake, easy-chair, afternoon, relationship, tea-cup, duke-dom.

Assignment 6

Comment on the Etymology of the Following International Words:

Moment, robot, glasnost, meeting, antenna, antibiotics, snob, democrat, villa, foot­ball, bandit, domino, time-out.

Assignment 7

State the Origin if the Following Words:

Prison, skipper, junta, just, yacht, ranch, tailor, embargo, take, lieutenant, guess, leg, joy, waltz, tomato, corridor, skin, mafia, concert, die, pencil, money.

Assignment 8

Comment on the Type of the Following Borrowings:

Blue blood, swan song, the fifth column, war to the knife, masterpiece, blood and iron, superman, the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, self-criticism.