2.4   Foreign Elements in the English Vocabulary

 

    English vocabulary owes most of its words to foreign languages, which came to settle in English through borrowing. Borrowing has always been an important channel of enriching the vocabulary, particularly so in earlier periods (See Native Words and Borrowed Words in Chapter 1). For convenience, we shall call all the borrowed words 'foreign elements'(外国因素). Of all the foreign languages from which we have borrowed words, Latin, Greek, French, and Scandinavian stand out as the major contributors, which have exercised great influence on (已对……差生巨大的影响) the English vocabulary. Other languages have also done their part in the development of modern English vocabulary.

 

    1. Latin

 

    In 600 B. C. Latin was an insignificant dialect spoken by a few illiterate () tribes in the hills of central Italy. By the time of Christ, Latin was the official language of an empire ruling the entire Mediterranean (地中海的) world and most of Europe. Four hundred years later the empire fell, but its language survived, both as the living speech of millions of people, especially as the long-preserved prestige (长期保留下来的威望) language of government, religion, and learning, remaining the most important classical language of high culture. Modern English vocabulary displays its immense (巨大的) debt to Latin. For 2000 years it has borrowed so heavily and complexly from Latin.

    1) The Pre-Anglo-Saxon Period

    As we know, the Anglo-Saxons were descendants (后代) of three Germanic tribes, who had lived on the European continent, where Latin was the language of a higher civilization, from which the Anglo-Saxons had much to learn. While the Germanic tribes were still in their continental homes, they had been in contact with that civilization, at first commercial and military. The frequent interaction made possible the transference (转换) of Latin words from one tribe to another. The words borrowed naturally reflected the new conceptions and experience in war and agriculture, e. g. battle, banner（旗帜）, -wall, pit, street, pound (强烈打击), wine, trade, bargain, jar, kettle, dish, gem(), cheese, pepper, plum , butter, pipe, mule.

    With the withdrawal of the Roman troops after about four hundred years of the Roman occupation of the British Isles, they left behind them just a few place names such as Chester, Colchester, Dorchester, Manchester, Winchester, etc..

    

    2)  The Old English Period

    Borrowings of this period came in the wake of (随着……而来)the introduction of Christianity into Britain in 597. In the four hundred years or more up to the Norman Conquest, a variety of additional Latin words were adopted. Among the church terms are altar(祭坛), candle, creed(信条), disciple（信徒）, mass（弥撒）, nun, shrine(神殿), shrive(听忏悔), etc.. Such words as alms(施舍), angel, anthem (赞美诗), amen , apostle(信徒), bishop（主教）, Christ, church, clerk(教士), devil, martyr(烈士), minister(牧师), monk, pope(罗马教皇), priest（牧师）, psalm (圣歌) and so on are said to be of Greek or Hebrew(希伯来) origin borrowed through Latin.

    Apart from the religious terms, there are a number of trade terms and words for articles of commerce, agriculture and domestic life, e.g. cap, sock, purple, chest, mat, sack, millet(小米), radish(小萝卜), doe(母鹿), oyster(牡蛎), lobster(龙虾), cook , box, pine, lily(百合), mallow(锦葵), school, master, circle (圆周), elephant, talent, giant.

 

    3)  The Middle English Period

The Norman Conquest marked the beginning of the third period of borrowing from Latin, though many of them made their way through French. The lexical settlers (借词) of Latin via French are generally more popular than those borrowed directly from Latin. Latin was a spoken language among ecclesiastics (（基督教）传教士)and men of learning. A small number of words could well have passed into spoken English. Most, however, entered English by way of literature. The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were especially prolific (丰富的) in Latin borrowings under the influence of Renaissance. The following is a list of direct Latin borrowings in this period: 

custody (保管), contempt(轻视), frustrate(挫败), allegory(寓言), conspiracy(阴谋), distract（转移）, gesture, history, homicide(自杀), immune(免疫的), incarnate(体现，使具体化), include, incredible(难以置信的), index, individual, infancy(幼年), infinite, innumerable(), intellect, interrupt, legal, lunatic(疯子), magnify(放大), mechanical, minor, moderate(中等的), necessary, nervous, ornate(华丽的), picture, polite, popular, prevent, private , promote, quiet, rational(理性的), reject(拒绝), script(手稿；笔迹；剧本), scripture(手稿；文件), secular(非宗教的；世俗的), solar, solitary(孤独的), subdivide, submit(提交；使服从), suppress(镇压), subscribe(订阅), substitute(替换), summary, temperate(有节制的；适度的；气候温和的), temporal(暂时的), testify(证明), testimony(证词), tract(（体内的）道，束), ulcer(溃疡), zenith(顶点). Among them are words pertaining (有关) to law, medicine, theology (神学), science, and literature. It is noticeable that some of the Latin suffixes, -able, -ible, -al, -ous, -ive and others now become common in English.

 

    4) The Modern English Period

    Words borrowed since 1500 are late ones, which are mostly of abstract and scientific character. These words generally retain their Latin forms: radius (半径), bacillus(细菌), focus(焦点), status(地位), bonus (奖金；红利), circus(马戏团), apparatus(器械), opus(大作；巨著), nucleus (核子), alumnus(男校友), genius, dictum (格言), vacuum (真空), esteem(尊敬), minimum , maximum , stratum (岩层；社会阶层), alumna (女校友), arena (竞技场), via, militia(民兵),inertia(惯性), criteria(标准), species(种类), series, specimen(标本；范例), protest, enterprise(企业), benevolent(慈善的), reproach (责备), alibi (不在犯罪现场), etc..

 

    Many of the frequently used abbreviations are from Latin:

i. e.  (id est) = that is to say

e.g. (exempli gratia) = for example

a.m. (ante meridiem) = before noon

etc. (et cetera) = and so on

p.m.  (post meridiem) = afternoon

cf.  (confer) = compare

ibid, (ibidem) = in the same book, article, passage, etc.

 

    2. Greek

    When we talk about the classical borrowings, we usually think of Latin, seldom realizing that Latin itself used to be a medium, through which Greek words were transferred into English. In fact most of Greek words have entered English through Latin, or have at any rate been Latinized in spelling and endings before being used in English. Greek and Latin elements are so well assimilated that it is often difficult to separate them. Being a language of an even older civilization, Greek has lent much to Latin, not to say the languages derived from Latin.

The influx (涌入) of Greek words into English began with the revival (复兴) of learning from Greek classics. Here is a selection of such borrowings, which, even if through Latin and French, remain identifiably Greek in form, e.g. 

government and politics: democracy, monarchy(君主政体), politics, anarchy(无政府状态), ostracism(排挤；排斥); 

philosophy: logic, academy(学院派哲学), philosophy, metaphysics(形而上学；玄学); 

 science: astronomy, atom, arithmetic(算术), geography, eclipse(日蚀), magnet(磁铁), mathematics, planet, sphere(球体);

medicine: anatomy(解剖学), arthritis(关节炎), clinic(门诊部；临床), cardiac(心脏的), diagnosis(诊断), diet,pharmacy(药房);

language and literature: alphabet(字母表), drama, epic(史诗), etymology(词源学), grammar, homonym (同形同音异义词), idiom , phrase, poem, poet, rhetoric(修辞), rhythm (节奏), syntax; 

sports: athlete, gymnasium, marathon, stadium(露天大型运动场); 

others: anthology(诗选；文选), architect, chaos (混乱), echo (回声), eclectic(折衷的), erotic (性爱的), ethnic (种族的), hero, idiot, melody (曲调), method , music, mystery.

    The greatest influence of Greek perhaps lies in its loan of word-building elements into English. The Greek and Latin elements are assimilated with native elements in such a way that they can be mixed to form new words, known as hybrids(混种语). For example, anti- and hyper-, which are Greek prefixes, meaning 'against' and 'beyond' respectively, can be added to English root as in anti-British and to Latin root as in hypersensitive(非常敏感). The Greek verb suffix -ize can be fixed at the end of words of any origin to form verbs, e.g. popularize(使大众化；普及), Anglicize(盎格鲁化), westernize(西化). Here are a few more examples formed with a mixture of Greek and other elements such as pacifist (和平主义者；绥靖主义者)(L+Gr), speedometer(速度计) (E+Gr), television (Gr+L).

 

    3. French

    Borrowings from French into English began much later than from Latin and Greek. But French words swarmed into(蜂拥而至) the English language at such great speed and in such great numbers that no other languages could compare with it. It is estimated that about one fourth of modern English vocabulary has come from French. ‘If all the words of French origin were to be subtracted (提取；去除) from English, we would be nearly tongue-tied'. (Reader's Digest, p225) Indeed, there was a period when English was nearly submerged (淹没于) in French. Until the Norman Conquest, the exchange of words between English and French had been minimal. But when William the Conqueror ascended (登上) the English throne, French suddenly became the language of government. Almost overnight English had become a second-class language in its native land. The French elite did not bother to learn how to speak English and there seemed no need to do so. The pre-eminence (绝对优势) of French was constantly being reinforced (增强) by waves of immigrants from the Continent. Apart from the aristocrats (贵族) and their retainers (仆从), there were tradesmen, which probably accounts for the numerous Anglicized proper names relating to occupations: Barber, Butcher, Carpenter, Fletcher (造箭者), Mason (泥瓦匠), Taylor. But in the one and the half centuries immediately after the Conquest, a number of probably fewer than 1 000 French words were absorbed into the permanent vocabulary of English.

The supremacy (霸主地位) of French began to recede (减退) in the mid-13th century, when the acculturated (同化) descendants of the invaders at last began to think of themselves more as Englishmen than Frenchmen, and with it Norman French gave way to English. Borrowing from French now was free. Between 1250 and 1500 an approximate 9 000 words of French origin poured into the language, of which at least 75 percent are still in use today. They relate to 

government and administration (行政部门): govern, reign(支配), state, crown, sovereign (君主), country, power, chancellor(大臣；长官), council(政务会), authority(权威), parliament, exchequer(财政部；国库), people, nation; 

Feudalism (封建主义) and feudal(封建) scales of rank: feudal, vassal(诸侯；封臣), liege(领主), fief(封地；采邑), prince, peer(贵族), duke(公爵), duchess(公爵夫人), marquis(侯爵), count(伯爵), viscount(子爵), baron(男爵) (but king, queen, lord(男爵), lady, earl(伯爵) are English); 

law: justice, just, judge, jury(陪审团), court, suit(诉讼), sue(控告), plaintiff(起诉人；原告), defendant(被告), plea(申诉), plead(申辩), attorney(律师), fee(继承的产业), accuse(控告), crime, felony(重罪), traitor(叛国者), damage(赔偿金) , dower(嫁妆), heritage(遗产) , property(财产), real estate(房地产), penalty(罚款), injury, privilege(特权), bail(保释); 

religion: parson (教区牧师), pastor(牧师), piety(虔诚), religion , sanctity(圣洁), service（宗教仪式）, trinity(三位一体), saviour(救世主), angel, clergy（牧师）, parish(教区) , baptism (洗礼), sacrifice(牺牲), miracle, preach(讲道), pray, prayer, sermon(布道), 

morality: virtue(德行), vice(恶习), duty, conscience(良知；良心), grace(恩惠), cruel, chaste(贞洁的) , covet(贪求), desire, lechery(纵欲), jealousy, pity, discipline(自制), mercy; 

military affairs: war, peace, battle, arms, armour(盔甲), dart(飞镖), ensign(军旗), assault(袭击), siege(围攻), office, chieftain(首领), captain (船长；机长), colonel(陆军上校的), lieutenant(陆军中尉), sergeant(军士), soldier, troops, vessel(船), navy, challenge, enemy, danger, escape, aid , prison , march , force, company(连), guard(守卫；卫兵); 

meat: beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, brawn(腌制好的野猪肉), venison(鹿肉) (the names of animals in their lifetimes are English: ox, cow, calf, sheep, swine(猪), boar(野猪), deer);

 cuisine(厨房；烹饪；饭菜): sauce(酱油), boil, fry, roast, toast, pasty(馅饼), pastry(面粉糕饼), soup , sausage, jelly(果子冻), dainty(美味), dinner, supper, feast(盛宴); 

architecture: arch（拱门）, tower（城堡）, pillar, vault（拱顶）, porch（门廊）, column（圆柱）, aisle（走廊）, choir（教堂高坛）, palace, castle, manor（庄园宅邸）, mansion（大厦） ; 

fashion: fashion , dress(女服) , gown (长袍), rove(粗纱), garment(衣服), attire(服装), cloak (斗篷), coat, collar, veil(面纱), lace(花边), embroidery(刺绣), satin (缎子), fur.

    To this list, we should perhaps add words of leisure and pleasure, which depict that the French masters knew how to enjoy life and secure the best things to themselves: joy, pleasure, delight, ease, comfort, flower, fruit, leisure, chase(捕猎), sport, cards, dice(骰子), partner, suit（套装）, trump(王牌), ace(（纸牌或骰子的）幺点), deuce(掷骰子得到的两点), to name just a few.

    The influx of borrowings was so great that sometimes the same word would be borrowed twice, that is, it would enter English in slightly different forms that correspond to different regional dialects, for example, canal and channel, warden and guardian, warrant and guarantee. The newcomers did not necessarily replace their Old and Middle English synonyms. In many cases, the two would coexist, hearty and cordial(和蔼可亲的；热情的), yearly and annual, answer and reply, room and chamber, seethe and boil, and so on. These duplications (同义词) do not merely add to the number of the English vocabulary. What is more important, they gave rich variety and a multitude(增加) of subtle(微妙的)variations in connotation(含义).

    Although the rate of foreign borrowings tapered off (减少)to a certain extent during the 15th century, it sharply revived(复活)in the 16th and the English Renaissance. Nevertheless, new French borrowings during this period tended to be supplementary (补充的)rather than central to the English vocabulary as there was a resistance that grew on the part of the English to borrowing of any kind. In the 150 years between 1650 and 1800, less than half as many French words were brought into English as had been added in the preceding years of the same length of time. Such words as ballet(芭蕾), dentist, canteen (小卖部), patrol(巡逻), cartoon , champagne , publicity(公开), ridicule(嘲笑), chowder(杂烩羹),routine(例行公事), cohesion (结合), connoisseur(鉴赏家；鉴定家), syndicate(辛迪加；财团)are representatives of the hundreds of words absorbed in the period under discussion.

    Contemporary French influence on English since 1800 is difficult to define. But one thing is certain that the rate at which we have borrowed has increased considerably over that of the 18th century though the rate is still a fraction (部分)of what it was in the Middle Ages. Yet not many of them will achieve central positions in English vocabulary as the earlier ones. In spite of this fact some words are found to fare(过活；进展) very successfully, e. g. résumé(摘要；简历), faire(美丽的), gourmet(美食家), cliché(陈词滥调), flair(才能), détente(国际关系等的缓和), attaché(试管的随员), liaison (连诵；语言的连音), morgue(太平间), dossier(档案；卷宗), discotheque(迪斯科舞厅), garage, chauffeur(司机), limousine(豪华轿车), convoy(护卫), cámouflage(伪装), triage(伤员鉴别分类).

 

    4. Scandinavian

The Scandinavian languages: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic, constitute the northern branch of the Germanic group. The earliest recorded form of Scandinavian is Old Norse. The Vikings(北欧海盗), who were first to raid Britain in A. D. 787, were a Germanic people closely related to the Anglo-Saxons, who had originally lived just south of them on the Continent(欧洲大陆). Their language known as Old Norse was very similar to Old English. Sharing a stock of basic words, the two peoples could understand each other quite well. In the 200 years that followed from the Northmen invasion, the Northmen swarmed into the British Isles and occupied the greater part of the land, which remained bilingual. However, the English element eventually prevailed(盛行) and the descendants of the Northmen gradually forgot Norse and spoke English. The English then was the result of the fusion (熔合)of the two peoples and cultures. Accordingly,hundreds of words were permanently absorbed into the English vocabulary. Many of these were basic and everyday words, often displacing original English ones. Among them are:

nouns: skill, husband, sister, leg, skin, bag, ball, bank, cake, club, dirt, gear(调节), link, root, scrap(碎屑；片段), seat, window;

pronouns: both, they, their, them; 

verbs: get, take, call, cast, die, gasp(喘气；热望), happen , hit, lift, raise, scare, want; 

adjectives: flat, happy, ill, loose, low, odd, tight, ugly, wrong.

    

Apart from the words mentioned above, we also find many commonly used words relating to birds, fish, animals and farming, such as bat(蝙蝠), dawn(绒毛) ( = soft feathers of young birds), booth (牲畜棚)( = stall or hut), egg, gill(鳃), kid ( = young goat), slaughter(屠宰), wing, tern (燕鸥), skate (鳐)( = flat-bodied sea fish); 

Words pertaining (与…有关)to the sea, shopping, weather: billow ( = wave), bulk(主体，大部分), gale(大风), gust(一阵强风), keel(船的龙骨), lee(避风处), raft(筏子，木排), sky, stern(船尾); words associated with society: fellow, law, outlaw(亡命徒，逃犯), lass(少女), steak(牛排) and many others.

Numerically, the Scandinavian words in the English vocabulary are not many as compared with those of French. But the role and significance of the Scandinavian element in the English language can never be overestimated because the Scandinavian loan words are homely expressions for things and actions of everyday importance as indicated by the examples. As Jespersen (1948) comments: '...... Scandinavian words will crop up together with (与…一起出现)the Anglo-Saxon ones in any conversation on the thousand nothings (无关紧要的事物或人)of daily life or on the five or six things of paramount (首要的，至为重要的)importance to high and low alike. An Englishman cannot thrive(兴旺发达，繁荣) or be ill or die without Scandinavian words; they are to the language, what bread and eggs are to the daily fare. ' (p83)

 

    5. Other Foreign Elements

    As we have mentioned above, English is a heavy borrower, which has absorbed words from all the major languages of the world with which it has had contact. Apart from Latin, Greek, French and Scandinavian, the other elements are much less important. Even among the minor languages, Italian, German, Dutch and Spanish have made considerable contributions to the English vocabulary. All the others are felt to be superficial(粗略的，肤浅的).

    1) Italian

    The Italians have always been prime (主要的)contributors to the civilization of Europe. As a result, innumerable Italian words have been borrowed into every European language. Of course, English is no exception. However, most of the Italian imports are of a technical nature and confined (限制，限定)to the fields of culture as in architecture: corridor(走廊，通道), balcony(阳台),design; in literature: sonnet(商籁体，十四行诗), stanza(诗节), improvise(即兴创作); in painting: miniature(微型画，微型复制品), profile(勾勒，侧面轮廓), model, relief(浮雕), picturesque(栩栩如生的), vista (景色，景观), and other forms of arts.

    In music, Italy has been so brilliant to the present day that the entire lexicon of classical music is dominated by Italian words. In fact we owe to Italian terms for half the musical instruments: piano, bass(低音，低音部), saxophone(萨克斯管), violin, accordion(手风琴); for most of the musical forms: concert, sonata(奏鸣曲), opera, solo(独唱，独奏), duet(二重奏，二重唱), trio(三重奏，三重唱), quartet(四重奏，四重唱), soprano(女高音), tenor(男高音，男高音部), brass(铜管乐器) , etc.

    Italian cooking, once advanced before French cuisine(烹饪，菜肴，风味), has achieved a permanent position in modern kitchen and restaurants. Among them we find many forms of pasta(意大利面食), such as spaghetti(意大利细面条), lasagna(意大利千层面), macaroni(通心面), ravioli(意大利方形饺) and other food terms like broccoli(西兰花), salami(萨拉米香肠), minestrone(意大利浓菜汤). Many common military terms are from Italian through French such as battalion(营), brigade(旅), campaign(战役), cannon(加农炮),cavalry(装甲兵), infantry(步兵). Words like attitude, bronze(青铜),casino(赌场), fiasco(惨败),gazette(公报，用于报刊名), influenza(流感), intrigue(密谋，激起…的兴趣), jeans, malaria(疟疾),umbrella, volcano and wig (假发)add to the richness of English vocabulary.

    

2)  German

    Though German and English are sisters belonging to the same language family, German influence on English is surprisingly slight. The German settlers did not penetrate deeply into the English vocabulary. Of the limited number of German borrowings, most are of a highly technical nature, e.g. cobalt(深蓝色), quartz(石英), nickel(镍), Fahrenheit, diesel(柴油), ecology(生态学). The few words that reach the average speaker of English are mainly concerned with food and drink such as delicatessen(熟食店), hamburger, lager(拉格啤酒), noodle. However, we do find some common words that were borrowed through German immigrants in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries, for example, hoodlum(恶棍，小流氓), loaf(一条) , nix(拒绝，阻止), dollar, kindergarten, poodle(卷毛狗), semester, swindle(诈骗).  

      3) Dutch

     Just like German, Dutch is closely related to English. The two languages have many ancestral(祖传的) words in common. Through the historical contact in trading, fighting, competing, exchanging ideas, borrowing has never been ceased(停止). As the Dutch were leaders in the sea and the seafaring(海上作业) as well as industry, and transportation, especially in the golden ages in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, three quarters of the Dutch borrowings occurred during this period: boom(船桁), skipper(小船或渔船的船长), sloop(单桅帆船), yacht(游艇), yawl(双桅轻便帆船), sledge(雪橇), stove, trigger(扳机，触发器), wagon, etc. Apart from these, there is a group of interesting words as landscape, sketch(素描，概述), boor(粗野之人), booze(酒精饮料), gin, pickle(腌菜), skate, boss, bush, spook(间谍，特工；惊吓), sleigh (马拉雪橇), including Santa Claus.    

      4) Spanish and Portuguese

    English borrowings from Spanish were not due to the study of Spanish literature, but to the commercial and political relations with Spain and to the descriptions of the country and her colonies furnished (提供)by English travelers. So far as the number is concerned, Spanish and Italian are comparable. Many of the Spanish words, particularly those that designated (指称)physical and cultural objects first encountered by Europeans in the Americas, entered English there: alligator(短吻鳄), armada(舰队), booby(傻瓜，笨蛋), bravo, cockroach, mosquito, Negro, potato, tornado, cafeteria.

Words from Portuguese are mainly associated with slave culture. The more recent loan words coming directly from Portuguese include albatross(信天翁), cobra(眼镜蛇), molasses(糖浆), pagoda(佛塔), port (波尔多葡萄酒), veranda(游廊), zebra, albino(患白化病的人), apricot(杏), banana.