Loan Words as the Milestone of EnglishÂ
Loan Words as the Milestone of English
Loan Words as the Milestone of EnglishÂ
Loan Words as the Milestone of English: Almost all the language of the world borrows words, terms, phrases and many other linguistic elements from other languages. The elements borrowed from foreign languages are called Loan Words. The loan words have been called the âMile-stone of Philologyâ because loan words help us fix approximately the date of linguistic changes; they give us valuable information regarding the inner life of a nation; loan words inform us about the reciprocal relationships among nations; loan words contribute much to increase brotherhood among nations and above all loan- words enrich the vocabulary of a language considerably. Let us discuss the role of loan words in a language as follows:
First of all loan words help us fix approximately the date of linguistic changes. By studying the loan words of English we can know how English has come to its present modified status through evolution. By studying the loan words taken by Old English we can know that Old English spelling and pronunciation were more harsh and difficult than Middle English and Middle English was more complicated than Modern English. For example, Old English gender was grammatical, while the modern English gender is natural; old English was synthetical whereas Modern English is analytical. Thus we know that Old English verbs had only two tenses while in Modern English there are three tenses.
The second cause for being called the loan words the Mile-stone of Philology is that they show us the course of civilization and the wonders of the invention and in many cases, they give us valuable information regarding the inner life of nations. In other words, the loan words give us information on what nation was more advanced or what nation was inferior to the others. Thus by studying the loan words such as: wine, calic, flask, sester etc. taken by Old English from Latin in the Pre-Christian period, we can know that the Romans were more advance in the wine trade than the other nations for which they could influence on the English in the wine trade. Thus by studying the loan words of English from Greek, we can get valuable information that the Greeks were more advance in science and technology than the other nations. For example, due to the superiority of the Greeks, they could lend such terms to English as: anthropology, astrology, biology, botany, chemistry etc. By studying the French loan words taken up by English we can know that the French were more advanced and skilled in politics and administration than the other nations for which they could influence English and as a result, many French words entered into English, such as: crown, state, government, reign, realm, sovereign, minister etc.
Thirdly, the loan words inform us about the reciprocal relation amongst the nations, and much more they help us know the date and time of the reciprocal relations amongst nations. By studying the Scandinavian words we can know that the relationship between the English and the Scandinavians began towards the end of the eighth century. Thus by studying Indian loan words in English, we can be informed that the commercial relationship between India and England began in the seventeenth century.
Fourthly, loan words increase brotherhood among nations and help us think that all nations are one as there is a relationship among the languages. It is generally noticed that there are many Islamic people who speak English, although they differed in religion from the Christians, yet the English think those people to be akin to them because of language.
Fifthly, and above all loan words may be called the Milestone of philology because they increase the vocabulary of a language considerably. For example, the English language has borrowed many elements from Celtic, Latin, Scandinavians, French etc. from its earliest period and this borrowing have been going on to the present day which has enriched the English vocabulary beyond imagination. If these elements had not been borrowed, then the English language could never be able to become the honourable world language of the present-day world.
The above-mentioned causes make us agree with the comment of Otto Jesperson, a German philologist, who first said: âthe loan words have been called the Mile-stone of Philologyâ. 0 0 0
Loan Words as the Milestone of English
Read More: Latin Influences on English
N. B. This article entitled ‘Loan Words as the Milestone of English’ originally belongs to the book ‘A Brief History of the English Language‘ by Menonim Menonimus.Â
Loan Words as the Milestone of English
Books of Linguistics by M. Menonimus:
- A Brief History of the English Language
- Essays on Linguistics
- My Imageries
- Felicitous Expression: Some Examples
- Learners’ English Dictionary
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