Гос филология / ddd / 2

2. Etymological characteristics of the English vocabulary.

Etymology is a branch of Linguistics studying the origin of words, their change and development, the linguistic and extralinguistic forces modifying their structure, meaning and usage. The term "etymology" is derived from the Greek word "etymon" which means "the true, original meaning of a word".

According to the etymological principle the English vocabulary is usually divided into 2 uneven classes:

• native words, which make up about 30% of the English vocabulary;

• borrowed words which make up about 70% of the English vocabulary.

Native words are words which belong to the original word-stock (словарный запас).

Words adopted from foreign languages are known as borrowed words, loan words, or borrowings.

Though native words constitute only about 30% of the English vocabulary, they make up the greatest part of the basic word-stock in English (основной словарный фонд языка).

The basic word-stock is the stable stock of the most frequently used 3 or 4 thousand words which constitute the core of the vocabulary preserving the national peculiarities of the language. The changes in the basic word-stock are very slow and are not easily perceptible.

Native words have a higher frequency value than most of the borrowings. They occur in any spoken or written speech forming the "foundation and framework of the English language" (Кунин).

Words of native origin include most of the conjunctions, numerals, prepositions, pronouns and strong verbs. The definite and indefinite articles are also of native origin.

The native element in modern English is mostly monosyllabic. But as for their meanings, native words in English are polysemantic. They show great word-building power and make up the majority of set-expressions and proverbs.

E.g. "milk": "milky", "milkman", "to milk", "milk-white", "There's no use crying over spilt milk";

"water": "to water", "watery", "waterfair, "waterproof, "Blood is thicker than water"

(Свой своего не обидит).

According to their origin native words may be divided into 3 groups:

• Indo-European;

• Common-Germanic;

• English words proper.

1) Native words of the Indo-European origin are the oldest. They have correlated words in IE languages: Romanic, Slavonic, Germanic, and even in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. Here belong such words as:

-father, mother, son, brother, daughter;

• bull, wolf, goose, cow;

• nose, heart, foot;

• to stand, to sit, to be, to eat, to know;

• quick, slow, red, new, glad, sad;

• one, two, ..., hundred;

• tree, birch, corn;

• pronouns (except "they ");

• sun, moon; day, night.

E.g. The native English word "mother" (OE "moder") has correlated words in Icelandic -mothir, in German - Mutter, in Russian - мать, in Latin - mater, in Greek - meter, in Sanskrit - matr.

2) Native words of the Common-Germanic stock have conelated words/parallels in the languages of the Germanic group only: in German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, etc., but not in Russian, French or Italian They constitute a larger part of the native words in English Here belong such words as:

• head, hand, arm, finger, bone;

• summer, winter, spring (not "autumn ");

• storm, rain, ice, frost;

• oak, fir, grass;

• bear, fox, calf;

• house, bench, room, ship, boat;

• sea, land; life, hope;

• hat, shoe;

• to go, to tell, to speak, to say, to answer, to see, to hear, to drink, to sing, to make, to learn, to have;

• broad, green, gray, blue, dead, small, thick, high, old, good;

• all, each, self, such, he, here, there, near, etc.

E.g. the native English word "hand' (OE "hand") has correlated words in Dutch - hand, in German - Hand, in Icelandic - hind, but no parallels in the languages outside the Germanic group.

3) The third group of native words is represented by the so-called English words proper, or specifically English words, which have no cognates (words of the same etymological root, родственное слово) in other languages. They are: - boy, girl, lord, lady, woman, bird, always, daisy.