8.Scandinavian loan-words in Modern English.

From the end of the 8th c. to the middle of the 11th c. England underwent several Scandinavian invasions which inevitably left their trace on English vocabulary. Here are some examples of early Scandinavian borrowings: call, v., take, v., cast, v., die, v., law, п., husband, n. (< Sc. hus + bondi, i. e. "inhabitant of the house"), window n. (< Sc. vindauga, i. e. "the eye of the wind"), ill, adj., loose, adj., low, adj., weak, adj. Some of the words of this group are easily recognisable as Scandinavian borrowings by the initial sk- combination. E. g. sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt.

Certain English words changed their meanings under the influence of Scandinavian words of the same root. So, the O. E. bread which meant "piece" acquired its modern meaning by association with the Scandinavian brand. The О. Е. dream which meant "joy" assimilated the meaning of the Scandinavian draumr(cf. with the Germ. Traum "dream" and the R. дрёма).

Total number – appr. 900 words; about 700 belong to Stand. E.

Features:

/k/ and /g/ before e and i, e.g. give, kid, get, gift;

/sk/ in the initial position, e.g. sky, skill, score, skin, skirt;

nouns: anger, bag, band, bank, bull, calf, cake, dirt, egg, fellow, fog, knife, leg, loan, law, neck, root, ransack, sister, wing, window;

adjectives: awkward, flat, happy, ill, low, loose, odd, rotten, scant, sly, silver, tight, ugly, wrong;

verbs: cast, call, clip, die, gasp, get, give, guess, raise, seem, scare, scowl, seem, smile, take, thrive, want;

pronouns: they, their, them, themselves, though, both, same.

Legal terms (together with military terms reflecting the relations during the Danish raids and Danish rule represent the earliest loan-words):

husband – originally ‘a house holder’, one who owns a house;

fellow – originally ‘one who lays down a fee, as a partner or shareholder’;

law – originally ‘that which is laid down’;

Place-names:

-thorp ‘village’ as in Althorp;

-by ‘farm / town’ as in Derby, Rugby;

-toft ‘piece of land’ as in Sandtoft;

-ness ‘cape’ as in Inverness, Loch Ness;

Forming elements:

are (pr. tense pl. to be), -s (pr. tense, 3rd p. sg)

9.French elements in the English vocabulary. Periods of borrowings from French.

Norman French (XI- XIII c.) – a northern dialect of French: calange, warrant, warden, reward, prisun, gaol

Parisian French (XIII-XVI c.) – the prestige dialect:

challenge, guarantee, guardian, regard, prison, jail

Features of French loans:

the accent on the last syllable: finance, finesse, supreme;

ch /ʃ/, e.g. avalanche, chandelier, chauffeur, charlatan, chic;

g before e and i /ʒ/, e.g. beige, bourgeois, camouflage, massage;

ou /u:/: coup, rouge;

eau /ou/ château;

silent final consonant p, s, t: coup, debris, ragoût, trait, ballet, debut.

Semantic groups of French borrowings:

administration: crown, country, people, office, nation, government;

titles and ranks of nobility: baron, duke, duchess, prince, peer,

but lord, lady, king, queen, earl, knight – native;

jurisdiction: case, heir, poor, justice, marriage, jury, prove;

the Church and religion: abbey, altar, Bible, grace, pray, saint;

military terms: army, battle, escape, soldier, navy, aid;

entertainment: dance, chase, partner, sport, tournament, cards;

fashion: dress, lace, embroidery, garment, mitten, frock;

food and drink: dinner, supper, appetite, spice, taste, vinegar, fruit;

the domestic life: chair, blanket, lantern, chandelier, couch, towel;

Words related to different aspects of the life of the upper classes and of the town life:

forms of address (French): sir, madam, mister, mistress, master, servant;

the names of the animals (native) vs the meat (French): cow – beef; calf – veal, swine – pork; deer – venison; sheep – mutton;

the names of country occupations (native) vs town trades (French): miller, shepherd, shoemaker, smith – butcher, carpenter, grocer, tailor;