Реферат: The etymology of english words (Этимология английских слов)
The second column of the table contains more groups, but it also implies a great quantity of words. Modern scholars estimate the percentage of borrowed words in the English vocabulary at 65—70 per cent which is an exceptionally high figure. It means that the native element[5] doesn’t prevail . This anomaly is explained by the country's eventful history and by its many international contacts.
Considering the high percentage of borrowed words, one would have to classify English as a language of international origin or, at least, a Romance one (as French and Latin words obviously prevail). But here another factor comes into play: the native element in English comprises a large number of high-frequency words like the articles, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, auxiliaries and, also, words denoting everyday objects and ideas (e. g. house, child, water, go, come, eat, good, bad, etc.).
Furthermore, the grammatical structure is essentially Germanic and it remains unaffected by foreign influence.
The Etymological Structure[6] of English Vocabulary
table 1
| The native element | The borrowed element |
| 1.Indo-European element | I. Celtic (5th – 6th c.A.D.). |
| 2.Germanic element | II. Latin |
| 1st group: 1st c.B.C. | |
| 2st group: 7th c.A.C. | |
| 3st group: the Renaissance period | |
| 3.English Proper element (no earlier than 5th c.A.D.) | III. Scandinavian (8th – 11th c.A.D.) |
| IV. French | |
| 1. Norman borrowings: 11th –13th c.A.D. | |
| 2. Parisian borrowings (Renaissance) | |
| V. Greek (Renaissance) | |
| VI. Italian (Renaissance and later) | |
| VII. Spanish (Renaissance and later) | |
| VIII. German | |
| IX. Indian | |
| X. Russian and some other groups |
The first column of the table consists of three groups, only the third being dated: the words of this group appeared in the English vocabulary in the 5th century or later, that is, after the Germanic tribes migrated to the British Isles. The tribal languages of the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes, by the time of their migration, contained only words of Indo-European and Germanic roots plus a certain number of the earliest Latin borrowings.
By the Indo-European element are meant words of roots common to all (or most) languages of the Indo-European group. The words of this group denote elementary concepts without which no human communication would be possible. The following groups can be identified.
1. Family relations: father, mother, brother, son, daughter.
2. Parts of the human body: foot, nose, lip, heart.
3. Animals: cow, swine, goose.
4. Plants: tree, birch, corn.
5. Time of day: day, night.
6. Heavenly bodies: sun, moon, star.
7. Numerous adjectives: red, new, glad, sad.
8. The numerals from one to a hundred.
9. Pronouns - personal (except “they” which is a Scandinavian borrowing) and demonstrative.
10.Numerous verbs: be, stand, sit, eat, know.
TheGermanic element represents words of roots common to all or most Germanic languages. Some of the main groups of Germanic words are the same as in the Indo-European element.
1. Parts of the human body: head, hand, arm, finger, bone.
2. Animals: bear, fox, calf.
3. Plants: oak, fir, grass.
4. Natural phenomena: rain, frost.
5. Seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer[7] .
6. Landscape features: sea, land.
7. Human dwellings and furniture: house, room, bench.
8. Sea-going vessels: boat, ship.
9. Adjectives: green, blue, grey, white, small, thick, high, old, good.
10.Verbs: see, hear, speak, tell, say, answer, make, give, drink.
The English proper element is opposed to the first two groups. For not only it can be approximately dated, but these words have another distinctive feature: they are specifically English have no cognates [8] in other languages whereas for Indo-European and Germanic words such cognates can always be found, as, for instance, for the following words of the Indo-European group.
Star: Germ. - Stern, Lat. - Stella, Gr. - aster.
Stand: Germ. – stehen, Lat. - stare, R. – стоять.