Obsolescence & Borrowings
Words becoming obsolete and words being taken from other languages, are the two most straight-forward ways in which the vocabulary of the English language changes.
In the exam it is better to use tentative language when stating whether a word is obsolete, as it may simply be a word that you haven’t seen before.
Obsolescence:
If a new word (neologism) enters the language which has a similar meaning to one that already exists, one of the words will become obsolete, or shift its meaning* to enable new distinctions to be made.
*Semantic change
The word is no longer used at all, or very few people know what it means.
Archaism:
This term can describe a word that has simply fallen out of use, but most people still know what it means.
Loanwords (Borrowings):
Many words have been borrowed from other languages such as French, Latin and American.
Later French borrowings partly retained their original French pronunciation, and the French system of giving equal value to all the syllables of a word; premiere, cliché, chocolate.
Words borrowed from the romance language have a mixed parentage:
- French borrowed from the Romans, who had borrowed from the Greeks.
- English borrowed their borrowings
Loanwords can either be taken straight from the original language or indirectly via another language.
- Obsolete words are those that are no longer used.
- Archaic words are old-fashioned but may occasionally be used.
- Loanwords (Borrowings) are those that we have simply taken from other languages.
In the exam it is better to use tentative language when stating whether a word is obsolete, as it may simply be a word that you haven’t seen before.
Obsolescence:
If a new word (neologism) enters the language which has a similar meaning to one that already exists, one of the words will become obsolete, or shift its meaning* to enable new distinctions to be made.
*Semantic change
The word is no longer used at all, or very few people know what it means.
Archaism:
This term can describe a word that has simply fallen out of use, but most people still know what it means.
Loanwords (Borrowings):
Many words have been borrowed from other languages such as French, Latin and American.
- French borrowings are mainly elegant words with connotations of refinement and romance. They brought new and softer sounds into English, and as a result of stressing their words differently, it brought more varied rhythms to our language.
Later French borrowings partly retained their original French pronunciation, and the French system of giving equal value to all the syllables of a word; premiere, cliché, chocolate.
- Latin borrowings are more relevant to people’s experience; Pauper, scribe, mediator
- Greek borrowings are more specialized; Arithmetic, grammar, astronomy
Words borrowed from the romance language have a mixed parentage:
- French borrowed from the Romans, who had borrowed from the Greeks.
- English borrowed their borrowings
Loanwords can either be taken straight from the original language or indirectly via another language.