PERIODIZATION OF THE BORROWING PROCESS OF CHINESE ORIGIN LEXICAL UNITS IN THE ENGLISH LITERARY LANGUAGE SYSTEM
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2019-7-96-104
Introduction. At the present stage of the development of linguistics as a science, no common criteria have been developed that would be applicable to all the languages in order to distinguish the periods of their historical development. This is due to the significant differences between literary languages at all, as well as the lack of a common opinion of researchers on this issue. The development of a certain periodization is intended to regulate the accumulated theoretical knowledge of the changes that occurred at different stages of the formation of a literary language. English literary language has the status of a language of international communication and is heterogeneous in its nature. In its vocabulary there are layers of borrowings from many other languages. The borrowing process, in turn, is ambiguous, and also needs a detailed description. Speaking about the layer of Chinese borrowings in the system of the English language, it should be noted that this structural part of the language system has its peculiar features determined by fundamental sociocultural differences between the European countries as a whole and the countries of Asia. The peculiarities of Chinese borrowings are closely connected with the evolution of the recipient language, therefore it is important to consider the periodization of the borrowing process in the context of the two cultures’ interaction. The aim of the paper is to suggest a certain periodization of the borrowing process of lexical units of Chinese origin in the system of the English literary language, taking into account the system and historical parameters of this borrowing layer. Material and methods. The borrowing process is the result of the interaction of languages over a definite period of time. Today, the number of languages that are not affected by foreign influence is minimal. On this basis, borrowing process seems to be one of the inherent phenomena peculiar to the language system at various points of its historical development. The evolution of the language, in turn, is determined by both linguistic and extralinguistic factors. The latter are the socio-cultural basis, which, in many respects, determines the linguistic side of the changes occurring in the language in different time intervals. By its nature, language is a social phenomenon; therefore, the description of its system requires an approach that is able to fully reflect the characteristic features of the various stages, which also includes an understanding of the cultural and historical environment of language functioning. Results and discussion. The existing periodization of the English literary language is considered. The correlation between the temporal division of the language history into stages and the language situation typical for each of them is revealed. The criteria for distinguishing periods in the process of borrowing lexical units of Chinese origin in the system of the English literary language have been developed: 1. language situation, 2. type of borrowing, 3. diversity of intermediate languages, 4. equivalence. Based on these criteria, the periodization of the borrowing process of lexical units from Chinese is proposed: Chinese borrowings of the Early period (XVII-XVIII centuries), Chinese borrowings of the Middle period (XIX century up to 1978) and Chinese borrowings of the Modern period (1978 – present time). Within the three periods listed above, the scientific novelty is represented by the development of a new set of criteria determining the periodization of the borrowing process for lexical units of Chinese origin. The description of borrowings in the system of the English literary language in the role of a recipient language is given considering the language situation as a significant factor for the development along with the traditionally accepted temporal criterion. Conclusion. The developed periodization allows structuring the layer of borrowed lexical units of Chinese origin in accordance with the peculiarities of the English literary language (recipient language) at different stages of its historical development. Taking the sociocultural factor into account contributes to creating a more complete picture of the language system evolution. The materials of the current research have both theoretical and practical value and can be applied to developing university courses and teaching such disciplines as English grammar, phonetics, stylistics, lexicology, sociolinguistics, history of English, intercultural communication, also in teaching theory and practice of translation.
Keywords: English literary language, vocabulary, periodization, Chinese borrowings, language situation
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Issue: 7, 2019
Series of issue: Issue 7
Rubric: RESEARCH OF GERMAN LANGUAGES
Pages: 96 — 104
Downloads: 864