On the problem of borrowings in the Russian language

Groups of loanwords

Borrowings according to the degree of penetration into the vocabulary of the Russian language can be divided into three groups.

1. The first group includes words that have long been included in the Russian language, have been firmly assimilated by it and are not perceived by native speakers as foreign:

• school (Greek)
• class (lat.)
• briefcase (French)
• backpack (German)
• gymnasium (Greek)
• college (English)
• pioneer (English)
• barn (Turkic)
• Olympics (Greek)
• encyclopedia (French)
• suit (Italian)
• tea (Chinese)
• whip (scand.)
• silo (Spanish), etc.

The word “bread,” which has long been included in our speech, was borrowed by the Slavs from the ancient Germanic language. Nowadays, only linguists can figure out its “foreignness”.

This group of long-borrowed lexemes also includes everyday words:

sugar, cabbage, lantern, plate, heel, beets, doll, bed, bazaar, etc.

Many foreign words related to education and politics have become in demand due to the need to name a new concept that has already been invented by another people:

anatomy, democracy, dictatorship, philosophy, student, dean, audience, etc.

Maritime terms (sailor, harbor, pilot, boat, etc.) were also borrowed from the Dutch language. Many musical terms were learned from the Italian language (sonatina, symphony, piano, baritone, aria, soprano).

Russian people altered some foreign words in their own way. For example, from the German word Jahrmarkt, which literally means “annual market,” “fair” arose, and the German Teller on Russian soil turned into a plate.

2. A significant group consists of borrowed words, known to all native speakers and being the only name for the designated concepts. They retain their foreign language characteristics:

• sidewalk
• sandwich
• pajamas
• service
• floor lamp
• foxtrot
• shade
• Taxi
• purse
• trolleybus

3. Foreign words that are limited to the speech situation and are not widely used. You can feel their bookish character. This group includes words that have analogues in Russian:

• association - community, union;
• contract - agreement;
• tender - competition;
• punctual - precise;
• ignore - not notice;
• exaggerate - exaggerate;
• consensus - agreement;
• conservative - stagnant

etc.

Modern borrowings

All modern languages ​​tend to use foreign words. The reasons for borrowing are close economic, political, cultural and other ties between different countries.

The process of replenishing the language with new words occurs in different ways: through oral speech, through written sources and other languages.

Lexical borrowing from a foreign language enriches the Russian language without violating its grammatical structure and internal laws of development.

Over the past few decades, the vocabulary of the Russian language has increased due to rapid scientific and technological progress, universal computerization, and significant changes in politics, economics and culture.

New objects and concepts arose that gave rise to words:

• summit
• monetarism
• manager
• rating
• roaming
• computer
• monitor
• file
• laptop
• cursor
• hacker
• charter
• showman

etc.

In our speech, one borrowed word can replace entire phrases:

• remix - a new performance or arrangement of a well-known melody;
• motel - hotel for autotourists;
• freestyle - downhill skiing performing various figures;
• sprint – short distance running;
• flyer - an advertising leaflet giving the right to a discount when paying for an entrance ticket;

etc.

In modern Russian, borrowed words make up approximately 15% of the total vocabulary. Russian words are also in demand in other languages. The most popular Russian words are “tsar”, “vulgarity”, “vodka”, “borscht”, “icon”.

General idea of ​​borrowing foreign words

Modern speech is replenished with words thanks to their borrowing from other languages.
Such borrowing is one of the ways of developing modern languages. Borrowings of foreign words are the result of relationships between countries and contacts between peoples. Note 1

A borrowing is either the borrowed word itself or the copying (usually inaccurate and incomplete) of words and expressions from one language to another. This phenomenon has a significant impact on the development of language, which must quickly and flexibly respond to the expressed needs of society.

In most cases, the borrowing of foreign words is caused by the active development of communication between speakers of different languages ​​(for example, trade, industry, military affairs, etc.). The mutual influence of languages ​​depends on the stability and duration of these connections. This influence is expressed in their borrowing of foreign words.

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Moreover, the borrowing of foreign words occurred throughout the entire historical development of the language. Therefore, some borrowings date back to ancient times, while others occurred relatively recently. This needs to be clearly understood by linguists who are ready to begin the study of borrowings in modern speech.

Table of characteristics of borrowed words

In modern speech, borrowed words can be recognized by their characteristic features:

• initial letters “a”, “e” (absurd, obstetrician, shareholder, era, exam);
• unstressed vowel [o] at the end of a word (cocoa, solo, sorghum);
• the consonant sound before the letter “e” is pronounced firmly (delta, coupe, puree, breeches, purse, synthesis, interview, thesis)
• double consonants in the root of a word (column, opponent, rack, platform, session);
• combinations of “bu”, “vu”, “kyu”, “mu”, “nu”, “pu”, “ryu”, “fu” (bulletin, engraving, cure, communiqué, muesli, nuance, parvenu, music stand, dressing table , fuselage);
• final letter combinations -an, -azh, -ant, -ent, -ing, -men, -tor, -er, etc. (cardigan, plane tree, vernissage, nominee, impeachment, briefing, businessman, consignor, producer, dealer, biker );
• fusion of vowel sounds (maestro, convertible, croissant, oasis, laptop, promoter);
• a combination of the letters “yo”, “ye”, “yo” (mayonnaise, pedestal, play, rentier, pavilion, battalion, canyon);
• indeclinable nouns and adjectives (protégé, jelly, muffler, avocado, mini, sushi, cockatoo, indigo).

Use of borrowed words

The striking feature of linguistic development at the end of the 20th century is the active borrowing of words mainly from the English language in its American version. If in 60-90 approximately 9-10 thousand borrowings appeared, then since 1990, more than 30 thousand foreign words have poured into Russian speech in a stormy stream. This number significantly exceeds the vocabulary of even a highly educated person. According to the latest data, the active vocabulary of a modern person is 9 - 13 thousand words. For comparison, here are the following numbers:

A. S. Pushkin used 21 thousand words in his works and letters, Sergei Yesenin - about 19 thousand, Cervantes - 17 thousand.

Foreign words differ in their scope of use; they are mainly used in book speech. In recent decades, it has borrowed especially many words

• sphere of politics (inauguration, publicity, summit, rating, electorate);
• economics (audit, barter, broker, distributor, marketing, management, office, offshore);
• mass culture (underground, bestseller, image maker, showman, music video maker);
• computer equipment (banner, browser, pager, server, file);
• fashion (makeup artist, bermuda shorts, blazer, boutique, casting), etc.

Native speakers, when choosing foreign words, must take into account their lexical meaning, stylistic coloring, usage, and compatibility with other lexemes. Ignoring these criteria for the use of borrowed words leads to tautological errors:

• examination session;
• reach a milestone;
• strange paradox;
• first debut;
• free vacancy, etc.

It should be remembered that a foreign word should be used only when it is necessary to accurately designate a new concept, which has no analogue in the Russian vocabulary.

Excessive use of foreign words clogs the language, complicates communication between people and ultimately leads to the loss of its originality.

In our time, as a national treasure, the Russian language needs to be treated with care. The words of I. S. Turgenev are still relevant:

Take care of the purity of your language as a sacred thing! Don't use foreign words. The Russian language is so rich and flexible that we have nothing to take from those who are poorer than us.

Thus, a borrowing is necessary, which names a concept that did not exist in the language before (yogurt, the Internet, ikebana).

An unjustified borrowing is a word that is introduced from a foreign language as a synonym to define a concept that already exists in the Russian language.

Let's observe:

• contract (agreement);
• consensus (agreement);
• goalkeeper (goalkeeper)
• presentation (performance);
• installation (exhibition);
• pluralism (diversity);
• incident (incident);
• optimal (suitable;)
• parking (parking);
• casting (viewing);
• modernization (update);
• innovation (novelty);
• comfort (coziness)

etc.

At the same time, many of the foreign words decorate modern speech, making it more informative and expressive. However, we should not forget that an excessive abundance of borrowed words in the speech of a modern person can lead to undesirable consequences: our language can dissolve in a huge number of borrowings, lose its nationality and identity.

Advantages and disadvantages of using foreign words in modern speech

Filling modern human speech with foreign words will lead to certain consequences (primarily in relation to the culture of speech). On the one hand, a positive impact can be had on language development, but on the other hand, there are a number of risks, if realized, the speech situation may become unfavorable.

The advantages of people using foreign words in their speech include the following:

• firstly, many foreign words can be much more expressive than similar words from the native language, which will lead to the embellishment of human speech (it can become more interesting and expressive);
• secondly, the elements of foreign vocabulary provide a set of appropriately used words within the framework of specific functional purposes of speech (for example, in scientific or official business styles, where terms and designations generally accepted throughout the world are used);
• thirdly, borrowing foreign words is often necessary to describe the culture of the country where this foreign language is spoken (for example, in relation to Japan - the words “samurai”, “sakura”, etc.);
• fourthly, situations are possible when there are simply no words in the native language that would name some object (phenomenon, event) from the surrounding world, therefore, to solve this problem, it is more appropriate to use an already existing specialized foreign word.

Finished works on a similar topic

Coursework Foreign words in modern speech: pros and cons 440 ₽ Abstract Foreign words in modern speech: pros and cons 240 ₽ Test work Foreign words in modern speech: pros and cons 250 ₽

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Consequently, borrowing words from foreign languages ​​can solve a number of problems for the recipient language and make it more expressive. However, at the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the existing negative consequences of replenishing one’s own vocabulary with foreign language vocabulary. These consequences include disadvantages such as:

• firstly, too much foreign words in a person’s speech can make it difficult to perceive and understand his speech, which will result in a decrease in the effectiveness of the process of communication with this person;
• secondly, the abundance of foreign words in a person’s speech will increase the likelihood of committing a lexical error caused by their inappropriate and incorrect use (for example, the formation of phrases like “vacancy”);
• thirdly, a person’s unreasonable use of foreign words in his speech can violate its purity, that is, the principles of accuracy and brevity of speech will not be observed and, as a result, meaningless and unrelated expressions may appear;
• fourthly, the dominance of works of fiction will negatively affect their expressiveness and expressiveness.

In addition, it is worth noting that a huge number of borrowed words is a threat to the existence of language as a specific and individual means of communication of a particular people.