Words have been borrowed from a large number of other languages, but no great advantage will be gained by burdening the memory with lists of terms for which various foreign countries have been placed under contribution. The student who is asked to mention a word which we have taken from an Indian or Chinese source should think of something peculiar to India or China, and examples will suggest themselves. Thus punkah or rupee may occur to him as Hindustani words, nankeen or tea as Chinese. A few illustrations are added of common words borrowed from miscellaneous sources: Modern French-bouquet, etiquette, programme. Modern German-meerschaum, plunder, waltz. Dutch-sloop, skipper, yacht. Russian-drosky, rouble, steppe. Hebrew-cherub, seraph, shibboleth. Arabic-alkali, sheik, sherbet. Persian-bazaar, ghoul, shawl. Malay-amuck ('to run amuck'), gong, sago. QUESTIONS. I. These six Latin words occur in names of places and are marks of the Roman occupation of Britain:-castra, 'a camp'; colonia, ‘a colony'; fossa, 'a ditch'; portus, 'a harbour'; strata, ‘a paved road'; vallum, 'a rampart.' Mention names in which these Latin words survive. 2. The following Latin words furnish us with pairs of derivatives which came into our language (1) indirectly through the NormanFrench, (2) directly at the Revival of Learning. Give the pairs of derivatives:-fragilis, pœnitentia, securus, pauper, redemptionem. 3. What other forms have we of the words privy, royal, story, blame? Which of the forms came into the language first? Why do you think so? 4. Pick out the words of Latin origin in the 19th Psalm. 5. Mention the periods at which words of Latin origin were largely introduced into English. Give instances of words introduced at each period. 6. Give the words of English origin in common use which most nearly answer to the following:-expansion, construction, ridiculous, fortitude, depression, depart, transgression, elevation, probability, virtuous. 7. Of the elements composing the English vocabulary, which is (1) the largest, and (2) the oldest? To what European dialects is English most nearly akin? 8. Assign to its proper language the italicised part of each of the following words :-Carlisle, Doncaster, Derby, Lincoln. 9. How is it that so many rivers in England bear the name of Avon? In what forms does Ex appear in names of places? [Avon is a Keltic word for 'river' and Ex for water.' The name Avon or Ex, given by the British inhabitant to the river in his neighbourhood, would be preserved by the English settler. Hence we have upwards of a dozen rivers called 'Avon' in England, and 'Ex' in various disguises is even more common: e.g. Ex-eter, Ax-minster, Uxbridge, Usk, Ouse. In Scotland alone there are more than half-a-dozen rivers called Esk.] IO. Rewrite the following passage, substituting, where possible, words of English origin for those derived from Latin: 'The old man trusts wholly to slow contrivance and gradual progression. The youth expects to force his way by genius, vigour, and precipitance. The old man deifies prudence. The youth commits himself to magnanimity and chance. Age looks with anger on the temerity of youth, and youth with contempt on the scrupulosity of age.' Johnson. II. From what causes and in what ways have foreign words obtained a footing in the English language? [Mention as the chief agencies (1) conquest, (2) commercial intercourse, (3) literary influence.] 12. Give illustrations of the way in which a study of the sources of the English language corroborates what we learn from English history. 13. What languages had been spoken in this island, or were being spoken in it, when the English Conquest took place? Were they in any way akin to the speech of the Angles and the Saxons? 14. What do you know of the origin of each of the following words? Comment on their connexion with facts of English history:Avon, Chester, Grimsby, cloister, cherry, beef, potion, poison. CONSTITUENTS OF THE VOCABULARY. 21 15. Describe with illustrations the influence of the Celtic and of the Scandinavian languages upon our English vocabulary. 16. Mention eight English words which have come to us from different foreign languages and state the source of each. 17. What is the source of each word in the following sentence?— 'Meanwhile the great rhetorical fabric gradually arose. He revised, erased, strengthened, emphasized, with indefatigable industry.' 18. What is the origin of the words priest, bard, fealty, punkah? What kind of intercourse led to the adoption of each of these words into our vocabulary? 19. Write any four consecutive lines of English poetry and underline the words of non-Teutonic origin. 20. Illustrate the influence of the social and political institutions of the Normans upon the English vocabulary. 21. What is meant by speaking of a word of foreign origin as .' acclimatized' or 'naturalized'? [See § 92, I. We may also describe as 'imperfectly naturalized' a foreign word which retains in English its foreign pronunciation, e.g. ennui. Think of some more examples.] 22. How do we obtain names for new ideas and new inventions? Give instances. [Bear in mind that in some cases these novelties are named after the men by whom they were introduced.] 23. 'English has borrowed largely from other languages.' Does this seem to you an advantage or a drawback? Give a few examples of words thus borrowed. [A language should have a vocabulary large enough to express the ideas of the people who use it. In what respects would English be deficient without its Latin or Greek element? On the other hand, there is a risk that the synonyms of a mixed vocabulary may land a speaker or writer in tautology or fallacious argument. Thus an orator advocated 'freedom of speech' on the ground that every man ought to have 'unrestricted liberty of expressing his sentiments.'] TE UNIVERSIT 22 CHAPTER III. THE INDO-EUROPEAN OR ARYAN FAMILY OF LANGUAges. me, is. 24. WHEN we are learning Greek or Latin, French or German, we come across some words that are the same in form as their English equivalents and many more words that are very like them. Take the English words one, three, Everybody can see the resemblance of these words to the French un, trois, me, est; to the Latin unus, tres, me, est; to the German ein, drei, mich, ist; to the Greek ev, τpeîs, με, ἐστί. A knowledge of other languages of Europe would enable us to carry the comparison further with the certainty of finding in them corresponding resemblances. From the fact that these similarities exist we are not to draw the inference that our English ancestors derived the word me from the Latin, or that the Romans derived their word me from the Greek. We did not wait for the Romans to supply us with a necessary word like me, nor were the Romans without it until they took it from the Greeks. With regard to the French words un, trois, me, est, the case is different; they do 'come from' the Latin unus, tres, me, est, for the Romans conquered Caul, and the Gauls adopted in the main the language of their conquerors. But me was good English before the Normans came to England. Such words as secure, convict, hospital, detect, have really 'come from' the Latin: we borrowed them directly. But it would be a great mistake to suppose that wherever we find a likeness between words in two languages, there has been any borrowing at all, direct or indirect. Now resemblances such as we see between words like one, three, me, is, in a number of different languages, are too many for them to be the result of chance. If then the similar words in one language have not been taken from those in another, how are we to account for the similarity? 25. The explanation is this, that the various languages have proceeded from a common source. Suppose that many of the nations of Europe and Asia are descended from a tribe which existed some thousands of years ago. Suppose that, as this tribe increased in numbers, it became a difficult matter to supply the growing population with food. We know what happens in our own time and country when men find a difficulty about getting a livelihood in the place of their birth. They go somewhere else. Sometimes they move from the country districts and settle in the large towns. Sometimes they leave the old country and seek their fortunes in a new one. The men who cut themselves adrift from their old moorings are, as a rule, the younger, more vigorous, and more enterprising members of the community. The old folk stay on at home. In much the same fashion we may imagine that this primitive nation witnessed long ago the exodus of many of the more hardy and energetic of its members. With their tents and their cattle, these younger men would wander away from the family settlement, until they found a district which seemed attractive as a permanent resting-place, a district with a river at hand and pasture for the herds. And here the descendants of these emigrants would remain until in their case was repeated the history of what had happened to their fore fathers. The pressure of an increasing population would make a fresh migration necessary, and a part of the tribe would again set out to found a new settlement. Suppose |