Lingua italiana: un ruolo nella modernizzazione della lingua inglese moderna

Any modern language is ever-evolving. It changes due to the influence of different factors, both in the structure and outside the language system. Objective factors are the permanent linguistic contacts, often associated with the migration of people, wars, and changes of spheres of influence between the different religions.

Scientists noticed that a huge proportion of the modern English vocabulary is the loan-words. Thus, the percentage of borrowings is much higher than in many other languages. The number of native words in the English dictionary is only about 30%.

Many of the foreign authors, who researched the English lexicology, have the view that the development and enrichment of English vocabulary were mainly due to the lexical borrowings from other languages. The primary languages words were borrowed are Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian and German.

Foreign linguists emphasize the mixed nature of the English language. Influence of other languages, primarily romance, stands out as the most important factor in the development of English because of long contact for some historical reasons.

The many words of Anglo-Saxon language do not exist in English language, even in a modified form. Their place was filled by loanwords from other languages, especially from Latin and French. The borrowing was done on such a big scale that only when we talk about vocabulary, the question arises if  English is Germanic or romance.

The first layer of Latin loans is connected with domination of the Roman Empire. The period of formation and blossoming of Latin has been connected with transformation of Rome into the largest slaveholding state which has subordinated to the power extensive territories.

At the beginning of the 3rd century between the German tribes and Romans there were commercial relations which have left some marks in their languages. Loans of this period reflected character of the cultural, economic and military relations between the tribes.

The second layer of Latin loans was associated with an era of a Christianization of Britain. During this era Latin was the standard language of Catholic Church. Therefore distribution of Christianity in Britain has created new conditions for contact between Old English and Latin. It was not national Latin, but church language.

All words of this group were borrowed by oral. At the same time they have obeyed to a grammatical system of English and lost original grammatical form. Moreover, borrowings have adjusted to all those natural phonetic changes which have happened in words of English over his history.

If to tell about Italian loanwords, economic and political connections of England and Italy have been beginning to develop since the 14th century. The English economy has been connected with the Italian manufactory which could not exist without the English wool. These economic and political connections have found the reflection in dictionary structure of English.

However Italian has exerted the strongest impact during in the Renaissance. Literature and the fine arts of this epoch have played an important role in formation in general of the European culture.

It should be noted that some Italian words have been borrowed by English not directly, but through other languages, because of distribution of Romance loans in the European languages, for example, German.

In the 16th century economic relations with Italy have caused new loans. However the greatest number of the words, borrowed from Italian, is connected with area of art. The 17th century is connected with the number of the loans relating to public life, trade, and also art and music. Active political struggle in Italy also gives incentive to a number of loans in the 19th century. It should be added that in English, as well as in some other European languages, there are some Italian set phrases too.

Thus, loans differently influenced enrichment of dictionary structure in various languages. Such huge number of loan-words in English allows speaking about that English lost the originality and it is the “hybrid language”.

But in spite of the fact that a large number of words in English are the borrowings from other languages, this one did not lose the identity. It remained the language of German group with all characteristic features inherent in it throughout its development.