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How Languages Borrow Words
linguisticsNo language develops in isolation. Whenever speakers of different languages come into contact through trade, migration or conquest, words pass from one language to another. English is a striking example: a large of its vocabulary comes from French, Latin and Greek.
Borrowing often the relationship between two communities. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, French became the language of the ruling class in England. , many words connected with law, government and fine food entered English from French. Words for animals in the field, such as cow and pig, stayed English, while the words for their meat on the table, beef and pork, came from French, a of who farmed the land and who ate its produce.
Borrowed words rarely remain unchanged. Their pronunciation is usually to fit the sound system of the new language, and their meaning may narrow or shift. Today English is a major of words rather than a borrower: terms such as weekend and email are now used in dozens of languages.