CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. The Background of Borrowing in Languages 1
1.1 The Definition of Borrowing in Languages 1
1.2 The Characteristics of English Loanwords 2
2. The Influence of Roman Conquest (43 A. D.—410 A. D.) on English Loanwords 3
2.1 The Borrowing of Latin in the Period of Roman Conquest (43 A. D.—410 A. D.) 3
2.2 The Borrowings of Latin after the Period of Roman Ruling (450 A.D. —1150 A. D.) 5
3. The Influence of Norman Conquest (1066) on English Loanwords 7
3.1 The Borrowing of French before Norman Conquest 7
3.2 The Borrowing of French during Norman Conquest 8
3.3 The Borrowing of French after Norman Coquest 8
4. The Difference between the Influences of the Conquest of Roman and Norman on English Loanwords 10
4.1 The Reasons that Resulted in the Difference 10
4.2 The Difference between the Classes of Loanwords Caused by Two Conquests 13
5. Conclusion 14
Bibliography 17
Abstract: English vocabulary has almost more than one million words which can be divided into two parts according to its origin, native words and loan words. English has shown a marked tendency to go outside her own linguistic resources and borrow from other languages to widen her vocabulary. From a historical perspective, Latin, one of the oldest languages in the world, has exerted an important influence on English’s vocabulary during different periods. The Roman Christianizing of Britain in 597 brought England into contact with Latin civilization and made significant additions to English vocabulary. And the continuous war between Britain and France especially the Norman Conquest from the beginning of the 11th century to the middle of the 14th century resulted in not only the revolution of society but also the changes of English and its vocabulary. This paper analyzes the development of the English loan words, the way in which loan words were introduced into English, and the influence of Roman and Norman Conquest on the English loan words, and the difference between the influence of the Conquest of Roman and Norman on English Loanwords, in the hope that it can raise our interests in studying English and finally help us discover the way to master the English vocabulary which is extraordinarily rich.
Key Words: loanwords; borrowing; Roman and Norman Conquest; influence
