LOANWORDS IN ENGLISH CLASSICAL MUSIC THEORY

Snežana Drambarean, Dorin Drambarean

DOI Number
10.22190/FUVAM1701057D
First page
057
Last page
071

Abstract


The paper deals with loanwords in English specialized vocabulary of classical music. It is one of the fields evincing the full power of linguistic borrowing, which is a powerful instrument of language change. Following a survey of the main causes of loaning, both general and field specific, and of the common patterns and problems of integration of “foreignisms", the paper focuses on nouns as more “borrowable” than other parts of speech. They are examined both in terms of their origin and the level of integration into English as a recipient language. The paper focuses on a stock of 180 pivotal nouns in the targeted field, all loanwords mostly borrowed from Latin. Some of them are fully integrated, i.e. with anglicized plural forms, some retain their “foreignness” manifested in a foreign plural form which is used along with an anglicized variant, and some have only foreign plural forms. Considering the undeniable dominance of loanwords in the explored field and the common dilemmas regarding their pluralisation, particularly in the case of compound loans, the paper makes a detailed inventory of their plural forms upon comparing ten reliable sources: Britannica Encyclopaedia, Oxford Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary, New World Dictionary, Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Random House Dictionary, Dictionary.com. The major source for etymological highlights is the Online Etymology Dictionary.


Keywords

borrowing, loanwords, etymology, foreign plural, plural-forming patterns

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References


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Print ISSN: 2466-2887
Online ISSN: 2466-2895