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The English Influence On Cantonese Vocabulary: Youbin Zhao
The English Influence On Cantonese Vocabulary: Youbin Zhao
The English Influence On Cantonese Vocabulary: Youbin Zhao
Youbin Zhao
School of Translation Studies
Jinan University
Guangdong, China
e-mail:youbinz@jnu.edu.cn
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IV. THE SPECIFIC REPRESENTATION OF ENGLISH LOAN WORDS The terms borrow and loanword, although traditional, conflict
Hong Kong and Macau are the cities of communication with the ordinary meaning of those words because nothing is
between east and west. And with the development of economy, returned to the donor languages. However, note that this
they have become the International Trade Center, especially metaphor is not isolated to the concept of loan words, but also
Hong Kong, since the 1960s. Guangdong is the province found in the idiom "to borrow an idea." An additional issue
which is the neighbor of Hong Kong and Macau, therefore, with the term loanword is that it implies that the loaning is
its’ culture has been influenced by Hong Kong and Macau in a limited to one single word as opposed to phrases such as déjà
large extent, especially in the aspect of daily life and language vu, an English loanword from French. While this phrase may
they use. New words which reflect new things and new be used as one lexical item by English speakers, that is to say,
concept of the world have rushed to our daily life with the an English speaker would not say only déjà to convey the
development of the communication of culture and the meaning associated with the full term déjà vu, in the donor
progress the society has made. The sources of this language (French), speakers would be aware of the phrase
phenomenon include three main aspects: consisting of two words. For simplicity, adopt/adoption or
adapt/adaption are used by many linguists, either in parallel to,
(1) created by people or in preference to, these words. Some researchers also use
the term lexical borrowing.
(2) selected in the language itself
(3) loan words V. CONCLUSION
From the analysis of the above, we can become conscious
Here I would like to introduce some information about
of the entering and gradual prevalentness of borrowed words
loan words. Sapier once said “language is just like its culture
in Cantonese are in conformity with the universal law of
which is hard to be self-sufficient.”Communication makes one
language development, and they are the consequence of the
person who speaks one language contact with the people in
advancement and development of the whole society. “the
the neighboring country or the people who have dominant
stability and order of language are relative while the variation,
culture directly or indirectly. Communication can be friendly
disorder and innovation are absolute”. The variation,
and antagonistic. It can be carried out in common affairs,
development and stability of language, including the
trading business and a load or an exchange of mentality of art,
absorbing of loan words, are both contrary and uniform
science, religion and so on. Edward Sapier, a famous
together. The language itself has the ability to sift and filtrate,
American linguist, wrote down the judgement seventy years
and this kind of internal regulatory function and the effect of
ago, which recognized the inevitability of language exchange
mutual restriction among the three basic aspects: vocabulary,
and lending. The present era, day by day strengthens along
gramma and pronunciation, can preserve the substaintial
with the economical globalization tendency, the lending and
stability of language. Cantonese enriched its own vocabulary
exchange of language would be frequent day by day. Hong
immensely by the unceasing absorption of English loan words
Kong and Macau are in the intersection of the Chinese and
which is useful for Cantonese. It was the continuous blending
western culture, and it is inevitable to borrow from other
of the borrowed words that enriched the Cantonese
languages.
vocabulary vastly and made English to be a kind of complex
A loanword is also called an external word, and is referred language which has become treasure for Chinese in southern.
to the word and expression which from other languages, We further embedding of the development of language and
which plays a vital role to enrich and develop a language. the communication of culture, this kind of loan words will be
using incessant, and the Cantonese will consequentially reveal
Guangdong is located in the intersection of the Chinese the stronger vitality. The integration of loan words has been
and western culture, so it’s inevitable to borrow languages of analyzed according to several aspects: the writing system, the
other nations. Loan words mean foreign words or some morpho-syntactic structure, word formation processes,
language from abroad. There are different ways in the semantic feature, and social acceptability. The evidence is
Cantonese absorbing English loan words. For a better clear that many English loan words have been fully integrated
understanding in this article, here I would like to explain some into the Cantonese language. More recently borrowed items
concept about English loan words. In the Encyclopedia tend to show fewer of the above features, indicating that the
American, there is one sentence that “The English language integration process takes time and it is an ongoing one.
has vast debts. In any dictionary some80%of the entries are
borrowed” which indicated that there were a large number of
borrowed words in English. There are both historical and
realistic reasons for the borrowing of other languages’ words. REFERENCES
A loanword (or loan word) is a word borrowed from a donor [1] Bauer, R. (1985) The Expanding Syllabary of Hong Kong Cantonese.
language and incorporated into a recipient language. By C.L.A.O. vol.XIV.1: 99-111.
contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept [2] Kao, D.L. (1971) Structure of the Syllable in Cantonese
where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the [3] Kramsch Claire. Language and Culture[J]. Shanghai Foreign Language
lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the Education Press. 2006.(7):85-89.
German Lehnwort, while calque is a loanword from French.
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