R. S. Ginzburg, S. S. Khidekel, G. Y. Knyazeva, A. A. Sankin a course in modern english

§ 13. Summary and Conclusions


1. In spite of the numerous outside linguistic influences and the etymological heterogeneity of its vocabulary the English language is still, in essential characteristics, a Germanic language. It has retained a groundwork of Germanic words and grammar.

2. 
   Borrowing has never been the chief means of replenishing the English vocabulary. Word-formation and semantic development were throughout the entire history of the language much more productive. Besides most native words are marked by a higher frequency value.
   
3. 
   The great number of borrowings brought with them new phonomorphological types, new phonetic, morphological and semantic features. On the other hand, under the influence of the borrowed element words already existing in English changed to some extent their semantic structure, collocability, frequency and derivational ability.
   
4. 
   Borrowing also considerably enlarged the English vocabulary and brought about some changes in English synonymic groups, in the distribution of the English vocabulary through spheres of application and in the lexical divergence between the variants of the literary language and its dialects.
   

VII. Various Aspects of Vocabulary Units and Replenishment of Modern English Word-Stock

INTERDEPENDENCE OF VARIOUS ASPECTS

OF THE WORD

The foregoing description of the word dwelt on its structural, semantic, stylistic and etymological peculiarities separately. In actual speech all these aspects are closely interrelated and interdependent and the pattern of their interdependence largely preconditions the comparative value and place of the word in Modern English. This interdependence is most vividly brought out in the frequency value attached to the words in the language. However it must be pointed out that frequency value alone, important as it is, is not an adequate criterion to establish the most important relationships between words or the most useful section of vocabulary.