Loanwords Case Study

The analysis on motivations for Chinese to use loanwords in daily conversations

When different languages come into contact, the languages involved may be affected in various ways. “The simplest kind of influence that one language may exert on another is the ‘borrowing’ of words” (Sapir,1921). Accordingly the words that are taken from another language are called loanwords. None of languages is absolutely pure without absorbing any loanword therefore lexical borrowing is a common linguistics phenomenon. Furthermore, loanwords not only contribute to evolution of languages but also play significant roles in linking culture. Loanwords, by their nature, can often be strong evidence of sustained cultural interaction( Leow, 2009). For these reasons,

Language is intercourse and thought tool, is also a culture carrier(Li, 2010). It is recognized that the effects are mutual. For China, Chinese have access to think in a multi-dimensional way and view the world in a wider sight. For the donation countries, bilateral trading will be enhanced by means of culture exporting, being well illustrated by anime display, cartoon books, drama and toys. In spite of that, some Chinese believe that Chinese is the most lively and superior language in the world so there is no need borrowing any new elements from another language. The People’s Daily even pointed out that lexical borrowing would hurt the health of Chinese. They take Chinese young generation as a negative example, arguing that they are not in line with native speech norms. More worse, they have more passion on foreign festivals, Christmas, for example, rather than traditional festivals and culture. Indeed, loanwords will shock native language and culture to some extent, the benefits Chinese gain from loanwords cannot be neglected. As far as I am concerned, the government and mainstream media should reasonably guide the public and take good advantage of language contacts instead of totally