RECEPTIVE ASSIMILATION OF BORROWINGS AS A REFLECTION OF HISTORICAL STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article examines receptive assimilation of borrowings as a reflection of the historical development of the English language. The study is based on a stage-by-stage model of adaptation of foreign lexical elements, including borrowing, integration, phonological and morphological adaptation, semantic shift, naturalization, and full assimilation. It is argued that each of these stages represents a particular degree of incorporation of a borrowed unit into the linguistic system and correlates with specific historical conditions of language evolution.

The main periods of English language development — Old English, Middle English, and Modern English — are analyzed through the prism of language contact intensity and its impact on the lexical system. The research highlights the significant role of Latin, Scandinavian, and French borrowings in shaping the multilayered structure of English vocabulary. Special attention is paid to phonological and morphological adaptation as mechanisms ensuring structural integration, as well as to the processes of naturalization, through which borrowed words lose their foreign markedness and become indistinguishable from native vocabulary.

The paper substantiates that receptive assimilation functions not only as a linguistic mechanism but also as an indicator of broader socio-cultural and political transformations. It reflects the interaction between internal structural laws of the language and external historical factors. The findings demonstrate that the analysis of assimilation stages provides a systematic explanation of lexical change and reveals the underlying patterns that have shaped the modern English language.