MONTES AGUSTI y R. BARTUAL PASTOR

In the literature, denizens are regarded as words that have acquired full English citizenship.

Indicatively, they are altered in terms of spelling and pronunciation so as to look and sound English. We have discovered that whereas this is true of many denizens, there are also others that still retain their foreign appearance, but undergo significant changes in meaning, clearly distinguishing them from aliens (the familiar perestroika and glasnost examples).

The following surprisingly substantial list illustrates this diversity within the category of denizens: achtaragdite, agit-prop, apparatchik, Bolshevik, Bolshevist, cancrinite, Cesarewitch, Checen, Cheka, Cheremis, Chuckchee, Circassian, Cominform, droog, ferganite, hydrotroilite, innelite, intelligentsia, irinite, Ivan, kalistrontite, karakul, kolkhoz, Kremlin, kurchatovium, mammoth, mendelevium, nielsbohrium, podzol, pogrom, Russ, Russia, Russian, samizdat, steppe, taiga, tsar, tundra, ukase, vodka, yurt as only a few examples from Russian; howitzer, Dobro, koktaite, Pilsener, polka, vrbaite from Czech;

Bulgar from Bulgarian; cravat, Morlach, hussar, pandour, Serb, Croat, paprika, takovite from Serbo-Croat; horde, Kashube, Lech, marrowsky, Polack, Pole, pulk, uhlan from Polish; Slovak from Slovak; gley from Ukrainian; sable, siskin, Slovene, tsatske, vampire and Vlach as examples of undetermined Slavic origin.

In order to fully understand the choice of words we have designated as denizens, some

additional clarification is in order. First of all, the reader will have noticed many loans

ending in the noun forming suffix –ite, characteristic of, among other things, names of rocks and minerals. The total number of such examples in the corpus is around sixty (most of them Russian), which is why we have not included all of them in the above list. In most cases, it is difficult to recognize the Slavic origin of these borrowings since they have been significantly modified in terms of spelling and pronunciation. In addition to the English-like appearance, they denote objects which are of unlimited duration and immune to cultural influences that could affect their existence. Consequently, the future of these words in English is secure. Although used by a relatively small number of people, they will remain in the language, and in more or less the same form in which they appear at the present moment.

Secondly, the corpus contains an equally substantial group of borrowings relating to, or characteristic of a nation or ethnic group, its people, or their language (again most of them have been adopted from Russian). We have categorized them as denizens for similar reasons as minerals. Namely, although nations are born anew and are being wiped out, the way they are called is seldom if at all altered. The ethnonym under which the nation is known is either that which the people call themselves, or what others, usually their neighbours, call them. Once established, it is adopted and adapted (spelling, pronunciation) by other nations, thus becoming an integral part of their language; a part of which they are almost unaware as not being of their native linguistic origin.

Thirdly, there are borrowings included in the list, which arguably look and sound like aliens.

However, as we have briefly discussed in the introductory paragraph to Slavic denizens, they appear in English with meanings sometimes completely different from those that we define as primary. At this point, we shall not attempt any semantic analysis, which is part of the next chapter dealing with the changes of meaning, but only enumerate some examples with quotes, to illustrate the point:

a) Agit-prop: 1934 N. & Q. CLXVI. 73/1: “The A[g]itprop, the central organ for propaganda and agitation, has sent word round to writers, newspapers and publishers, that there is to be an organisation for mass-laughter.” (primary meaning)

1959 Spectator 6 Nov. 629/2: “The whole tone [of the play] is ten times heavier and cornier

than any of the agitprop from the old Unity Theatre.” (transferred meaning)

b) Cesarewitch: Title as heir to the imperial Russian throne of the prince who became Alexander II. (primary meaning)

A long-distance handicap horse-race run at Newmarket, instituted in 1839.

1839 Sporting Mag. 2nd. Ser. XIX. 263: “Newmarket.-His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Russia having presented the Jockey Club with the sum of 300, to be run for annually, …”

1891 G. Chetwynd Racing Remin. Ibid. 31: “At the next Newmarket meeting Cardinal York won the Cesarewitch by six lengths.” (transferred meaning)

We believe that the quotes clearly show how these and similar loans have, despite their foreign appearance, assumed new identity in the English language, thereby losing their alien characteristic of simply naming an object or notion for which no native designation exists.

What is more, they have altered their meaning so that an English speaker no longer associates them only with foreignness, but also with some new, even peculiarly English concepts.

An essentially formal reason for including any of the already mentioned loans in the above list of denizens, was that a word is accompanied by many compounds and derivatives, which points to a high degree of naturalization

. For example, the Russian tsar and vodka, and the Slavonic vampire.

tsar: tsarlet, tsarate, tsardom, tsarevich, tsarevna, tsarian(adj.), tsaricide, tsarina, tsarish(adj.), tsarism, tsaritsa, tsarship.

vodka: vodka bottle, vodka flask, vodka glass, vodka Collins, vodka gimlet, vodka martini, vodka shop, vodka-tonic, vodkatini (a contraction from vodka-martini).

vampire: vampirarchy, vampire bookseller, vampire corpse, vampire-fanned (adj.),

vampire legend, vampire spell, vampire story, vampire superstition, vampire tinge, vampire

wing, vampire bat, vampire trap, vampire (verb), vampiredom, vampiric (adj.), vampirine (adj.), vampirish (adj.), vampirism, vampirize (verb), vamp (noun and verb, abbreviated from vampire), vampish (adj.), vampishness, vampy (adj.), vampiness.

The great extent of naturalization which these words have achieved is distinctly evident from the above collection of new vocabulary items, denoting various new meanings. In this way tsar, vodka and vampire have made a strong mark on the English language; a mark so prominent that they no longer feel as denizens, but almost as naturals. Almost. They are somewhere in-between, neither black nor white, but of the many shades of grey the English lexicon is full of. During our survey, we came across a number of similar examples, which we will enumerate at this point: constructivism, cubo-futurism, defamiliarization, disinformation, diversionist, ethonym, folkloristics, idiogram, informatics, jarovization, karyotype, liquidate (in the sense of “to kill”), pedology, phytosociology from Russian;

akathisia, ferritin, foreground, robot from Czech; macrolide, metapsychics, psychophonetics, sherryvallies from Polish; doodle (verb - to play the bagpipes) as a loan of undetermined Slavic origin.

The reader will admit some degree of surprise in his/her mind, after having read the above set of examples. Especially words like robot, sherryvallies or doodle, baffle once their origin is disclosed.

The reason for the majority of these items to appear so English lies in the fact that they are similar to English scientific vocabulary, coined from Greek and Latin words or roots:

idiogram, metapsychics, constructivism, akathisia, phytosociology, disinformation. This shows us firstly, that it is not only English that makes use of classical languages to create learned expressions in various fields of science, and secondly, that English demonstrates no hesitation when it comes to adopting such items from foreign, in our case Slavic, languages.

At this point, we should not be misled by the appearance and sound of this last group of

Slavic loanwords, which are truly English-like, into considering them native-like words. The

objects and notions they convey were discovered, used and described first by foreigners,

before ever reaching the English language and consciousness, and are therefore foreign by

definition. We may in fact ask ourselves a justified question: are there any borrowings at all from Slavic languages that are closer to nativeness than denizens ?

3.3.4 Slavic naturals

The answer to the question from the previous chapter is not a satisfying one. We were hoping to be able to present a list, however short, of Slavic naturals in the English language. Our good intentions were soon shattered by the realization that the foreign element in the words from the corpus was still strong enough to prevent such categorization.

Why is that so? We believe that with every single loan in the corpus, not enough time has passed from its entrance into English till the present moment for the borrowing to lose its Slavic character either in spelling, sound or meaning, to the extent that we could regard it as being native. In order to clarify our point, let us provide some contrast in the form of the English word law.

Everyday users of the language do not stop to ponder over its origin, for it sounds and looks as being there forever, its meaning all too familiar to everyone, and its presence in our lives secured. Despite all that, the word is not of Anglo-Saxon, but of Scandinavian origin.

It is a Scandinavian borrowing (Davis&Klinar 1996: 136), but we can undoubtedly acknowledge it as a natural. Similarly, the French borrowings city, state, large and play (Davis&Klinar 1996: 141), which not many would recognize as being of foreign descent, fall into the same group. As Klinar puts it: “English vocabulary is permeated by French everywhere. Most of the earlier borrowings are not felt to be alien in any sense. The monosyllables in the following list are among the 250 most frequently used words in the language and are as thoroughly English as any that could be mentioned.” (Davis&Klinar 1996: 141)

Slavic borrowings in English, even the most naturalized ones, are still a long way from

achieving such status, and only time will tell if any make it that far at all.

3.3.5 Summary

Our premise at the beginning of the analysis, according to Sir Murray’s division, turned out

to be quite accurate. A few casuals, a lot of aliens, a somewhat similar number of denizens,

and no naturals among the gathered Slavic borrowings in the English language, is the more

or less expected final outcome. But let us ignore the statistics, and focus on what is behind

it. Namely, the analysis has shown that Slavic languages, especially Russian, contribute and

did so in the past, to the English lexicon words that are not just “dead”, non-developing

material, but lexical items with a flourishing life of their own, outside their primary linguistic

environment. As such, they bring in new cultural aspects and meanings, in this way adding

to the effect of great etymological diversity of the English language.