Lexical borrowing, a fundamental process in language evolution, encompasses various types distinguished by their mechanisms and effects. Among these, three main categories emerge: morphological borrowing, semantic borrowing, and morphosemantic borrowing.
Morphological borrowing involves the adoption of signifiers, or linguistic forms, from one language into another. In this process, the structure and shape of words are assimilated, often to fill gaps in the borrowing language’s lexicon. For instance, English has borrowed numerous morphemes from Latin and Greek, such as “bio-” (life) and “tele-” (distant), enriching its scientific vocabulary.
Semantic borrowing, on the other hand, entails the adoption of meanings or concepts from one language into another. This occurs when a term from the source language is imported to express a concept lacking an equivalent in the borrowing language. For instance, the English term “schadenfreude,” borrowed from German, encapsulates the concept of deriving pleasure from others’ misfortune, filling a semantic gap in the English lexicon.
Morphosemantic borrowing combines elements of both morphological and semantic borrowing. Here, not only are linguistic forms and meanings imported, but the relationship between form and meaning is also replicated. This type of borrowing is particularly intricate as it involves the integration of both structural and semantic aspects. An example of morphosemantic borrowing is the adoption of loanwords like “sushi” from Japanese into English, where both the phonetic form and the culinary concept are incorporated seamlessly.
(Response: The different types of lexical borrowing include morphological, semantic, and morphosemantic borrowing.)