Lesson plan
reborrowing
Reborrowing is the process where a word travels from one language to another and then back to the originating language in a different form or with a different meaning. A reborrowed word is sometimes called a Rückwanderer (German, a 'returner'). The result is generally a doublet, where the reborrowed word exists alongside the original word, though in other cases the original word may have died out. Alternatively, a specific sense of a borrowed word can be reborrowed as a semantic loan; for example, English pioneer was borrowed from Middle French in the sense of "digger, foot soldier, pedestrian", then acquired the sense of "early colonist, innovator" in English, which was reborrowed into French. In other cases the term may be calqued (loan-translated) at some stage, such as English ready-to-wear → French prêt-à-porter (1951) → English prêt-à-porter (1957). In some cases, the borrowing process can be more complicated and the words might move through different languages before coming back to the originating language. The single move from one language to the other is called "loan" (see loanword). Reborrowing is the result of more than one loan, when the final recipient language is the same as the originating one.
Article summary
Reborrowing is the process where a word travels from one language to another and then back to the originating language in a different form or with a different meaning. A reborrowed word is sometimes called a Rückwanderer (German, a 'returner'). The result is generally a doublet, where the reborrowed word exists alongside the original word, though in other cases the original word may have died out. Alternatively, a specific sense of a borrowed word can be reborrowed as a semantic loan; for example, English pioneer was borrowed from Middle French in the sense of "digger, foot soldier, pedestrian", then acquired the sense of "early colonist, innovator" in English, which was reborrowed into French. In other cases the term may be calqued (loan-translated) at some stage, such as English ready-to-wear → French prêt-à-porter (1951) → English prêt-à-porter (1957). In some cases, the borrowing process can be more complicated and the words might move through different languages before coming back to the originating language. The single move from one language to the other is called "loan" (see loanword). Reborrowing is the result of more than one loan, when the final recipient language is the same as the originating one.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.