Italian Lexical Interference in the Romanian-Speaking Environment

Abstract

This study focuses on the semantic borrowings, their structure and classification. Borrowings constitute a special layer of vocabulary in terms of both nomination and motivation. It is known that interference is a change in the language system under the influence of another language. The author notes that the phenomenon of interference includes not only the processes of word borrowing (known as lexical borrowing), but also linguistic calque. Borrowings occur because of a more or less direct contact between languages. Special attention is paid to lexical and semantic borrowings, their structure and classification. It is noted that the borrowed words themselves most often fill the lexical gaps that exist in the Romanian language and are associated with the emergence of new realities. The author analyzes various ways of assimilation of borrowed units. For centuries, the Romanian language has demonstrated a certain “flexibility” in the morphophonological assimilation of borrowings. On the basis of factual material, it was established that in the case of the Romanian language in the Italian-speaking environment, there is a complete or partial encapsulation of the morphological structure of the word, while its phonetics undergoes a process of adaptation. The borrowed words that do not assimilate are motivated by the novelty of the referent.

Keywords

• calque
• semantic borrowing
• interference
• cultural diffusion
• morphological adaptation