Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (Mar 2017)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ROMANIAN MEDIA
Abstract
The paper deals with the significant increase of English words and expressions in Romanian media, in the general context of English and American words’ invasion. The premise from which we start to analyze the influence of English on Romanian audiovisual space is that this influence is specific not only to Romania, but is also found in many countries worldwide. Massive borrowing of Anglo-American terms was obvious after the Second World War in most European languages. This paper constitutes an awareness call to all communication specialists, putting particular emphasis on journalists’ role and those responsible in communication to convey future generations a constant concern for all that means Romanian language. The second part of the paper presents examples of necessary borrowings and luxury Anglicisms from different fields: economic, financial, trade, education and research; sports, communication and media terminology. Then, the next part deals with examples from Romanian newspapers, magazines, from TV and radio. The media, the main providers of Anglicisms, have built a secondary reality, relying on information, reports and interpretations which they select, order them according to priorities, and spread them among the public, using a certain terminology. The attitude of speakers and specialists to the avalanche of English terms in Romanian audiovisual language must be a rational one, since it is necessary to measure both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, in this paper I wish to plead for quality in journalistic expression without blaming the use of anglicisms or neologisms regardless of the language of origin. On the contrary, I would like to emphasize that, when their use is justified in terms of terminology and when they come to cover a semantic void or a more precise meaning, borrowings may be a demonstration of spirituality, enrichment, networking and integration of science and modern technology. The conclusion is that the influence of English should not be considered a negative phenomenon, not being more dangerous than other foreign influences that have occurred over time in our language, as long as their use is not exaggerated
