Borrowings in French and English Construction Discourse: Comparative Aspect Marina Sergeevna Lukina

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of status and structural characteristics of foreign
words used in construction discourse in comparative aspect. Data for the present study were
taken from lexicographical source represented by such famous French online dictionaries as
Le petit Larousse and Le Petit Robert. Besides dictionaries, online versions of specialized
periodicals were used (MasterBuilder, Construction Review Online, Chantiers Magazine,
Archiliste). Topicality of the research is determined by necessity of precise definition of the
notion “borrowing”, and, as consequence, necessity of theoretical understanding of
borrowing procedure on the basis of exact criteria picked out for its description. The aim of
the present research is to study specific character of functioning of foreign words in
construction discourse on the material of French and English media texts. The study shows
that construction is one of the most dynamically developing spheres, whose lexical layer
reveals recent trends and changes taking place in the language, copious vocabulary including
both variety of original and borrowed words. The article contains review of the most
productive ways of word-formation among borrowings of construction discourse of English
and French. Novelty of the research consists in the use of the studied media texts data with
the following aim: to reveal main vectors of development of the word stock of modern
French and English.