LANGUAGE BORROWING AND THE INDICES OF ADAPTABILITY AND RECEPTIVITY

One of the most easily observable results of intercultural contact and communication is the set of loanwords that is imported into the vocabulary of each language involved. The field of cultures and languages in contact (Weinreich 1953) has grown a great deal over the past fifty years. From the early studies, a 'Scale' or 'Index of Receptivity' has been posited for languages which more readily accept borrowings. Alongside that scale, a 'Scale of Adaptability' has been posited. The study of a language's adaptability and receptivity of borrowed words, especially those from International English, provides some interesting case studies.