The following reflection is based on the text “Words: Native and

Borrowed” and it is focused on the main contents covered in it, giving a

brief analysis of the importance of the process of word formation in the

English language.

Firstly, the text gives us a detailed and chronological development of the

English language through time. As we all know, languages have changed

through the course of time, given to a natural process of evolution which

has made English the language we are learning nowadays. Changes in

the language are reflected in terms of pronunciation, spelling, usage,

grammar, meaning and vocabulary which is one of the main reasons

why some words have become ‘extinct’. As we have seen in many

courses at university, especially literature, the transition from Old

English to Middle English and finally to Modern English has made

important changes in the language which are mostly reflected on

literature.

Secondly, it is said that there are lot of words in the English language

which are somehow related to other languages, which is explained by

processes such as borrowings, derivations and creations of new words,

and this is reality we can observe even in our university context because

most of the time, we tend to ‘borrow’ words which we have heard from a

teacher or classmate and then it becomes part of our vocabulary.

Finally, have to admit that even though we had already seen where the

English language comes from, it was very interesting to read about the

Indo-European language in detail because it gave me a much more

complete idea of the origin of some of the modern languages in the

world. I believe it is crucial to know the history of the language and how

it has developed through time for we as future English teachers are

going to show our students a different culture, because a language is not

only related to the language itself but to the whole belonging culture.

Camila Cuevas Araneda.