Stočarstvo Review article
Dog breeds in Croatian and Romanian: A comparative approach Anica Perkoviš1, Georgeta Raţă2, Martina Perkoviš1 1
University Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek, Faculty of Agriculture, Trg Svetog Trojstva 3, 31000 Osijek, Croatia (e-mail:
[email protected]) 2 Agricultural and Veterinary University of the Banat, 119, Calea Aradului 300645, Timişoara, România
Abstract The aim of the paper was to show that distant languages such as Croatian and Romanian may have similarities from the point of view of their specialized vocabulary, despite the large number of differences in their general vocabulary, and in morphology, syntax, and semantics. The results of our research confirm our hypothesis: dog breed names, for instance, have been largely borrowed by both studied languages, with more or less adaptations from the point of view of their pronunciation, spelling, and morphology. The conclusion is that, at least in the field of animal breed names, communication between specialists in animal breeding can rely on a common linguistic medium. Key words: dog breeds, linguistics, Croatian, Romanian, comparative approach. Introduction The purpose of this research is to see if there are great similarities or differences between the lexicographical fields of two different languages such as Croatian (a Slavic language) and Romanian (a Romance language). The hypothesis of the research was that in certain lexicographic fields (e.g. dog breeds, horse breeds, swine breeds etc.) dealing with animal breeds developed within the AngloSaxon sphere, names are in most cases either borrowed as such or adapted at different levels (phonological, morphological, semantically etc.). Our background information consisted in unsystematic information from different similar lexicographical fields, which we corroborated with the information supplied by a recent Dictionary of European Anglicisms (Gorlach, 2005), on one hand, and with other lexicographical works cited in References below, on the other hand. Material and methods In our comparative approach of dog breeds in Croatian and Romanian, we have analysed dog breed names that have become anglicisms in a number of European languages including Croatian and Romanian, such as supplied by Manfred Gorlach‘s Dictionary of European Anglicisms. A Usage Dictionary of Anglicisms in Sixteen European Languages (Oxford University Press, 2005). The names of dog breeds inventoried by Gorlach (2005) were compared with dog breed names of English origin in Croatian and Romanian comprehensive and language dictionaries. The method we have used in our analysis is a comparative one (a method belonging to comparative linguistics). This comparative or contrastive method consists in studying and comparing two modern languages – in our case, Croatian and Romanian – from a specific
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point of view – in our case, names of dog breeds – in search of similarities and differences between the two languages. Results and discussion We have inventoried in Gorlach‘s Dictionary of European Anglicisms (2005) a number of 31 dog-related anglicisms (29 nouns and 1 verb) (words designating dog-related fields such as: dog breeds, dog types, dog shows, etc.): Airedale (terrier), basset, beagle, best in show, bobtail, boxer, bull terrier, bulldog, chow-chow, cocker (spaniel), dingo, dog, dog cart, fox terrier, golden retriever, greyhound, harrier, husky, mastiff, Newfoundland, pincher, pit bull terrier, pointer, pup, puppy, setter, sled dog, spaniel, terrier, trim, and trimming. Of these 31 dog-related anglicisms, only 17 (55%) designate dog breeds: Airedale (terrier) 'a breed of dog', basset 'a breed of short-legged dog', beagle 'a breed of hound', bobtail 'a breed of dog', boxer 'a dog with a smooth brown coat and pug like face', bull terrier 'a breed of short-haired dog', bulldog 'a dog of a sturdy powerful breed with large head and smooth hair', chow-chow 'a dog of a Chinese breed with long hair and bluish-black tongue', cocker (spaniel) 'a small breed of dog with a silky coat', dog 'a special breed of dog', fox terrier 'a short-haired terrier', golden retriever 'a breed of dog with a thick golden-coloured coat', greyhound 'a breed of dog often used for racing', mastiff 'a dog of a large strong breed', Newfoundland 'a dog of a very large breed with a thick coarse coat', pincher 'a dog with a cropped tail', and pit bull terrier 'a dog of an American variety of bull terrier, noted for its ferocity'. All these dog breed related names can be grouped into 3 categories: names borrowed by both languages (Croatian and Romanian), names borrowed only by Romanian, and names not borrowed by either language. 1. Of these 17 anglicisms designating dog breeds, only 13 (76%) have been borrowed by both Croatian and Romanian, as shown in Table 1 (dog breed names in both italic and bold fonts are names that have preserved the English spelling intact in both Croatian and Romanian). Table 1. Dog breeds names borrowed by both Croatian and Romanian (Gorlach, 2005) in English Airedale (terrier) Basset Beagle Boxer Bull terrier Bulldog Cocker (spaniel) Dog Fox terrier Greyhound Newfoundland Pincher Pit bull terrier
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Dog breed name in Croatian in Romanian erdel terijer Airedale (terrier) basset baset (pl. baseţi) beagle beagle bokser boxer bull terrier bull terrier, bull-terrier buldog buldog (pl. buldogi) koker spanijel cocker (spaniel), cócher (pl. cocheri) doga dog (pl. dogi) foksterijer foxterier (pl. foxterieri) greyhound greyhound njufaundlend (câine) terra-nova pinĉ pincher, pinscher pitbul pitbul terier
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None of the Romanian language dictionaries we have consulted mentions Airedale (terrier) or Newfoundland, which leads to the conclusion that the author was either misinformed or there has been some misinterpretation in the process. As for the rest of dog breed names: baset (pl. baseţi) is mentioned by DOOM 2 for the spelling and by DEX ‘98, NODEX, DN, and MDN as an indirect borrowing through French; beagle is mentioned by MDN as a direct borrowing from English; boxer is mentioned by DN as an indirect borrowing through French and by MDN as an indirect borrowing through French (Fr) or German (G); bull terrier (spelled bull-terrier) is mentioned by DN as an indirect borrowing through French; buldog (pl. buldogi) is mentioned by DOOM 2 for the spelling, by DN and MDN as a direct borrowing from English, and by DEX ‘98, Sinonime, DN, and NODEX as an indirect borrowing through French (< bouledogue); cocker (spaniel) and cócher (pl. cocheri) are mentioned by DOOM 2 for the spelling, by DN, DEX ‗98, and NODEX as direct borrowings from English, and by DEX ‘98 and NODEX as an indirect borrowing through French; dog (pl. dogi) is mentioned by DOOM 2 for the spelling, and by DEX ‘98, NODEX, DN, and MDN as a both direct borrowing from English and an indirect borrowing through French (< dogue); foxterier (pl. foxterieri) is mentioned by Sinonime and DOOM 2 for the spelling, and by DEX ‘98, DN, MDN, and NODEX as indirect borrowing through French; greyhound is mentioned by MDN as a direct borrowing from English; pincher, spelled as pinscher, is mentioned by MDN as a direct borrowing from German (< Pinscher). Are considered direct borrowings from English: beagle, buldog, cocker / cocher, dog, and greyhound (38% of the total dog breed names); are considered indirect borrowings: baset, boxer, bull-terrier, buldog, cocker / cocher, dog, and foxterier (< Fr) (54% of the total dog breed names), boxer (< Fr or G) (8% of the total dog breed names), and pinscher (< G) (8% of the total dog breed names). Together with forms identical to the English ones – beagle, boxer, bull terrier, cocker (spaniel), and dog greyhound (representing 46% of the total dog breed names) – there are also forms adapted to the Romanian spelling – baset, bull-terrier, bulldog, cócher, foxterier, and pitbul terrier (representing 46% of the total dog breed names). The plural forms of 5 of these dog breed names – baset (pl. baseţi), buldog (pl. buldogi), cócher (pl. cocheri), dog (pl. dogi), and foxterier (pl. foxterieri) – shows that these names have been integrated to the phonetic and orthographic system of the Romanian language and that they are no longer felt as foreignisms. As for Newfoundland, it is rendered in Romanian not by the same noun, but by some kind of paraphrase – (câine) terra-nova (terra-nova is an approximate translation of Newfoundland) – while pincher proves to be a misspelled form of pinscher. 2. A single dog breed name was borrowed by Romanian alone, as shown in Table 2 (names in both italic and bold have preserved the English spelling intact): Table 2. Dog breeds names borrowed only by Romanian (Gorlach, 2005) in English chow-chow
Dog breed name in Croatian -
in Romanian chow-chow
Chow-chow is mentioned by DN and MDN as an indirect borrowing through French. 3. According to Gorlach (2005), other 3 dog breed names have been borrowed by other European languages, but not by Croatian or Romanian: bobtail (by German, Dutch,
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French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Bulgarian, Finnish, and Hungarian), golden retriever (by German, Dutch, Norwegian, Icelandic, French, Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian, and Finnish), and mastiff (by Dutch, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Finnish, Hungarian, and Greek), as shown in Table 3. Table 3. Dog breeds names not borrowed by either Croatian or Romanian (Gorlach, 2005) Dog breed name in English in Croatian in Romanian Bobtail golden retriever Mastiff Mastif(f) (pl. mastifi) is mentioned by DOOM 2 for its spelling and by MDN as a direct borrowing from English. Conclusions Dog breeds names borrowed by both Croatian and Romanian show different tendencies in the two studied languages. Thus, Croatian has borrowed only 4 dog breed names as such (basset, beagle, bull terrier, and greyhound) compared to the 8 dog breed names borrowed by Romanian (Airedale (terrier), beagle, boxer, bull terrier, cocker (spaniel), dog, greyhound, pincher), preferring to adapt the rest of the names to the linguistic norms of the language, mainly in spelling (erdel terijer, bokser, buldog, koker spanijel, doga, foksterijer, njufaundlend, pinĉ, and pitbul). On the other hand, Romanian has both intact English forms and adaptations for the same dog breed name (bull terrier / bull-terrier, cocker (spaniel) / cócher (pl. cocheri), and pincher / pinscher), with Romanian plurals for the forms it adapted (baset (pl. baseţi), buldog (pl. buldogi), cócher (pl. cocheri), dog (pl. dogi), foxterier (pl. foxterieri)), which shows a wider ―appetite‖ for anglicisms in Romanian. These plural forms show that these names have been integrated to the phonetic and orthographic system of the Romanian language and are no longer felt as foreignisms, be they direct or indirect borrowings. There is a single dog breed name borrowed only by Romanian – chow-chow – but this name alone is not enough to draw a conclusion about the borrowing trends in the two studied languages. As for the dog breeds names borrowed by neither Croatian nor Romanian according to Gorlach (2005) – bobtail, golden retriever, and mastiff – the German author seems misinformed, since the last name is mentioned by a Romanian language dictionary. The hypothesis of the research that in certain lexicographic fields (e.g. dog breeds, horse breeds, swine breeds etc.) dealing with animal breeds developed within the Anglo-Saxon sphere, names are in most cases either borrowed as such or adapted at different levels (phonological, morphological, semantically etc.) proved to be correct, with this mention that Romanian is more inclined to do so than Croatian, maybe because in most cases dog breed names have come into Romanian through French, which facilitated their absorption under the cover of ―French borrowings‖. As additional research propose, we have in mind the study of other similar lexicographic fields such as the field of horse breed names, poultry breed names, etc. References Aniš V. (2006). Veliki rjeţnik hrvatskog jezika, Novi Liber , Zagreb.
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Gorlach M. - Editor (2005). A Dictionary of European Anglicisms. A Usage Dictionary of Anglicisms in Sixteen European Languages, Oxford University Press. Marcu, F., Constant, M. (1986). Dicţionar de neologisme, Editura Academiei, Bucureşti. [DN] Marcu F. (2000): Marele dicţionar de neologisme. Editura Saeculum. [MDN]. Seche M.., Seche L. (2002). Dicţionar de sinonime, Editura Litera Internaţional, Sinonime. ***Dicţionar ortografic, ortoepic şi morfologic al limbii române, ediţia a II-a, , Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 2005 [DOOM 2]. ***Dicţionarul explicativ al limbii române, Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică "Iorgu Iordan", Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998 [DEX '98]. ***Noul dicţionar explicativ al limbii române, Litera Internaţional, Editura Litera Internaţional, 2002 [NODEX].
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