The document discusses the origins and evolution of the English language. It explains that English has been influenced by many other European, Indian, and American languages, incorporating vocabulary from these languages. It also explores historical events and groups of people that contributed to the development of English. Maps, concept maps and tables in the document help illustrate the origins of individual words and how words have been created, borrowed, replaced or lost over time. The document provided useful information to help the learner gain a better understanding of the English language, its roots and constant changes.

1. “Words: Native and Borrowed”
First of all, before I read this document there were some things that I already knew about
the English language, and other ones that I did not. For instance, I was aware of the fact
that the English language is nowadays one of the most spoken languages in the whole
world because it is a remarkable, popular, attractive, and sticky language which is very
easy to understand. However, I had several questions with no answer, like why the English
language has had such a deep impact on the world? why is it that a lot of the English
vocabulary is quite similar to the vocabulary of other languages, including European,
Indian and American languages? Why is English the dominant language and not German,
French, Russian, or Italian?
I had never asked myself if English and other languages were part of a big family
language. Well, I realized that reading “Words: Borrowed and Native” is a good alternative
for answering all those questions.
In this document I found quite interesting and useful information in order to know much
more about the English language in terms of history, grammar, phonetics, etc.
In the present time I am a student, and in the future I will become a teacher, therefore,
every day I must improve and enrich my knowledge about English, and one way of doing it
is to know about its roots. “Words: Borrowed and Native” provided me information where
I found historical events that were part of the development of the English Language, the
peoples or main characters that were part of this process, and the contributions and
influences from those peoples to the language.
In addition, this document contains many maps, concept maps, and tables that allowed
me to understand the origins and the evolution of several words, explaining why and how
words that were born many centuries ago are still part of the English vocabulary. Also I
understood that words can be created, borrowed, replaced or lost.
To conclude my reflection, I think when a person is learning a new language, he or she
must know there is always something they do not know about it. There is always new
information that can be useful for us learners because a language is constantly changing
as the time passes. I am a student learning another language, and I know there is a certain
point where skills are not good enough. It is in that moment when I need to improve and
be better. In order to improve my skills I must improve my knowledge, and in order to
improve my knowledge, I can say that “Words: Native and Borrowed” is one of the texts
that has helped me to have a better concept and understanding of the English language.
By Juan Andres Rosales Torres / Pedagogía en Inglés UCSC