Implicit Borrowing as a Mechanism for Enriching Modern Russian
 Lexicon: Forms, Causes, Findings

Abstract

Implicit borrowing implies that the recipient language receives new
 meanings from the donor language without obtaining new phonetic forms. In
 contrast to direct material borrowings, it has not been thoroughly studied yet.
 However, there is a need to subject this phenomenon to careful research since in
 recent decades it has become increasingly widespread in Russian lexicon and its
 findings may have an impact on how the language implements its cognitive and
 communicative function.
 This article attempts to investigate the mechanisms that lead to implicit borrowing, as well as to study its causes and consequences. The author analyzes the criteria available in the linguistic literature for identifying specific forms of this phenomenon and supports the view that there are only two forms of implicit borrowing such as semantic calquing (polysemy copying) and material borrowing of new words that are homonymous to previously borrowed words. These two types differ in their causes and communicative consequences. Recent semantic calques in Russian lexicon mainly appear due to «semantic restoration» which consists in expanding the meanings of previously borrowed words by copying the polysemantic patterns of their English counterparts. They usually do not have a long-term negative impact on communication. In contrast to them, homonyms of previously borrowed words appear as a result of cross-linguistic influence and, as the case study of the noun «ambition» and its derivatives shows, they can cause tangible communication problems. Hence, it is important that the linguist should be able to distinguish between these two forms of contact language influence, since only on this basis expert recommendations can be developed for each case of implicit borrowing.