The enrichment of English via urban processes in the English-speaking countries

Abstract

The English urbanonomicon is formed as a result of complex urbanisation processes on the territories of English-speaking countries. The period of metropolisation in the twentieth century is characterised by the highest degree of expansion of the conceptual boundaries of the multilevel system of English names’ formations to denote urban realities. The spread of urban culture across the territories of English-speaking countries (Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) became the basis for the formation of their specific urban systems represented by regional variants of English. The American and British variants of English were the basis for the formation of the urbanonymic systems of Canadian, Australian and New Zealand variants of English. The urban names’ system of the Canadian variant of the twentieth century was characterised by the borrowing of lexical items from the French language. The most active period of replenishment of the Canadian urbanonymicon was the second half of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the time when the state defended its sovereignty. The Australian urbanonomicon of the twentieth century is characterised by the active expansion of its own borders at the expense of British nominal units, which is due to political, social and cultural changes in the country. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Australian version began to be massively infiltrated by so-called 'creeping Americanisms', which, although not characterised by a high number, are steadily replacing British elements. Minor borrowings from the New Zealand variant are also reflected in the lexical composition of the Australian variant of English, which is primarily due to the close proximity of the countries. The New Zealand variant of English was formed in the late 60s of the eighteenth century as a result of the interaction of English and Maori. The period of the second half of the nineteenth century – the first half of the twentieth century was the most productive for the emergence of New Zealandisms, which account for a significant 37% of the lexical units of the New Zealand urbanonomicon. The period of the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is characterised by the levelling of autochthonous nominations in favour of British, American and Australian urban units, which is caused by the political orientation of the country.