ABSTRACT
Modern Bangla literature has been reported to display a wide range of English lexical borrowings. However, not much scholarly attention has been drawn to the phenomenon of borrowing in literary pieces, notably in Bangla novels. Therefore, this study has explored five novels (i.e. two realistic, two romantic, and one satirical) of the pre-partition and Bangladesh era selected based on purposive sampling. The quantitative content analysis of the texts, combined with a descriptive approach, reveals English borrowings classified as “Bangla equivalent English words,” “non-Bangla equivalent English words,” “close Bangla equivalent English words,” and “hybrid words.” Further analyses of the borrowings in terms of their functions in various domains (e.g. education, science, administration, law, and media) indicate that a growing number of English lexical elements are steadily creeping into Bangla creative writings. The author argues that many loan words may steadily replace their Bangla equivalents, although some—particularly the ones without Bangla equivalents—are additions to Bangla lexical stock. Therefore, English lexical borrowings may have mixed implications, both putting Bangla “in danger” through lexical erosion and increasing its vitality through lexical supply. The chapter recommends ways to guide borrowings, specifically for maintaining the “rich heritage” of Bangla in literary texts such as novels.
