Adapting borrowed words to the laws of a new language for them always occurs with problems. In this regard, the spelling of such terms often causes difficulties. As an example, let's look at how to spell “tunnel” or “tunnel”. After all, this term came to the Russian language in the middle of the 19th century. and since then has been debating about the way it is written and pronounced.
What does the word “tunnel” (or “tunnel”) mean?
Before you understand the spelling, it is worth knowing the meaning of the studied masculine noun. This term refers to special underground structures through which railroad tracks, highways, or ordinary pedestrian / bicycle roads pass. The size and length of such structures may vary.
In recent years, this term is also called a large-sized earring, which is inserted into the earlobe, stretching it in this way. It is interesting that, at first glance, this innovation has a rather ancient history. A similar tradition existed among ancient tribes on different continents long before our era, and they also placed tunnels (or tunnels) in the lip, wings of the nose, cheeks, etc.
Today, the fashion for such jewelry among young people is gradually declining, but the likelihood of her returning in the future is very high.
How to write
Having dealt with the lexical meaning of the word in question, it is worthwhile to find out how to spell “tunnel” or “tunnel” correctly.
According to the modern norms of the Russian language, both options are correct and equal. Moreover, such a tradition has been established since the 19th century, when the term fell into Russian. So today, like a hundred years ago, you can freely speak and write “tunnel” or “tunnel” at your own discretion, without fear of making a mistake.
The history of the appearance in the Russian language of the way of writing "tunnel"
Having learned that both options are equivalent, it is worth clarifying why a similar incident arose.
The fact is that in Russian this term came through the mediation of the English noun tunnel. Along with the name, the pronunciation method was also borrowed: [tunel ']. Thus, the spelling option “Tunnel” appeared with the letter “y”.
It is worth noting that he entrenched among engineers and specialists in the construction of such structures. That is why such narrow-core single-root terms as “tunneling” and the name of the disease “carpal tunnel syndrome” were formed from it.
In this word and similar phrase the letter “o” is never put in place of “u”. However, if we are not talking about the name of the disease, the adjective “tunnel” can also be written with the letter “o”: “tunnel”.
It is worth noting that in French (from which the term just came to the British) the word is written and pronounced with “u” - tunnel (not tonnelle, as some linguists claim, since in this form this word means “mandrel”, not a "tunnel").
Where did the spelling "o" come from
As mentioned above, the spelling “tunnel” or “tunnel” was common almost from the moment it entered the Russian language. Moreover, not a single dictionary records the use of only one option.
Where did the tradition to write and say “tunnel” come from? To answer this question, it is worth recalling a little history. So in the nineteenth century, despite the war with Napoleon, French was one of the most spoken among the nobility. Although the word in question was also written and pronounced with “u”, this term was formed from the old French noun tonel. Linguists believe that it, in turn, was also borrowed, but from Spanish, in which it exists today, and is translated as a “barrel”.
By the way, in the French language, the word tonne has the same root name - “ton” (a measure of weight) and less commonly “barrel” (although more often the term baril is used in this meaning).
Due to the fact that in the nineteenth century. (as well as before it) foreigners were usually invited to build innovations, perhaps the French introduced the tradition of writing and speaking with “o”, and the Germans (in the language of which the word Tunnel is also spelled) - with “u”.
Is it possible to write in Russian this noun with one letter "n"
An interesting fact, the double spelling of the word under study is characteristic not only for Russian, but also for Belarusian (tunnel and tunel), Bulgarian (tunnel and tonel), Lithuanian (tonelis and tunelis) and Polish (tonel and tunel). By the way, probably, through the mediation of the latter, it could get into Russian. But in the Ukrainian language it is permissible to use only one way of writing: “tunnel”.
It is worth noting that in most of the above translations of the term, it does not spell two, but only one letter "n". In this regard, some people have a question, but how to write: a tunnel or a tunnel, according to the rules of Russian?
Unlike most Slavic languages, only double “nn” is permissible in Russian, moreover, both in the “tunnel” and “tunnel” versions. A similar feature was once borrowed from the English language, in which the term in question is always written with two letters nn - tunnel.