- Foreign language influences in English
While many words enter English as slang, not all do. Some words are adopted from other languages; some are mixtures of existing words (portmanteau words), and some are new coinages made of roots from dead languages: e.g. thanitopsis. No matter the origin, though, words seldom, if ever, are immediately accepted into the
English language . Here is a list of the most common foreign language influences in English, where other languages have influenced or contributed words to English.*French words for the meat of an animal, noble words (this comes from the influence of the
Norman language ), words referring to food - e.g. "au gratin". Nearly 30% of English words (in an 80,000 word dictionary) may be of French origin.*German: "Main article:
List of German expressions in English ". Some words relating to theWorld War I and theWorld War II , e.g. blitz. And some food terms, such as "wurst", "hamburger " and "frankfurter ". Also: "wanderlust", "schadenfreude", "zeitgeist", "kaputt", "kindergarten", "autobahn", "rucksack".*Scandinavian languages such as Old Norse - words such as "sky" and "troll" or, more recently, "geysir".
*Dutch - words relating to sailing, e.g. "skipper", "
keel " etc., andcivil engineering , such as "dam ", "polder ".*
Latin words, technical or biological names,medical terminology , legal terminology. See also:Latin influence in English *Greek words - medical terminology (like for instance
phobia s and ologies)*Spanish - words relating to Spanish culture - for example "paella", "siesta", "plaza", "salsa", etc.
*Italian - words relating to music,
piano , "fortissimo". Or Italian culture, such as "piazza", "pizza", "gondola", "balcony", "fascism ". The English word "umbrella " comes from Italian "ombrello".*Arabic -
Islam ic religious terms such as "jihad" and "hadith". Also some scientific vocabulary borrowed throughIberian Romance languages in theMiddle Ages ("alcohol", "algebra", "azimuth", "nadir").*
Nahuatl - "tomato", "coyote", "chocolate".*
Afrikaans - "apartheid", "trek".*Russian - words relating to the
Cold War and the aftermath ("perestroika ", "glasnost "), and also words relating to Russian culture, such as "Cossack" or "Babushka".*
India n - words relating to culture, originating from the colonial era. Many of these words are of Persian origin rather thanHindi because Persian was the official language of the Mughal courts. e.g.: "pyjamas", "bungalow", "verandah", "jungle", "curry", "shampoo", "khaki".ee also
*
Lists of English words of international origin Further reading
* Pyles, T. & J. Algeo (1993). The Origins and Development of the English Language. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.
External links
* [http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutenglish/proportion AskOxford - What is the proportion of English words of French, Latin, or Germanic origin?]
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