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Encyclopedia > 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. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

  • 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.
  • Greek words - medical terminology (like for instance phobias 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 - Islamic religious terms such as jihad and hadith. Also some scientific vocabulary borrowed through Latin in the Middle Ages (alcohol, azimuth, nadir).
  • Nahuatl - tomato, coyote, chocolate.
  • Indian - words relating to culture, originating from the colonial era, e.g.: pyjamas, bungalow, verandah, jungle, curry, shampoo, khaki.

Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. ... This is a list of German expressions used in English; some relatively common (e. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Heinkel He 111 German bomber over the Surrey Docks, Southwark, London (German propaganda photomontage). ... A hamburger (or simply burger) is a sandwich that consists of a cooked patty of ground meat that is fried, steamed, grilled, or broiled, and is generally served with various condiments and toppings inside a sliced bun baked specially for this purpose. ... The term frankfurter may refer to a sausage as made in Frankfurt; a hot dog a resident of Frankfurt am Main, Germany a resident of Frankfurt (Oder), Germany Frankfurter as family name Bernhard Frankfurter (1801-1867), German teacher and writer; son of Rabbi Moses Frankfurter; born at Herdorf ([1]) David... The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the East Germanic languages. ... A skipper is a man who has command of a boat or ship. ... // In boats and ships, keel can mean either of two parts; a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element; these parts overlap. ... The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Satellite image of Noordoostpolder, Netherlands (595. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Medical terminology is a process of accurately describing the human body and associated components, conditions, processes and procedures in a science based manner. ... English has been called a Germanic language with a Romance vocabulary. ... A phobia (from the Greek φόβος fear), is an irrational, persistent fear of certain situations, objects, activities, or persons. ... The English suffix -ology or -logy denotes a field of study or academic discipline, and -ologist describes a person who studies that field. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... “Parasol” redirects here. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Muslims performing salah (prayer) Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram in Mecca Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th-century Arab religious and political figure. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the legal definition of apartheid, see Crime of apartheid. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ...

See also

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Further reading

  • Pyles, T. & J. Algeo (1993). The Origins and Development of the English Language. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.

External links

  • AskOxford - What is the proportion of English words of French, Latin, or Germanic origin?

  Results from FactBites:
 
English language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (3988 words)
English is the primary language in Australia (Australian English), the Bahamas, Barbados (Caribbean English), Bermuda, Dominica, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica (Jamaican English), New Zealand (New Zealand English), Antigua and Barbuda, St.
English is also one of the primary languages of Belize (with Spanish), Canada (with French), India (with Hindi and 21 other state languages), Ireland (with Irish), Singapore (with Malay, Mandarin and Tamil), the Philippines (along with Tagalog), Israel (along with Hebrew and Arabic) and South Africa (along with 10 other languages, including Zulu and Afrikaans).
English is the most widely-learned and -used foreign language in the world, and, as such, many linguists believe it is no longer the exclusive cultural emblem of "native English speakers," but rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it grows in use.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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