Foreign language influences in English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Considering that all new words generally start off as slang, no word really just enters the English language immediately, all words come from different languages. 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 the First World War and the Second World War, 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., and civil engineering, such as dam, polder, &c.

Latin words, technical or biological names, medical terminology, legal terminology. See also: Latin influence in English

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, etc. Also: balcony. Also: 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

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 Baboeschka.

Indian - words relating to culture, originating from the colonial era, e.g.: pyjamas, bungalow, verandah, jungle and curry. Also: shampoo, khaki.