English – a potpourri of languages

English has undergone a great transformation by borrowing words from different languages.  This has been brought about by conquests, immigration and by increased globalisation.

Today, English has words from all over the world.  Due to increasing usage as an official language in many parts of the world, the local people have introduced their own colloquial terms and these have now found their way into English.

English words borrowed from other languages :

The Vikings who came to settle in England brought in many words with them:
anger, bleak, fellow, kindle, meek, oaf, reindeer, skirt, troll, wise

The Norman conquest in 1066 brought in many words like:
arher, bacon, chivalry, defeat, elope, embezzle, felony, injury, salmon, venison

The arrival of Christian monks and scientists brought in many Latin words to England:
abdomen, creditor, dictator, dilemma, elevator, fetus, genius, insomnia, nausea, virus

The Greek language provided lot of English words too:
atlas, barbaric, catalyst, charisma, epitaph, dynamic, government, horizon, nostalgia, tyranny

The Spanish contributed with words like:
adios, avocado, barracuda, cannibal, chihuahua, embargo, fillibuster, pimento, salsa, tortilla

French words that are commonly used in English are:
a la carte, avant-garde, bon appetit, bon voyage, bourgeois, bureau, carte blanche, chauffeur, croissant, deja vu, espirit de corps, faux pas, cul-de-sac, laissez faire

Some words from Arabic are:
Admiral, albatross, alfalfa, azure, cipher, divan, gazelle, harem, henna, lilac

Words from Russian in English are:
Cosmonaut, babushka, mammoth, ruble, kalishnikov, borsch, glasnost, perestroika, kefir, tzar

German words which are found in English are:
alzheimer, blitz, dachsund, gesundheit, hamburger, poltergeist, doppelganger, schadenfreude, strudel, rottweiler

Indian words that were adopted in English are:
avatar, bangle, brahmin, bungalow, cheetah, chutney, guru, jungle, pundit, pyjamas

Japanese words that are used in English are:
bonsai, haiku, ikebana, karaoke, manga, origami, kimono, bento, shensei, teriyaki

Some Chinese words that are used in English are:
chopsuey, fengshui, ginseng, gung ho, ketchup, kow tow, kungfu, mahjong, shanghai, tai chi

Italian words that found their way into English are:
artisan, balcony, caricature, dilettante, facade, fresco, grotesque, masquerade, mezzanine, villa

Some English words derived from Dutch words are:
aardvark, bazooka, coleslaw, howitzer, gherkin, poppycock, schooner, filibuster, tulip, knapsack

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English language – fun with homophones

The English language has many homophones (similar sounding words) that have different meaning altogether. It is easy to be confused with such words and one has to be careful to understand their right usage. Here are some examples:

Accept & Except:
Accept: to agree to receive or do
Except: not including

Advice & Advise:
Advice: recommendations about what to do
Advise: to recommend something

Assent & Ascent:
Assent: agreement, approval
Ascent: the action of rising or climbing up

Bare & Bear:
Bare: naked; to uncover
Bear: to carry; to put up with

Complement & Compliment:
Complement: to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something
Compliment: to praise or express approval; an admiring remark

Council & Counsel:
Council: a group of people who manage or advise
Counsel: advice; to advise

Principal & Principle:
Principal: most important; the head of a school
Principle: a fundamental rule or belief

Cereal & Serial:
Cereal: a grass producing an edible grain; a breakfast food made from grains
Serial: happening in a series

Practice & Practise:
Practice: the use of an idea or method; the work or business of a doctor, dentist, etc.
Practise: to do something repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly

Storey & Story:
Storey: a level of a building
Story: a tale or account

Here is a link to other examples of commonly confused words from Oxford dictionary:http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/easilyconfused

And here is another great website by Jim Wegryn with a collection of over 2500 english words and phrases in humorous context: http://www.jimwegryn.com/Words/Words.php

And finally here is another video of funny English jokes and commercials:

Do you speak english?

British humour: