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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