Foreign-language influences in English

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According to one study,<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973" /> the percentage of modern English words derived from each of various language groups are as follows:
* Latin (including scientific/medical/legal terms), ~29%;
* French or Anglo-Norman, ~29%;
* Germanic, ~26%; and
* Others, ~16%.<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973" />

The English language descends from Old English, the West Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons. Most of its grammar, its core vocabulary and the most common words are Germanic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, the percentage of loans in everyday conversation varies by dialect and idiolect, even if English vocabulary at large has a greater Romance influence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page needed<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Many loanwords have entered into English from other languages. Template:Citation needed lead<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page range too broad English borrowed many words from Old Norse, the North Germanic language of the Vikings,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite thesis</ref> and later from Norman French, the Romance language of the Normans, which descends from Latin. Estimates of native words derived from Old English range up to 78%,<ref name="Williams1975">Template:Cite book</ref> with the rest made up of outside borrowings.Template:Citation needed lead These are mostly from Norman/French,<ref name="Williams1975" /> but many others were later borrowed directly from Latin.<ref name="Williams1975" /> Some of the Romance words borrowed into English were themselves loanwords from other languages, such as the Germanic Frankish language.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>

Loanwords

A computerized survey of 75,150 words in the third edition of the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, published by Finkenstaedt and Wolff in 1973 estimated the origin of English words to be as follows:<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

A 1975 survey of 10,000 words taken from several thousand business letters by Joseph M. Williams suggested this set of statistics: 6

  • French (langue d'oïl): 41%;
  • "Native" English (derived from Old English): 33%;
  • Latin: 15%;
  • Old Norse: 5%;
  • Dutch: 1%; and
  • Other: 5%.

However, he found considerable discrepancy between the most common and least common words. The top thousand words were 83% of English origin, while the least common were only 25% of English origin. 6 Due to the variability of vocabulary of individuals, dialects, and time periods, exact percentages cannot be taken at face value. 3

Languages influencing the English language

Template:Multiple issues Here is a list of the most common foreign language influences in English, where other languages have influenced or contributed words to English.

Celtic

Template:Main Celtic words are almost absent but do exist, such as the word galore which came about in the 17th century and stems from the Irish, "go leor" which means plenty, or to sufficiency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are also dialectal words, such as the Yan Tan Tethera system of counting sheep. However, hypotheses have been made that English syntax was influenced by Celtic languages, such as the system of continuous tenses was a calque of similar Celtic phrasal structures. This is controversial, as the system has clear native English and other Germanic developments.

French

Template:Main The French contributed legal, military, technological, and political terminology. French was the prestige language during the Norman occupation of the British Isles, causing many French words to enter English vocabulary.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Their language also contributed common words, such as how food was prepared: boil, broil, fry, roast, and stew, as well as words related to the nobility: prince, duke, marquess, viscount, baron, and their feminine equivalents.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Nearly 30 percent of English words (in an 80,000-word dictionary) are of French origin.

Latin

Template:Main Most words in English that are derived from Latin are scientific and technical words, medical terminology, academic terminology, and legal terminology.

Greek

Template:See also English words derived from Greek include scientific and medical terminology (for instance -phobias and -ologies), Christian theological terminology.

Norman

Castle, cauldron, kennel, catch, cater are among Norman words introduced into English. The Norman language also introduced (or reinforced) words of Norse origin such as mug.

Dutch

Template:See also There are many ways through which Dutch words have entered the English language: via trade and navigation, such as skipper (from Template:Lang), freebooter (from Template:Lang), keelhauling (from Template:Lang); via painting, such as landscape (from Template:Lang), easel (from Template:Lang), still life (from Template:Lang); warfare, such as forlorn hope (from Template:Lang), beleaguer (from Template:Lang), to bicker (from Template:Lang); via civil engineering, such as dam, polder, dune (from Template:Lang); via the New Netherland settlements in North America, such as cookie (from Template:Lang), boss from Template:Lang, Santa Claus (from Sinterklaas); via Dutch/Afrikaans speakers with English speakers in South Africa, such as wildebeest, apartheid, boer, trek; via French words of Dutch/Flemish origin that have subsequently been adopted into English, such as boulevard (from Template:Lang), mannequin (from Template:Lang), buoy (from Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page needed

Indigenous languages of the Western Hemisphere

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Algonquian: moose, raccoon, husky, chipmunk, pecan, squash, hominy, toboggan, tomahawk, monadnock, mohawk

Athabaskan: hogan

Cariban: cannibal, hurricane, manatee

Mescalero: apache

Nahuatl: tomato, coyote, chocolate, avocado, chili

Quechua: jerky, potato

Salishan: coho, sockeye, sasquatch, geoduck

Taíno: tobacco

Tupi-Guarani: acai, cougar, ipecac, jaguar, maraca, piranha, toucan

Spanish

Template:See also Words from Iberian Romance languages (aficionado, albino, alligator, cargo, cigar, embargo, guitar, jade, mesa, paella, platinum, plaza, renegade, rodeo, salsa, savvy, sierra, siesta, tilde, tornado, vanilla etc.). Words relating to warfare and tactics, for instance flotilla, and guerrilla; or related to science and culture.

Italian

Template:See also There are many Italian words used in the English language relating to music such as piano, fortissimo, and legato, and Italian culture and politics, such as piazza, pizza, gondola, balcony, fascism. The English word umbrella comes from Italian Template:Lang.Template:Citation needed

Turkic Languages

Template:See also English contains many Turkish loanwords, which are still part of the modern vernacular, including bosh, Balkan, bugger, doodle, Hungary, lackey, mammoth, quiver, yogurt, and yataghan.

South Asian languages

Template:See also Template:Unreferenced section English contains words relating to culture originating from the colonial era in India, e.g., atoll, avatar, bandana, bangles, buddy, bungalow, calico, candy, cashmere, chit, cot, curry, cushy, dinghy, guru, juggernaut, jungle, karma, khaki, lacquer, lilac, loot, mandarin, mantra, polo, pyjamas, shampoo, thug, tiffin, and veranda.

German

Template:See also English is a Germanic language. As a result, many words are distantly related to German. Most German words relating to World War I and World War II found their way into the English language, words such as Blitzkrieg, Anschluss, Führer, and Lebensraum; food terms, such as bratwurst, hamburger and frankfurter; words related to psychology and philosophy, such as gestalt, Übermensch, zeitgeist, and realpolitik. From German origin are also: wanderlust, schadenfreude, kaputt, kindergarten, autobahn, rucksack.

Old Norse

Template:See also Words of Old Norse origin have entered English primarily from the contact between Old Norse and Old English during colonisation of eastern and northern England between the mid 9th to the 11th centuries (see also Danelaw). Many of these words are part of English core vocabulary, such as they, egg, sky or knife.<ref name=":1" />

Hebrew and Yiddish

Words used in religious contexts, like Sabbath, kosher, hallelujah, amen, and jubilee or words that have become slang like schmuck, shmooze, nosh, oy vey, and schmutz.

Frankish

Template:See also Words such as warden and guardian are hypothesized to come from a proto-Romance loan from Frankish *wardōn 'to direct one's gaze'.<ref name=":2" />

Arabic

Template:See also Trade items such as borax, coffee, cotton,henna, mohair, muslin, saffron, Sofa; scientific vocabulary borrowed into Latin in the 12th and 13th centuries (alcohol, alkali, algebra, azimuth, zenith, cipher, nadir); plants or plant products originating in tropical Asia and introduced to medieval Europe through Arabic intermediation (camphor, jasmine, lacquer, lemon, orange, sugar); Middle Eastern and Maghrebi cuisine words (couscous, falafel, hummus, kebab, tahini).

Counting

Cardinal numbering in English follows two models, Germanic and Italic. The basic numbers are zero through ten. The numbers eleven through nineteen follow native Germanic style, as do twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, and ninety.

Standard English, especially in very conservative formal contexts, continued to use native Germanic style as late as World War I for intermediate numbers greater than 20, viz., "one-and-twenty," "five-and-thirty," "seven-and-ninety," and so on. But with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the Latin tradition of counting as "twenty-one," "thirty-five," "ninety-seven," etc., which is easier to say and was already common in non-standard regional dialects, gradually replaced the traditional Germanic style to become the dominant style by the end of nineteenth century.

Opposition

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Linguistic purism in the English language is the belief that words of native origin should be used instead of foreign-derived ones (which are mainly Romance, Latin and Greek). "Native" can mean "Anglo-Saxon" or it can be widened to include all Germanic words. In its mild form, it merely means using existing native words instead of foreign-derived ones (such as using "begin" instead of "commence"). In its more extreme form, it involves reviving native words that are no longer widely used (such as "ettle" for "intend") and/or coining new words from Germanic roots (such as word stock for vocabulary). This dates at least to the inkhorn term debate of the 16th and 17th century, where some authors rejected the foreign influence, and has continued to this day, being most prominent in Plain English advocacy to avoid Latinate terms if a simple native alternative exists.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

See also

Notes

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References

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