Whilst some languages and cultures are very focused on keeping the words they use ‘pure’ or ‘original’ (France and Japan for example) the English language has always been a melting point of mixtures of words begged, borrowed or more often stolen from other sources.
Perhaps it’s because we’re an Island and have various factions take a liking to our land and invade and us then settle here, over many hundreds of years.
Maybe it’s because all of those invasions and colonisations we in turn carried out (think: the Thin Red Line stretching around the world) has meant we’ve brought back home new words to add to the lexicon of the English language.
Whatever the reasons, the English language we learn to use is a right old muddle of illogical logic and squiffy spellings.
The official name for these words is ‘loanwords’ and rather like those books we take from the library and never get around to returning (not you, of course) those ‘loanwords’ end up having the bar codes ripped off and kept by us on our language bookshelf, ready to be used as if they’re one of ours.
Quite often the pronunciation, or ‘sound’ of the original word was changed to suit the dialects of the time, and that, plus the fact that there were no ‘rules’ about spelling means the original source words may now look and sound quite different from what we’re using now.
Over 350 different languages in English
In the aggregate, it’s suggested that loanwords comprise around 80% of the English we use.
Listed below you’ll find a small sample of some of the words we use on a regular basis that aren’t really ours, but we’ve come to accept them as part of the English language, each with their source.
- Latin agriculture, language, justice, science, forum, circus, opium, dominatrix, religion, apostle, city, master, paper, victim, art, country, music, people
- French art, dance, jewel, painting, ballet, government, salon, brigade, infantry, grenade, quiche, beef, salmon, cafe, croissant, dance, dragon, entrepreneur, faux pas, fruit, genre, hors d’oeuvre, liberty, lingerie, renaissance, rendezvous, very
- Greek phobia, academy, siren, lexicon, muse, odyssey, democracy, psyche, atlas, platonic, biology, comedy, tragedy, history, data
- German blitz, strudel, kindergarten, flak, schadenfreude, schnitzel, zeitgeist, poodle, noodle, pretzel, sauerkraut, lager, zeppelin, delicatessen, wanderlust, fest, gesundheit, hamburger, Neanderthal, nix, waltz, rucksack
- Italian opera, soprano, piano, broccoli, fresco, spaghetti, prima donna, parmesan, pesto, viola, violin, pizza, cappuccino, latte, paparazzi, allegro, alto, cello, apartment, cartoon, cauliflower
- Spanish canyon, tornado, tortilla, barricade, guitar, alligator, burrito, coyote, junta, guerrilla, macho, patio, plaza, pinata, savvy, siesta, tobacco, vanilla
- Dutch buoy, cruise, dock, avast, freight, dyke, yacht, easel, landscape, sketch, booze, coleslaw, cookie, gin
- Scandinavian smorgasbord, ski, fjord, saga, sauna, maelstrom, slalom
- Japanese karaoke, samurai, kimono, sushi, tsunami, kamikaze, geisha, judo, jujitsu, soy, honcho, skosh, karate, ninja, origami, mikado, futon
- Arabic alcohol, banana, bedouin, harem, lute, algebra, zero, zenith, giraffe, gazelle, sultan, caravan, mosque, admiral, average, lemon, sheikh, sofa, sequin, alchemy
- Portuguese albino, dodo, emu, fetish, tempura
- Sanskrit avatar, karma, mahatma, swastika, yoga, guru, pundit, mantra, nirvana, crimson, lacquer, chintz
- Russian borscht, czar/tsar, icon, vodka, glasnost, beluga, babushka, disinformation, mammoth, shaman, commissar
- Maori kiwi, mana, moa, waka
- Hindi bandanna, bangle, bungalow, juggernaut, jungle, loot, pyjamas, punch (drink), shampoo
- Hebrew sapphire, babble, brouhaha, maven, abacus, behemoth, cherub, jubilee, sabbatical, sabbath, amen
- Farsi/Persian chess, checkmate, check, talc, bazaar, lilac, kiosk, tiara, azure, shawl
- Malay amok, bamboo, caddy, compound, gingham, sarong
- Urdu chintz, bungalow, cheroot, cot, many overlaps with Hindi
- Irish Gaelic boycott, brogues, clock, dig (slang), hooligan, Tory, blarney, banshee, coleen, poteen, smithereens
- Afrikaans apartheid, commando, trek, aardvark, meerkat, wildebeest
- Yiddish Chanukkah (Hanukkah), chutzpah, kosher, lox, pastrami, schlep, klutz, oy vey, schmuck, glitch, spiel, schmooze
- Chinese dim sum, chow mein, ketchup, tea, kowtow, tai chi, kung fu, gung-ho, tofu, typhoon, yin and yang, chin-chin. brainwashing
- Turkish baklava, coffee, kiosk, ottoman
- Norwegian berserk, gun, ransack, slaughter, hell, husband, skill, bug, reindeer, dirt
- African origins banana, bongo, banjo, cola, jazz, chimpanzee, goober, gumbo, impala, jumbo, mamba, zebra, zombie
- Swedish moped
- Aleut Inuit anorak, kayak, igloo, parka
- Norse war, ugly, balderdash, oaf, angry, inkling, flaunting, dregs, vole, glitter
- Tagalog boondock, ylang-ylang
- Aztec avocado, chilli, tomato, chocolate, coyote
- Welsh penguin
- Portugese bossa nova, cashew, cobra, flamingo
What’s your favourite ‘foreign’ word?
Are there any words that you use that I’ve omitted from the list above?
I’m sure there are so please let me know which ones they are and I’d be pleased to add them in.
Don’t worry, learning the English vocabulary required for the eleven-plus doesn’t have to be as difficult as this post might suggest – by taking their time and learning words during years 3, 4 and 5 your child will be best placed to do well in their year 6 tests.
Every year many children take and pass their 11+ tests, so your child has every chance, too.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to ask me anything about the 11+ or test preparation.