The English language is replete with words it acquired from earlier forms of English and from other languages. Words from Latin, Greek, Old French, Old Norse, etc., were adopted by speakers of Old and Middle English, and many of those words (or their descendant words) still exist in English today.
Modern English continues to borrow words from foreign languages and incorporate them into everyday English. For example, ‘manga’ from Japanese and ‘chutney’ from Hindi are both modern English words.
For this forum post, discuss four words used in Modern English that were borrowed from another language. Using etymonline.com, compare the definition of the word in Modern English to its meaning in the source language. Restrict your post to words entering English within the last one or two hundred years (that website usually gives the year a word was first recorded in English).
Your post should (a) specify the Modern English word and the original source word and highlight any differences between them in terms of spelling and pronunciation; and (b) identify the exact or approximate date/time period that the word entered English, as well as the specific source of entry if known. In your discussion, be sure to emphasize similarities or differences in the meaning of the source word and the Modern English word. If it means exactly the same thing in English as it did in the source language, state that. If the meaning has changed, describe it.
Remember that your post must be exclusively your own writing. If you’re having trouble thinking of foreign borrowings in English, you might browse the Wikipedia List of English words by country or language of origin. Be sure to cross-reference anything you find on Wikipedia with etymonline.com.
0 comments