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Lecture 34

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nlike some languages, English is democratic in the sense that it has

always been open to acquiring new words from other languages.

In fact, substantially more than half of English vocabulary is from

languages other than its Anglo-Saxon ancestor, Old English. This lecture

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languages. We’ll explore some words that are obviously from a different

language, such as faux pas (an embarrassing social blunder), and words that

have become so common in English you might not be aware they were ever

borrowed, such as grenade, mustang, and shampoo.

Loanwords from around the World

z To get a sense of the breadth and diversity of the words English

has borrowed from other languages, let’s begin with a brief tour of

global languages and the loanwords we have adopted from them.

ż From Italian, we get such musical words as a cappella,

maestro, opera, and virtuoso; artistic words, including fresco,

JUDI¿WL, stucco, and terra cotta; and of course, culinary words,

such as pasta, al dente, and gusto.

ż From French, we get quiche, salon, and a number of military

terms, including lieutenant, bayonet, artillery, coup d’état,

rendezvous, and esprit de corps.

ż Not surprisingly, Spanish has given us many words we

associate with the American Southwest, including coyote,

desperado, tortilla, lariat, and mustang.

ż We have German to thank German for NLQGHUJDUWHQ and VDXHUNUDXW,

and Yiddish for bagels, schleps, VFKPXFNV, and mavens.

ż Gaelic has given us banshee, slogan, and ZKLVNH\, which was

literally translated as “water of life.” The Gaelic word for