Where do English words come from? (part 1)

An interesting thing about the English language is that it is constantly evolving. English is an official language in over 50 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities, according to Wikipedia, and it is used as a second language or intermediary language in many more.

All of these places influence the way English is spoken, and we can find find words in English which have their origins in many diverse places. For example, ‘Hinglish’ words (words which originally come from Hindi or related South Asian languages) include the words ‘yoga’, ‘pyjamas’ and ‘guru’.

English also incorporates many loan words from cultures which have an international influence even if the majority language of that culture is not English. For example, the words ‘sushi’, ‘kamikaze’ and ‘karaoke’ are all part of the English language, though they are pronounced differently by English native speakers to the original Japanese pronunciation. There are also a number of ‘trendy’ Japanese concepts which are used by English speakers.

One example is the term ‘kintsugi’, which refers to the Japanese tradition of mending broken pottery using powdered gold. The result is that the previously broken plate or cup now has a streak of gold, and so can be seen as more beautiful than before. This tradition does not have an equivalent in English-speaking cultures, but the concept has captivated the hearts of many as a beautiful metaphor for personal experiences, such as undergoing a traumatic event and coming out, not as a broken victim, but as someone even stronger and wiser than before. In such a sense, you can hear native English speakers using the term, such as ‘I felt so terrible when my father died last year, but I have learned so much and now I feel like a kintsugi’.

Can you think of any words from your native language which are also part of the English language? Please feel free to share in the comments :)

And if you would like to learn more about English-speaking cultures, please feel free to book one of my classes.

(Main Photo by SIMON LEE on Unsplash)

(Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash)