Sino-US English Teaching, March 2016, Vol. 13, No. 3, 209-212
扫墓doi:10.17265/1539-8072/2016.03.006
Loan Words in Modern English and Their Features
ZHOU Li-na
China Youth University of Political Studies, Beijing, China
English language, as a global language, is exerting greater influence on the world. It has been enlarging along with
the development of the society, the progress of science and technology by the way of borrowing from other
languages such as French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chine, Japane, and Arabic in the fi
elds of politics,
culture, education, economics, science, and technology. Borrowing or loan word has become an important part in
the process of English vocabulary acquisition. This paper studies modern English loan words, summarizes types of
loan words, and makes a tentative analysis of their features with the attempt to facilitate English learning in an
effective way.
Keywords: modern English, loan words, features
Introduction
A loan word or borrowing is a word adopted from a source language and incorporated into a recipient
language without translation. With rapid process of globalization, interconnections among countries in areas of All Rights Rerved.
economics, politics, culture, science, and technology get strengthened. As a result of this, English, as the world
language, has borrowed a large number of words from foreign languages like French, German, Italian, Russian,
Chine Japane, Greek, Spanish, Arabian, etc. According to surveys, the percentage of modern English words雨打梨花
derived from each language is 29% from French, 29% from Latin, 26% from German, and 6% from Greek, the
rest accounting for 6%. This paper probes into loan words in modern English with the aim to facilitate English
learning in EFL (English as a Foreign Language).
Modern English Loan Words
Chine Origin
Words with Chine origin have entered the English language, most of which were loan words from Chine itlf. However, Chine words have also entered indirectly via other languages, especially Korean and Japane.
The latter part of 20th century witnesd greater influx of loan words with Chine origin into English via modern
international communication, especially after the 1970s when the People’s Republic of China opened its door to
the outside world. They include Fengshui, wirefu, Sifu, lo face, one country two systems, tuhao, dama,
buzheteng, no zuo no die, Lao-tzu, Tai-chi, Tao, taikonaut, Cultural Revolution, planned commodity economy,
iron rice bowl, township enterpris, little emperor, one child policy, vegetable basket project, Lianghui, etc.
ZHOU Li-na, associate professor, master, Department of English Language and Literature, China Youth University of Political
Studies.
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LOAN WORDS IN MODERN ENGLISH AND THEIR FEATURES
Since China has profound and rich food culture, Chine dishes entered the West. Quite a few English loan words
from Chine appeared on the menu of the western restaurants: Mushu Pork, Dim Sum, Ramen, Wonton, ginkgo,
ginng, lychee, Chaomein, etc. Internet loan words of Chine appear in numbers, too: human flesh arch, play
hide and ek, to get soy sauce, wechat, weibo, knock off, alibaba, etc.
French Origin
English contains many words of French origin in art, sports, money, diplomacy, etc. Most are pronounced according to the English rules of phonology. Usually if the word or phra retains French diacritics or is usually
printed in italics, it has retained its French identity. Others may em correct to English speakers, but not
recognized as such by French speakers as many of them are now defunct or have changed in meaning. Prently
many of the menus in British and American restaurants are in French: extraordinary, fromage blanc, amugueule,
mesclun, nouvelle cuisine, aperitifs, pain au chocolat, café au lait, entrée, jambalaya, chowder, etc. Other
borrowings are related to politics, sports, fashion, and art such as bon chic bon genre, chef d’équipe, parkour,
soigneur fonctionnaire, franc fort, touché, dossier, déjà vu, vis-à-vis, faux pas, nouveau riche, rentier,
jamais vu,
摩肩接踵是什么意思elite, ambiance, collage, repertoire, entourage, tranche, toboggan, bête noire, enfant terrible, etc.
German Origin
English and German descend from the same ancestor language—West Germanic and becau of this, some English words are esntially similar to their German lexical counterparts, either in spelling (Hand, Sand, Finger)
or pronunciation (fish = Fisch, mou = Maus). Another feature is that many English words have been borrowed
directly from German in recent years, for which most of them will be recognized by many English speakers. Loan
words in food and drink include delicatesn, Gummi bear, Berliner, weis, kirschwasr, hefeweizen, schnaps, All Rights Rerved.
spritzer, stein, pilsner, hanpfeffer, lager, bundt cake, kipfel, biergarten, bratwurst, muesli, pretzel,
pumpernickel, rollmops, sauerkraut, etc; Sports borrowings are rucksack, turnverein, kletterschuh, volkssport,
blitz, wanderlust, Gemütlichkeit, Gesundheit, etc. Other loan words of daily life are zeitgeist, Gestalt, doktorvater,
festschrift, kitsch, privatdozent, Professoriat, gemutlich, kaffeeklatsch, kaput, wrangle, yodel, strudel,
schadenfeude, waldsterben.
Italian Origin
Words of Italian origin mostly have something to do with cuisine: bresaola, bruschetta, caffèlatte, calzone, focaccia, mascarpone, panzanella, radicchio, rucola, taleggio, confetti, lasagne, pasta, broccoli, zabaglione,
linguini, spumante, zucchini. Music and architecture is another area of borrowing: Adagio, Allegro, alto, aria,
bravo, cello, concerto, duet, mandolin operetta, tempo, viola, fresco, patio, grotto, graffiti, terra-cotta;
Borrowings abound in fashion and furniture: baldachin, brocade, costume, jeans, Muslin, Organza, parasol,
stiletto, umbrella vali; Borrowings in other fields include: casino, gondola, lido, mafiaI, mafioso, malaria, zany,
paparazzi, snaparazzi, masquerade, cascade, bimbo, dildo, lothario, gragation, dodge, ghetto, marfia, arnal,
venture.
Spanish Origin
Many Spanish words have entered English from three primary sources: Many of them entered American English in the days of Mexican or Spanish cowboys working in what is now the US Southwest. The cond
primary source is by way of business transactions and trade. The third major source is the names of foods who
LOAN WORDS IN MODERN ENGLISH AND THEIR FEATURES211
names have no English equivalent. Many of the words changed meaning upon entering English, often by
adopting a narrower meaning than in the original language. Spanish loan words are fajitas, taco, ancho, tortilla,
chipotle, habanero, maquiladora, palapa, sinmilla, telenovela, tomatillo, tonto, savvy, Lolita, El Nino, silo,二战国家
bonanza plaza, salsa, fiesta, avocado, burrito, bizarre, bravo, guerrilla, chili, etc.
Japane Origin
Words of Japane origin have entered English language. Some words are simple transliterations of Japane words for concepts inherent to Japane culture, but others are of Chine origin which were first
expod to English via Japan. It is estimated that 900 Chine characters entered English, 200 of which entered
English via Japane due to its prominence in international economy. They include words from food, popular
culture, economy such as Nori, ginkgo, ramen, teppanyaki, kombu, matsutake, sashim, wakame; anime, ikabana,
karaoke, manga, tamagotchi, kamikazek, araoke, sashimi, Otaku, Otaku girl; kaizen, kanban, karoshi, keiretsu,
tsunami, zaitech.
Russian Origin
Compared to other source languages, very few of the loan words in English come from Russian. Direct borrowing picked up heavily in the 20th century with the establishment of the Soviet Union as a major world
power.Most of them are ud to refer to things and concepts specific to Russia, Russian culture, politics, and
history. Common usages are cosmonaut intelligentsia, glasnost, Lunokhod, Mir, Lunik, Politburo, sputnik, icon,
mammoth, muzhik, samovar, Troika, etc.
Greek and Latin Origin
Most of the loan words from Latin and Greek are special and science terms. For example, abducens nerve, All Rights Rerved.
candida, animation, millennium, decapitation, manicure, exvivo, realia from Latin, gyro, ultrasaurus, television,aa式
bouzouki, olive from Greek, etc. One popular word needs mentioning is Mega. It was ud as a morpheme from
the 80s of 20th century meaning extra large and become productive, for example, mega hou, megasuperstar,
megavitamin, megawatt, megavolt, megaton, megastore, megatechnology.
Arabic Origin
English loan words have been borrowed directly from Arabic or indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and later into English. Examples are Nadir, artichoke, arnal, zenith, hijab, doner kebab, imam bayildi,
sheshbesh, gal, Hamas, Hezbollah, Taliban or Taleban, bedouin, emir, jakir, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hashish, lute,
minaret, mosque, myrrh, salaam, sirocco, sultan, vizier, bazaar, caravan, etc.
Features of English Loan Words
Variety
English and American culture are famous for their multiculture. American culture is even dubbed as “melting pot”. They assimilate and absorb different foreign languages brought by immigrants to the land. The
include French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japane, Hindu, Chine, Arabian, African languages, to
深圳园
name just a few. It is reported that 80% of English words derive from loan words, concerning culture, economics,
我们的未来不是梦art, sports, medicine, health, science, and technology making the language colorful and vigorous.
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LOAN WORDS IN MODERN ENGLISH AND THEIR FEATURES
Flexibility in Word Formation
Loan words come into English language by the way of zero substitution, substitution, and partial substitution. The methods of formation are flexible and various making the language conci. For example,
Fenshui in Chine, Otaku in Japane, fajitas in Spanish are borrowed directly from the donor language. Loan
words Lunik and parkour are substituted with spelling and pronunciation changes. Other loan words such as
taikonaut from Chine, chauffeur in French, volksport from German, paparazzi from Italian are partially
substituted in either pronunciation or spelling. Some loan words transfer meanings aquiring new meaning after
entering into English such as camping (campsite) in Argentina and wok (stir fry) in Chine.
Assimilation of Slangs Phras and Aphorisms From Other Languages
English loan words borrow large number of foreign aphorisms, slangs, and phras making English expressive and rich. For example, no duo no die, good good study ,day day up (in Chine), jamais vu, daja vu,
cherchez la femme, flea market (in French), Mus in? Es muss ine, in feier luft (in German), in fretta, I pazzi
per lettera sono I maggiori pazzi (in Italian) cover different types of concepts and word formation making English
a mixture of colorful world languages.
Creativity
The openness of English language accelerated the spread of loan words and usage, benefited its assimilation of foreign words and creation of new words. English loan words substitute the original loan words with local
roots or affixes making them new loan words. Other English loan words change spelling or pronunciation to
make them localized. For example taikonaut, kylin, lunik, lassi, force de ftapper, westpolitik, kosher, juku, jihad,
etc. This shows that in absorbing foreign culture, native speakers of English did not just copy everything from All Rights Rerved.
loan words but adapt them to local culture, make appropriate alterations and spread them. Modern loan words not
only enrich English vocabularies but also make them vigorous and productive.
Conclusion
English has gone through many periods in which large numbers of words from a particular language were borrowed. It not only borrows from other languages but also is borrowed by others. The more contacts, the more
loan words the language will acquire. The borrowing and lending lead to the merging of different languages from
different nations and form new English words. Prently modern English has developed a t of scientific and
technological terms common to and ud by all languages as is true with politics, media, and finance. Although
many words from French, German, Russian, Spanish, Japane, and Arabic have been incorporated into English
language, its wide usage, openness, flexibility, tolerance, as well as creativity make it possible to be the main
body of international language in the merging of vocabularies.
References
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Cowie, A. P. (1975). Oxford dictionary of current idiomatic English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.短暂相聚又离别的句子
Finkenstaedt, T., & Wolff, D. (1973). Ordered profusion: Studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon. Heidelberg: C. Winter.
Speake, J. (1997). The Oxford dictionary of foreign words and phras. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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