Foreign language influences in English
Considering that all new words generally start off as slang, no word really just enters the
English language immediately, all words come from different languages. Here is a list of the most common
foreign language influences in English, where other languages have influenced or contributed words to English
- French words for the meat of an animal, noble words (this comes from the time of the Normans when the French were in charge of England), words referring to food-e.g. au gratin.
- German some words relating to the Second World War, e.g. Blitz. And some food terms, such as wurst.
- Latin words, technical or biological names, medical terminology, legal terminology.
- Greek words-medical terminology (like for instance phobias and ologies)
- Spanish -words relating to Spanish culture -for example paella, siesta, plaza, etc.
- Italian -words relating to music, piano, fortissimo. Or Italian culture, such as piazza, gondola, etc.
- Yiddish - chutzpa
- Nahuatl - tomato, coyote, chocolate
- Russian -words relating to the Cold War, and also words relating to Russian culture, such as Cossack.
