View source for Foreign-language influences in English

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[[Image:Origins of English PieChart.svg|thumb|right|350px|According to one study,<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973" /> the percentage of modern English words derived from each of various language groups are as follows:<br/>* Latin (including scientific/medical/legal terms), ~29%;<br/>* French or Anglo-Norman, ~29%;<br/>* Germanic, ~26%; and<br/>* Others, ~16%.<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973" />]]

The [[English language]] descends from [[Old English]], the [[West Germanic language]] of the [[Anglo-Saxons]]. Most of its grammar, its core vocabulary and the most common words are Germanic.<ref>{{cite book |author=Denning, Keith M. |author2=Kessler, Brett |author3=Leben, William Ronald |date=2007 |title=English Vocabulary Elements |location=Oxford, England |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-803753-8 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6bew0EnsswC |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref><!-- THIS IS MEANINGLESS: As a statistical rule, --> However, the percentage of loans in everyday conversation varies by [[dialect]] and [[idiolect]], even if English vocabulary at large has a greater Romance influence.<ref>{{cite book |author=Fennell, Barbara |date=1998 |title=A History of English: A Sociolinguistic Approach |series=Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics |location=New York, NY |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-0-631-20073-4 |page= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7V2zswfqBgAC |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2023}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Durkin |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=del0AgAAQBAJ&q=casual+everyday&pg=PP1 |title=Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English |date=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-957499-5 |page=22 |language=en |quote=Percentages are often quoted for the proportions of the vocabulary of modern English that are borrowed from French, Latin, Scandinavian languages, etc. As discussed in chapter 1, such percentages must be approached with extreme caution. Firstly, we have to bear in mind that such figures can only refer to a particular period: the proportions in contemporary English will not at all be the same as those in sixteenth- or seventeenth-century English, for example. Secondly, we must consider whose English we are talking about, as discussed in section 1.5. Thirdly, once we have decided which registers, varieties, etc. we want to take into account, we have the practical problem of arriving at a wordlist. Fourthly, once we have our wordlist, we have the problem of assessing and classifying etymologies, i.e. deciding which words are borrowed and which are not. This last problem is a major concern of this book.}}</ref>

Many loanwords have entered into English from other languages.<!--THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE LOANWORDS CONCEPT ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE ARTICLE, AND, PER [[WP:VERFY]], WIKILINKS DO NOT CONSTITUTE SOURCING OF CONTENT. If another article contains relevant sources, they must be mover, in their entirety, here.--> {{citation needed lead|date=August 2023}}<ref>{{cite book |author=McWhorter, John H. |title=Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue |year=2008 |publisher=Gotham Books |place=New York |pages=89–136 |isbn=9781592403950}}</ref>{{page range too broad|date=August 2023}} English borrowed many words from [[Old Norse]], the [[North Germanic language]] of the [[Vikings]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |title=Old Norse Influence in Modern English: The Effect of the Viking Invasion |url=https://skemman.is/handle/1946/17234 |date=January 2014 |degree=Thesis |language=en |first=Sandra Dögg |last=Friðriksdóttir 1989-}}</ref><!--SAME COMMENT: NO MENTION OF THE VIKINGS ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE ARTICLE... . --> and later from [[Anglo-Norman language|Norman French]], the [[Romance language]] of the [[Normans]], which descends from [[Latin]]. Estimates of native words derived from Old English range <!--from 20%&ndash; THIS 20% NOT FOUND ANYWHERE IN ARTICLE.--> up to 78%,<ref name="Williams1975" /><!--THIS CITATION COVERS ONLY THE LAST SENTENCE.--> with the rest made up of outside borrowings.{{citation needed lead|date=August 2023}} These are mostly from [[Influence of French on English|Norman/French]],<ref name="Williams1975" /> but many others were later borrowed directly from [[Latin influence in English|Latin]].<ref name="Williams1975" /> Some of the Romance words borrowed into English were themselves loanwords from other languages, such as the Germanic [[Frankish language]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=D. Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwWD_5rJpWMC&q=Frankish&pg=PP1 |title=External Influences on English: From Its Beginnings to the Renaissance |date=2012-08-02 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-965426-0 |page=159 |language=en}}</ref><!--SAME COMMENT: NO MENTION OF THE FRANKISH ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE ARTICLE... . -->

==Loanwords ==
A computerized survey of 75,150 words in the third edition of the ''[[Shorter Oxford Dictionary]]'', published by Finkenstaedt and Wolff in 1973<!--Text does not to so fully reproduce content in the citation, which is available via mouse-over and click.--> estimated the origin of English words to be as follows:<ref name="FinkenstaedtWolff1973">{{cite book |author=Finkenstaedt, Thomas |title=Ordered Profusion: Studies in Dictionaries and the English Lexicon |author2=Wolff, Dieter |date=1973 |publisher=C. Winter |isbn=3-533-02253-6 |location= |pages=119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xiao |first=Xiao |date=2020 |title=The study of loanwords in English |url=https://scholar.archive.org/work/p2ra4pcggfedxonfrdwlptz2ju/access/wayback/http://ojs.bbwpublisher.com/index.php/JCER/article/download/1695/1483 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Educational Research |volume=4 |issue=12 |pages=36–43}}</ref>
* [[List of English words of French origin|French]] (including Old French: 11.66%; Anglo-French: 1.88%; and French: 14.77%): 28.30%;
* [[List of Latin words with English derivatives|Latin (including modern scientific and technical Latin]]): 28.24%;
* [[Germanic languages]] (including Old English, Proto-Germanic and others: 20.13%; Old Norse: 1.83%; Middle English: 1.53%; Dutch: 1.07%; excluding [[List of English Latinates of Germanic origin|Germanic words borrowed from a Romance language]]): 25%;{{efn|I.e., excluded are words coming from the Germanic element in French, Latin or other Romance languages.<ref name=FinkenstaedtWolff1973/>{{page needed|date = August 2023}} }}
* Greek: 5.32%;
* no etymology given: 4.04%;
* derived from proper names: 3.28%; and
* all other languages: less than 1%.

However, this includes very rarely used words and does not account for use frequency. A 1965 statistical analysis of 10,000 words taken from business, professional and personal letters by A. Hood Roberts arrived at:<ref name="Williams1975">{{cite book |author=Roberts |first=A. Hood |title=A Statistical Linguistic Analysis of American English |date=1965 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=9783112416426 |location= |pages=36–38 |doi=10.1515/9783112416426}}</ref>

* Anglo-Saxon: 78.1%;
* French: 15.2%;
* Latin: 3.1%;
* Norse: 2.4%;
* Other: 1.3%.

However, he found considerable discrepancy between the most common and least common words. The top thousand most common words were 83% of Anglo-Saxon origin, while the least common were only 25% of Anglo-Saxon origin.<ref name="Williams1975" />

However, due to the variability of vocabulary of individuals, dialects, and time periods, exact percentages cannot be taken at face value.<ref name=":0" />

==Languages influencing the English language==
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Here is a list of the most common foreign language influences in English, where other languages have influenced or contributed words to English.

===Celtic===
{{Main|Lists of English words of Celtic origin}}
[[Celtic languages|Celtic]] words are almost absent but do exist, such as the word galore which came about in the 17th century and stems from the Irish, "go leor" which means plenty, or to sufficiency. <ref>{{Cite web |title=What Kind of Word is 'Galore'? |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/what-kind-of-word-is-galore |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> There are also dialectal words, such as the [[Yan Tan Tethera]] system of counting sheep. However, hypotheses have been made that English syntax was influenced by Celtic languages, such as the system of [[Continuous and progressive aspects|continuous tenses]] was a [[calque]] of similar Celtic phrasal structures. This is controversial, as the system has clear native English and other Germanic developments.

===French===
{{Main|English words of French origin|Influence of French on English}}
The French contributed legal, military, technological, and political terminology. French was the prestige language during the Norman occupation of the British Isles, causing many French words to enter English vocabulary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Durkin |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=del0AgAAQBAJ&q=norman&pg=PP1 |title=Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English |date=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-957499-5 |pages=65 |language=en}}</ref> Their language also contributed common words, such as how food was prepared: ''boil'', ''broil'', ''fry'', ''roast'', and ''stew'', as well as words related to the nobility: ''prince'', ''duke'', ''marquess'', ''viscount'', ''baron'', and their feminine equivalents.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Algeo |first1=John |title=The Origins and Development of the English Language |date=2010 |publisher=Wadsworth |location=Boston |isbn=978-1-4282-3145-0 |edition=6th |pages=254–258 |url= http://www.kaa.ff.ukf.sk/attachments/article/39/The%20Origins%20and%20Development%20of%20the%20English%20Language%20(Textbook).pdf |access-date=8 June 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140912224555/http://www.kaa.ff.ukf.sk/attachments/article/39/The%20Origins%20and%20Development%20of%20the%20English%20Language%20(Textbook).pdf |archive-date=2014-09-12}}</ref> Nearly 30 percent of English words (in an 80,000-word dictionary) are of French origin.

===Latin===
{{Main|Latin influence in English}}
Most words in English that are derived from [[Latin]] are scientific and technical words, [[medical terminology]], academic terminology, and legal terminology.

===Greek===
{{See also|English words of Greek origin|List of Greek morphemes used in English}}
English words derived from [[Greek language|Greek]] include scientific and medical terminology (for instance [[wiktionary:-phobia|-phobia]]s and [[wiktionary:-logy|-ologies]]), Christian theological terminology.

===Norman===
''Castle'', ''cauldron'', ''kennel'', ''catch'', ''cater'' are among [[Norman language|Norman]] words introduced into English. The Norman language also introduced (or reinforced) words of Norse origin such as ''mug''.

===Dutch===
{{See also|List of English words of Dutch origin|List of place names of Dutch origin|List of English words of Afrikaans origin}}
There are many ways through which [[Dutch language|Dutch]] words have entered the English language: via trade and navigation, such as ''[[wikt:skipper|skipper]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|schipper}}), ''[[freebooter (disambiguation)|freebooter]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|vrijbuiter}}), ''[[keelhauling]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|kielhalen}}); via painting, such as ''[[landscape]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|landschap}}), ''[[easel]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|ezel}}), ''[[still life]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|stilleven}}); warfare, such as ''[[forlorn hope]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|verloren hoop}})'', ''beleaguer (from {{Lang|nl|beleger}}), ''to bicker'' (from {{Lang|nl|bicken}}); via civil engineering, such as ''[[dam]]'', ''[[polder]]'', ''[[dune]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|duin}}); via the [[New Netherland]] settlements in North America, such as ''[[cookie]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|koekie}}), ''[[wikt:boss|boss]]'' from {{Lang|nl|baas}}, ''[[Santa Claus]]'' (from ''[[Sinterklaas]]''); via Dutch/[[Afrikaans]] speakers with English speakers in [[South Africa]], such as ''[[wildebeest]]'', ''[[apartheid]]'', ''[[boer]]'', ''[[Wiktionary:trek|trek]]''; via French words of Dutch/Flemish origin that have subsequently been adopted into English, such as ''[[boulevard]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|bolwerk}}), ''[[mannequin]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|manneken}}), ''[[buoy]]'' (from {{Lang|nl|boei}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=Williams, Joseph M.| date=1986| title=Origins of the English Language| location=New York, NY| publisher=Simon and Schuster| isbn=0-02-934470-0| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RamwAZ6fpaoC| access-date=8 June 2017}}</ref>{{page needed|date = August 2023}}

===Indigenous languages of the Western Hemisphere===
{{Main|List of English words from Indigenous languages of the Americas}}

[[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]: ''[[moose]]'', ''[[raccoon]]'', ''[[husky]]'', ''[[chipmunk]]'', ''[[pecan]]'', ''[[Cucurbita|squash]]'', ''[[hominy]]'', ''[[toboggan]]'', ''[[tomahawk]]'', ''[[monadnock]]'', ''[[Mohawk hairstyle|mohawk]]''

[[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]]: ''[[hogan]]''

[[Cariban languages|Cariban]]: ''[[Human cannibalism|cannibal]]'', ''[[hurricane]]'', ''[[manatee]]''

[[Mescalero language|Mescalero]]: ''[[apache]]''

[[Nahuatl]]: ''[[tomato]]'', ''[[coyote]]'', ''[[chocolate]]'', ''[[avocado]]'', ''[[chili pepper|chili]]''

[[Quechua language|Quechua]]: ''[[jerky]],'' ''[[potato]]''

[[Salishan languages|Salishan]]: ''[[Coho salmon|coho]]'', ''[[Sockeye salmon|sockeye]]'', ''[[sasquatch]]'', ''[[geoduck]]''

[[Taíno language|Taíno]]: ''[[tobacco]]''

[[Guarani language|Tupi-Guarani]]: ''[[Açaí palm#Name|acai]]'', ''[[cougar#Naming and etymology|cougar]]'', ''[[Carapichea ipecacuanha|ipecac]]'', ''[[jaguar#Etymology|jaguar]]'', ''[[maraca]]'', ''[[piranha#Etymology|piranha]]'', ''[[toucan#Taxonomy and systematics|toucan]]''

===Spanish===
{{See also|List of English words of Spanish origin}}
Words from [[Iberian Romance languages]] (''aficionado'', ''[[albino]]'', ''[[alligator]]'', ''[[cargo]]'', ''[[cigar]]'', ''[[embargo]]'', ''[[guitar]]'', ''[[jade]]'', ''[[mesa]]'', ''[[paella]]'', ''[[platinum]]'', ''[[plaza]]'', ''[[wikt:renegade|renegade]]'', ''[[rodeo]]'', ''[[Salsa (sauce)|salsa]]'', ''savvy'', ''[[wikt:sierra|sierra]]'', ''[[siesta]]'', ''[[tilde]]'', ''[[tornado]]'', ''[[vanilla]]'' etc.). Words relating to warfare and tactics, for instance ''[[flotilla]]'', and ''[[guerrilla]]''; or related to science and culture. 

===Italian===
{{See also|List of English words of Italian origin}}
There are many Italian words used in the English language relating to music such as [[piano]], ''fortissimo,'' and ''legato'', and [[Italian culture]] and [[Politics of Italy|politics]], such as ''piazza'', ''pizza'', ''gondola'', ''balcony'', ''[[fascism]]''. The English word ''[[umbrella]]'' comes from Italian {{Lang|it|ombrello}}.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

===Turkic Languages===
{{See also|List of English words of Turkic origin}}
English contains many [[Turkish language|Turkish]] loanwords, which are still part of the modern vernacular, including ''bosh'', [[Balkans|Balkan]], ''bugger'', ''doodle'', ''[[Hungary]]'', ''lackey'', ''[[mammoth]]'', q''uiver'', [[yogurt]], and [[yataghan]].

===South Asian languages===
{{See also|List of English words of Hindi or Urdu origin}}
{{unreferenced section|find=Hindi loanwords|find2=in English|date=April 2022}}
English contains words relating to culture originating from the [[British Raj|colonial era]] in India, e.g., ''atoll'', ''[[avatar]]'', ''[[bandana]]'', ''[[Bangle|bangles]]'', ''buddy'', ''[[bungalow]]'', ''[[calico]]'', ''[[candy]]'', ''[[Cashmere wool|cashmere]]'', ''chit'', ''cot'', ''[[curry]]'', ''cushy'', ''[[dinghy]]'', ''[[guru]]'', ''[[juggernaut]]'', ''[[jungle]]'', ''[[karma]]'', ''[[Khaki drill|khaki]]'', ''[[lacquer]]'', ''[[Syringa|lilac]]'', ''loot'', ''[[Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)|mandarin]]'', ''[[mantra]]'', ''[[polo]]'', ''[[Pajamas|pyjamas]]'', ''[[shampoo]]'', ''[[Thuggee|thug]]'', ''[[tiffin]]'', and ''[[veranda]]''.

===German===
{{See also|List of German expressions in English}}
English is a [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]]. As a result, many words are distantly related to [[German language|German]]. Most German words relating to [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] found their way into the English language, words such as ''[[Blitzkrieg]]'', ''[[Anschluss]]'', ''[[Führer]]'', and ''[[Lebensraum]]''; food terms, such as ''[[bratwurst]]'', ''[[hamburger]]'' and ''[[Sausage|frankfurter]]''; words related to psychology and philosophy, such as ''[[gestalt psychology|gestalt]]'', ''[[Übermensch]]'', ''[[zeitgeist]]'', and ''[[realpolitik]]''. From German origin are also: ''wanderlust'', ''schadenfreude'', ''kaputt'', ''kindergarten'', ''autobahn'', ''rucksack''.

===Old Norse===
{{See also|List of English words of Old Norse origin}}
Words of [[Old Norse]] origin have entered English primarily from the contact between Old Norse and [[Old English]] during colonisation of eastern and northern [[Anglo-Saxon England|England]] between the mid 9th to the 11th centuries (see also [[Danelaw]]). Many of these words are part of English core vocabulary, such as ''[[they]]'', ''egg'', ''sky'' or ''knife''.<ref name=":1" />

===Hebrew and Yiddish===
Words used in religious contexts, like [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]], [[kosher]], [[hallelujah]], [[amen]], and [[jubilee (Biblical)|jubilee]] or words that have become slang like ''[[Schmuck (pejorative)|schmuck]]'', ''shmooze'', ''nosh'', ''[[oy vey]]'', and ''[[wikt:Schmutz|schmutz]]''.

=== Frankish ===
{{See also|List of English Latinates of Germanic origin}}
Words such as warden and guardian are hypothesized to come from a proto-Romance loan from Frankish ''*wardōn'' 'to direct one's gaze'.<ref name=":2" />

===Arabic===
{{See also|List of English words of Arabic origin}}
Trade items such as ''borax'', ''coffee'', ''cotton'', ''hashish'', ''henna'', ''mohair'', ''muslin'', ''saffron, Sofa''; [[Islam]]ic religious terms such as ''jihad'', ''[[Assassin]]'', ''hadith'', and ''sharia''; scientific vocabulary borrowed into Latin in the 12th and 13th centuries (''alcohol'', ''alkali'', ''algebra'', ''azimuth'', ''zenith, cipher'', ''nadir''); plants or plant products originating in tropical Asia and introduced to medieval Europe through Arabic intermediation (''camphor'', ''jasmine'', ''lacquer'', ''lemon'', ''orange'', ''sugar''); Middle Eastern and Maghrebi cuisine words (''couscous'', ''falafel'', ''hummus'', ''kebab'', ''tahini'').

==Counting==
Cardinal numbering in English follows two models, Germanic and Italic. The basic numbers are zero through ten. The numbers eleven through nineteen follow native Germanic style, as do twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, and ninety.

Standard English, especially in very conservative formal contexts, continued to use native Germanic style as late as World War I for intermediate numbers greater than 20, viz., "one-and-twenty," "five-and-thirty," "seven-and-ninety," and so on. But with the advent of the [[Industrial Revolution]], the Latin tradition of counting as "twenty-one," "thirty-five," "ninety-seven," etc., which is easier to say and was already common in non-standard regional dialects, gradually replaced the traditional Germanic style to become the dominant style by the end of nineteenth century.

== Opposition ==
{{main|Linguistic purism in English}}

Linguistic purism in the English language is the belief that words of native origin should be used instead of foreign-derived ones (which are mainly Romance, Latin and Greek). "Native" can mean "Anglo-Saxon" or it can be widened to include all Germanic words. In its mild form, it merely means using existing native words instead of foreign-derived ones (such as using "begin" instead of "commence"). In its more extreme form, it involves reviving native words that are no longer widely used (such as "ettle" for "intend") and/or coining new words from Germanic roots (such as word stock for vocabulary). This dates at least to the [[inkhorn term]] debate of the 16th and 17th century, where some authors rejected the foreign influence, and has continued to this day, being most prominent in [[Plain English]] advocacy to avoid Latinate terms if a simple native alternative exists.<ref>{{Citation |last=Geers |first=Maria |title=Linguistic Purism in the Germanic Languages |chapter=A Comparative Study of Linguistic Purism in the History of England and Germany |date=2011-12-22 |pages=97–108 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110901351.97/pdf?licenseType=restricted |access-date=2024-09-04 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110901351.97 |isbn=978-3-11-090135-1}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Influence of French on English]] 
* [[Linguistic purism in English]]
* [[Cultural globalization]]
* [[Internet culture]]
* [[Neologism]]
* [[Philosophy of language]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.economics.soton.ac.uk/staff/aldrich/Mathematical%20Words.htm Mathematical Words: Origins and Sources] (John Aldrich, University of Southampton) The contribution of French, Latin, Greek and German are surveyed.
* [[Wikiversity: English as a hybrid Romance-Germanic language]]
{{Linguistic influence}}
[[Category:English language]]
[[Category:Cultural exchange]]
[[Category:Global culture]]