A world language

Words from other cultures and countries came into English as a result of trade and colonial expansion: alcohol and algebra came from Arabic; divan and khaki from Persian; chocolate and tomato from native American languages; bungalow and cot from Gujerati; tea and tycoon from Chinese.

The period from the Renaissance to the present day has also seen many new ideas and inventions, especially in science and technology. As new things are invented, new words have to be created. Often these words are created from existing Greek or Latin words put together in new ways. When someone invented an instrument for speaking to another person at a distance, it was called a telephone, from the Greek word tele ( = far) and phone ( = sound). There are now thousands of such words in English. Just think of television, video, microscope, psychology and thermometer.

Other words were invented in the English-speaking former colonies, the USA in particular. Many British people complain about Americanisms entering the English language, but do not realise how many of the words they already use come from American English. It is because of the USA that English is now truly a world language. Over 90 per cent of scientific papers are written in English and many people who do not speak each other´s mother tongue are most likely to communicate in English.

a  Have any English words entered your own language in recent years?

b  Do English words in your language have an English pronunciation?

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain. 21st Century Edition, Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 13