Foreign Words Used in English

English vocabulary draws heavily from other languages. These borrowed words make up 80% of the vocabulary, which makes English one of the world’s most influenced languages. Words from French and Latin origins contribute about 30% to English vocabulary. Such diversity shows English’s rich history of cultural exchange and how it adapts over time.

Modern communication demands a good grasp of common foreign words in English. Professionals can boost their writing quality and avoid mistakes in business communications by becoming skilled at using these borrowed words. The clarity and precision of their message improves by a lot. Foreign phrases have become a natural part of daily conversations. People use them naturally in business meetings, academic discussions, and social gatherings – from Italian cooking terms to Japanese tech vocabulary.

This piece looks at how borrowed words from other languages shape the way we communicate today. Readers will learn why foreign words appear in italics within English text and the best ways to use these global expressions in professional settings.

The Global Nature of the English Language

English stands as a remarkable linguistic melting pot that has absorbed vocabulary from more than 120 other languages through its progress. Linguist David Crystal describes English as an “insatiable borrower” because of its natural talent to take in foreign words.

How English became a borrowing language

English’s transformation into a global borrower truly began after the Norman Conquest of 1066. French and Latin overshadowed English as the languages of learning, law, and officialdom. This deep influence lasted for centuries and reshaped English vocabulary completely. A computerized analysis of the Shorter Oxford Dictionary showed that French sources contributed 28.30% of English words, Latin added 28.24%, while Germanic languages (including Old English) provided only 25%.

Cultural contact waves throughout history powered this linguistic absorption. Vikings brought simple everyday words that became essential to English, including “they,” “sky,” “leg,” and “skin”. The colonial era saw English take in words from South Asian languages such as “jungle” (1776), “bangle” (1787), and “yoga” (1818).

Word borrowing follows clear patterns. Lexicographer Kory Stamper explains that borrowing happens because of cultural contact between communities speaking different languages. The dominant culture usually benefits more—English has mostly been a borrower, but in recent decades, it has started giving new words like “internet,” “computer,” and “business” to other languages.

New borrowed words in English often relate to food and drink. Some recent additions include “affogato” (Italian dessert, 1992), “tarka dal” (Indian lentil dish, 1984), and “izakaya” (Japanese bar, 1987). These newer terms usually stay on the edges of everyday speech, unlike earlier borrowings that became part of core vocabulary.

Why foreign words are italicized when used in an English sentence

Italicizing foreign words serves multiple purposes in English writing. Writers use italics to help readers spot non-English terms that might look like mistakes. This style also signals that a word comes from another language and might carry meanings beyond simple translation.

Major style guides offer specific guidance about italicization. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests italics “for singling out non-English words and phrases in an English-language context” that “do not appear in Merriam-Webster or that would be unfamiliar to many readers”. MLA style states: “In general, italicize foreign words used in an English text”.

Many exceptions exist. Words fully absorbed into English—such as “déjà vu,” “croissant,” or “karma”—don’t need italics. Proper nouns from other languages also stay in roman type instead of italics.

The practice of italicizing foreign words has sparked debate lately. Critics say italicization needlessly “others” non-English words and marginalizes certain communities. Authors like Gloria Anzaldúa and Junot Díaz have opposed this typographical difference. Supporters believe italics help monolingual readers understand unfamiliar terms better.

The 2024 edition of The Chicago Manual of Style recognizes these changing viewpoints, noting “that italics may not be appropriate for non-English words used as part of the vocabulary of a multilingual author, narrator, or character”. This change shows growing acceptance of multilingualism in modern writing and English’s increasingly global nature.

Top Languages That Shaped English Vocabulary

English vocabulary has been shaped by six major languages through the ages. These linguistic gifts have added thousands of specialized terms. From old classical languages to modern Asian influences, English has evolved into the flexible global language we use today.

Latin and Greek: The academic roots

Latin and Greek words make up most of English scientific, medical, and academic terms. These classical languages account for 60% of English technical terminology. Scientific naming, medical terms, and legal vocabulary draw heavily from Latin. Greek roots show up often in scientific and theological words, especially in -phobias and -ologies.

Common Latin roots include:

• port (carry): export, transport, portable
• dict (say): dictate, predict, contradict
• duc/duct (lead): conduct, produce, education
• vid/vis (see): video, vision, television

English speakers can figure out new words’ meanings by spotting these linguistic building blocks.

French: The Norman influence

French began to change English after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Modern English gets about 30% of its vocabulary from French. French words appear everywhere:

• Legal terminology: justice, jury, verdict, evidence, indict
• Military words: army, navy, soldier, battle, garrison
• Food preparation: boil, roast, fry, broil
• Social class terminology: servant, peasant, prince, duke

Animal names stayed Germanic (cow, sheep, deer), but meat names came from French (beef, mutton, venison). This shows the split between Anglo-Saxon farmers and French-speaking nobles. French still adds new words like terrorism, critique, and rendezvous to English.

German: From angst to wanderlust

English shares roots with German as a Germanic language. German has given English many words, especially in philosophy, psychology, and daily life.

Philosophy and psychology borrowed angst (anxiety), zeitgeist (spirit of the time), and weltanschauung (worldview). Daily words include kindergarten (children’s garden), rucksack (backpack), and wanderlust (desire to travel). German food words gave us hamburger (from Hamburg), pretzel, and pumpernickel.

World Wars I and II brought words like blitzkrieg, anschluss, and führer into English.

Italian: Art, food, and fashion

Italian has left its mark on areas where Italy excels. Music speaks Italian with words like piano, soprano, opera, and concerto. Art borrowed terms such as fresco, chiaroscuro, and terra-cotta.

Food terms might be Italy’s biggest gift: pasta, pizza, espresso, gelato, and countless pasta types (spaghetti, ravioli, lasagne). Buildings also use Italian words: balcony, corridor, belvedere, and piazza.

Japanese: Pop culture and beyond

Japanese has added many words to English despite the distance between cultures. The Oxford English Dictionary first recorded bonze (Buddhist priest) in 1577. Modern Japanese has given us:

• Pop culture: anime, manga, karaoke, emoji
• Martial arts: karate, judo, sumo
• Food: sushi, sake, tempura, edamame
• Aesthetics: wabi-sabi (imperfect beauty), kintsugi (repairing broken pottery)

Spanish: Everyday expressions

Spanish words blend naturally into English, especially where Spanish influence runs deep. People use greetings like hola and adios every day. Food words such as taco, salsa, and tortilla have become common. English speakers often use fiesta, siesta, and macho.

Spanish expressions pop up in English conversations, like ¡Qué guay! (How cool!) and ¡Venga ya! (Come on!). This language exchange keeps growing as English and Spanish speakers interact worldwide.

Commonly Used Foreign Words in English

English has become a language that borrows heavily from others to build its vocabulary. Studies show that about 80% of English words come from non-English sources. These borrowed terms now play a vital role in our daily communication.

Loanwords you hear every day

Foreign words pervade our English conversations, yet speakers rarely notice their international roots. French has given us more than just fancy cooking terms. Words like “garage,” “ballet,” and “chauffeur” are now part of our everyday speech. German brought us psychological terms such as “angst” and travel-inspired words like “wanderlust.”

Italian’s influence runs deep in music (“piano,” “opera”), building terms (“balcony,” “corridor”), and food (“pasta,” “pizza”). Japanese words have naturally merged into modern English through:

• Technology and entertainment: karaoke, emoji, anime
• Martial arts disciplines: karate, judo, sumo
• Culinary vocabulary: sushi, tempura, edamame

Spanish gave us everyday words like “plaza,” “siesta,” and “fiesta.” Dutch’s contribution includes practical terms like “cookie,” “cruise,” and “landscape.”

Foreign phrases used in English writing

Professional and academic writing often uses untranslated foreign expressions that pack specific meanings. Latin phrases prove valuable in legal, academic, and business settings. Words like “ad hoc,” “bona fide,” “status quo,” and “per se” show up often in formal documents.

French phrases bring elegance to English writing with terms like “carte blanche,” “faux pas,” and “déjà vu.” These words often say more with less than their English counterparts. Italian phrases mostly connect to music (“a cappella,” “al dente”) and aesthetics, while German words tend to express philosophical ideas.

Words that retain original spelling or accents

Some borrowed words keep their original accent marks or unique spelling patterns. These marks help with pronunciation or tell words apart from similar English terms. “Résumé” keeps its accents to stand apart from “resume” (to continue), while “rosé” helps us tell the wine from a flower.

Technical and field-specific words—especially in cooking and music—usually keep their accents. “Crème brûlée,” “soufflé,” and “façade” are good examples. Yet, with time, accent marks often fade away as words become part of English. “Hotel” (from French “hôtel”) and “role” (from French “rôle”) have dropped their original accents through English adoption.

The Chicago Manual of Style, a leading guide for publishers, “plants its flag squarely in the accent camp.” It suggests keeping accent marks for many foreign terms. This approach helps save the rich cultural history behind borrowed words while showing how they’ve become part of our everyday English vocabulary.

How Foreign Words Are Used in English Sentences

English sentences need specific grammar rules to incorporate foreign words properly. Learning new vocabulary is nowhere near as complex as becoming skilled at using borrowed terms correctly. The process becomes much simpler once you know the rules that are 50 years old.

Grammar rules for borrowed words

Foreign words must adapt to English grammar structure to fit naturally in sentences. These terms need to follow English rules for inflection, derivation, and sentence construction. To cite an instance, the French word “café” follows English rules now – we make it plural as “cafes” instead of the French “cafés.” Borrowed verbs also follow English patterns, whatever their original language.

English often expands the meaning of borrowed words to match our cultural context. “Spam” serves as a perfect example. The term started as a trademarked meat product but now describes unwanted commercial emails. This change happens through cultural exchange, filling gaps in vocabulary, and borrowing from languages we see as prestigious.

When to italicize foreign words

Writers should italicize foreign words in English text if most readers would find them unfamiliar. Style guides tell us to “single out non-English words and phrases in an English-language context” that you won’t find in Merriam-Webster or that readers might not know.

The rule has exceptions. Words that English speakers use often—”déjà vu,” “croissant,” or common Latin abbreviations like “e.g.” and “etc.”—don’t need italics. The Chicago Manual of Style’s 2024 edition notes that “italics may not be appropriate for non-English words used as part of the vocabulary of a multilingual author, narrator, or character.”

Pluralization and pronunciation tips

Formal writing keeps the original plural forms of foreign words, though casual writing often uses English plurals. Here are the main patterns:

• Latin/Greek: -um to -a (curriculum→curricula), -us to -i (fungus→fungi), -is to -es (thesis→theses)
• Italian: -o to -i (paparazzo→paparazzi), -e to -i (dilettante→dilettanti)
• Hebrew: add -im (cherub→cherubim) or -ot/-oth (yeshiva→yeshivot)

Borrowed words adapt their pronunciation to match English speech patterns. Languages have different rules about which sound combinations work together. Several factors affect how we pronounce borrowed words: exposure to native speakers, shared sounds between languages, how often we use the word, and the lending language’s influence. New borrowed words tend to keep their original pronunciation, while older ones usually get absorbed into English completely.

Why English Keeps Borrowing Words

The way foreign words enter English isn’t random—it shows how languages naturally mix and evolve through time. Research shows that an amazing 80% of English words originally come from other languages. This showcases English’s natural talent for absorbing words from everywhere.

Cultural exchange and globalization

Word borrowing starts when communities speaking different languages meet. Trade, conquest, and migration made this happen through history. Today’s connected world has sped up this process. English now picks up words from far-off cultures faster than ever before.

Languages blend in a natural way. Communities connect first. New words then adjust to fit English sounds and patterns. These borrowed words become such a natural part of English that native speakers don’t even see them as foreign anymore.

Filling vocabulary gaps

Languages borrow words to fill gaps where they lack the right terms. The word “robot” came to English from Czech because no English word could describe machines built to do human work.

Borrowed words give English speakers new ways to express ideas. New technologies, foods, and cultural practices often bring their own words with them. English tends to adopt these terms rather than create new ones from scratch.

Prestige and stylistic reasons

A language’s status plays a big role in how words move between languages. French became the language of nobility after the Norman Conquest. People saw French as more prestigious than English, which led to many French words entering English. This explains why English uses so many French-derived terms in government, law, and culture.

English speakers today use foreign phrases to add sophistication to their speech. People often use borrowed words to sound more cultured. That’s why words like “zeitgeist” or “je ne sais quoi” stay popular even though similar English words exist.

This natural blending of words has made English richer and more expressive. It stands as evidence of how well English adapts in our global world.

Summing it all up

English’s remarkable linguistic trip proves its extraordinary ability to adapt. More than 120 different languages have shaped English into a rich mixture of borrowed words. This diversity gives speakers exceptional range and precision to communicate in professional, academic, and social settings.

English has embraced words from many sources. Latin scientific terms, Japanese pop culture expressions, French cooking vocabulary, and German philosophical concepts have all found their way into the language. These borrowed words tell stories of human connections and cultural appreciation. Each term shows how people share ideas across cultures.

Knowledge of global expressions greatly benefits English speakers. They can better handle professional communication and appreciate subtle meanings in foreign phrases. This familiarity with borrowed terms boosts both understanding and expression. Proper usage of foreign words shows linguistic expertise, from italics to pluralization to pronunciation.

Some people debate conventions like italicization. Yet the steady flow of foreign words into English shows its strength. This openness to outside influence has revolutionized English, making it one of the world’s most adaptable and expressive languages.

The future looks bright for English as global connections grow stronger. Of course, it will keep its role as an “insatiable borrower” and welcome new terms that mirror our changing world. English remains a living record of human exchange and cultural appreciation – a truly global linguistic force.

Here are some FAQs about foreign words used in english:

What is a foreign word used in English?

Many foreign words used in English come from French, Latin, and other languages, such as “déjà vu” (French) or “karaoke” (Japanese). These foreign words commonly used in English often retain their original meaning while becoming integrated into everyday vocabulary. Some foreign words are italicized when used in an English sentence, especially in formal writing, though many have become so common that italics are no longer necessary.

What are 10 unfamiliar words in English?

Some less familiar foreign words used in English include “schadenfreude” (German), “hygge” (Danish), and “tsundoku” (Japanese). These commonly used foreign words in English may not be widely recognized but describe unique concepts. Other examples like “ombudsman” (Swedish) or “ersatz” (German) are some foreign words used in English that add nuance to expression.

What is the most uncommon word used in English?

One of the most uncommon foreign words used in English is “mamihlapinatapei” (Yaghan), referring to a wordless yet meaningful look between two people. These rarely used foreign words commonly used in English often come from indigenous or lesser-known languages. While some foreign words are italicized when used in an English sentence, extremely rare ones might need explanation regardless of formatting.

What words in English are borrowed from other languages?

English has borrowed extensively, with words like “algebra” (Arabic), “kindergarten” (German), and “avatar” (Sanskrit) being some foreign words used in English. These foreign words commonly used in English show the language’s history of cultural exchange. From food terms like “croissant” (French) to concepts like “zen” (Japanese), commonly used foreign words in English enrich vocabulary.

How many foreign words are there in English?

Estimates suggest about 80% of English vocabulary consists of foreign words used in English, primarily from Latin, French, and Germanic languages. While not all foreign words commonly used in English are obvious borrowings, thousands maintain their original form. Some foreign words are italicized when used in an English sentence, but most have become fully naturalized over centuries.

Are there any English words that are untranslatable?

Yes, English has adopted several untranslatable foreign words used in English like “saudade” (Portuguese) or “torschlusspanik” (German). These foreign words commonly used in English convey complex emotions or cultural concepts lacking direct equivalents. While some foreign words are italicized when used in an English sentence, their meaning often requires explanation beyond formatting.