WHERE does the English language come from? It would only be a mild exaggeration to say that it comes from languages other than English. Germanic words (Old English, Norse and Dutch) account for only 26% of the English lexis, and are outnumbered by French words (29%) and Latin words (another 29%, including words used only in scientific medical and legal contexts). Greek words account for 6% of the language, which leaves 4% derived from proper names and a final 6% of words that come from other languages or from obscure origins.

English borrows – rather than coins – new words, and the number of loan words in the language is large and growing exponentially. In most unabridged dictionaries, only one-fifth, or at the most, one-fourth, of the words can claim to be “homegrown” English words. Be that as it may, the mode in which loan words are employed is purely English. Foreign words soon cease to be treated as aliens and are quickly naturalised, even though they might subsequently adopt an Anglicised pronunciation or spelling.

From French and other European languages, English has borrowed words connected with commerce, seafaring, science, art, literature and social life. War, exploration, trading, colonising and travelling have brought words from America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the islands of the seven seas, while the Celtic tongues in the British Isles have added to the store. Over the past three centuries, sources from which English has borrowed most freely have been French, Latin, Greek, and, to a lesser extent, Italian.

In many instances, it is difficult to know the immediate source of a loan word. Words from lands distant from the British Isles are often absorbed into the English language through a “third party”. For example, the Malay word “cockatoo” has entered the language via Dutch, and the Peruvian word “puma” from Spanish. Italian has passed on the Persian word “bazaar”, and an Indian vernacular handed on another Persian word, “shawl”.

In addition, many classical Greek words have been transmitted by Latin or have assumed a Latin shape – atmosphere, phase, phonetic, phosphorous, sporadic, geology, nausea, oasis, octopus, phenomenon, siphon, sporadic and thesaurus. In similar vein, English has received from French the Arabic words minaret, sofa and zero.

When we come to Asia, we naturally find that English vocabulary has borrowed largely from the Indian languages – chintz, bungalow, coolie, juggernaut, jungle, jute, khaki, loot, pyjamas, pundit, raj, thug, shampoo, etc.

In some ways it is simple common sense and logic that English has borrowed so freely. Take vocabulary related to different types of weather. Despite global warming, the British Isles are still prone to interminable grey skies and harsh winters. Thus it is not surprising that words such as storm, drizzle, shower, rain, thunder, hail, snow, ice and mist are all derived from Old English.

In contrast, words which describe weather conditions and phenomena in other parts of the world are invariably foreign in origin. Tornado comes from the Spanish word tronada, cyclone from a Greek word that means “a whirling round”, and the word typhoon is derived from both Chinese and Greek words that mean “great wind” and “whirlwind” respectively. Hurricane comes from a native Caribbean word that is derived from the Spanish huracan, and tsunami is a Japanese word that means “harbour wave”.

As for culinary vocabulary, native English hardly gets a look-in. Quite apart from the fact that words such as cuisine, chef, menu, hors d’oeuvres, buffet, omelette and canapés are all French in origin, traditional English roast beef and Yorkshire pudding are pushed aside by popular foreign foods such as risotto, lasagna, Hungarian goulash, chilli con carne, tandoori, popadom, chapati, curry, tikka, biryani, korma, sushi, shabu shabu, tapas, tortilla, beef stroganoff, spaghetti, pizza, macaroni, paella, hamburger (named after the German port city of Hamburg), and Malaysian satay.

At least the word “sandwich” (any sort of food between two slices of bread) is purely English in origin, and is reputed to be named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-92), whose habit was to eat a snack of this kind in order not to have to leave the gaming table.

The readiness – indeed outright eagerness – with which English has borrowed from foreign tongues or built words from foreign materials has surely contributed to its position as the world’s principal international language.

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