"In Japan, baseball is beisuboru. In China, microphone is maikefeng. And in Germany, cell phone is Handy".
These examples of words that have been transformed (sometimes almost beyond recognition) by other languages, as well as numerous others, are discussed in an article by James Harbeck which is published today in The Week.
The examples Harbeck gives are more plentiful than one might expect from a general-interest article, having been readily drawn from the World Loanword Database.
It is a commonplace that English is a vast storehouse of words borrowed and adapted from other languages. Anyone who is curious to glimpse this process in reverse could do worse than to click on either of the above links.
How foreign languages mutate English words
How foreign languages mutate English words
ACCESS_POST_ACTIONSRe: How foreign languages mutate English words
My favorite English-to-German loanword is "beamer" for video projector.
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Re: How foreign languages mutate English words
You may already know that in the UK, 'beamer' is also a colloquial term for a BMW car -- in other words, the product of a German manufacturer...
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Re: How foreign languages mutate English words
.. to beam or not to beam perchance to stay in the buffer .. to misquote Scotty ..
WoZ the Borg who failed
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WoZ the Borg who failed
Signature: "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
Re: How foreign languages mutate English words
You may already know that in the UK, 'beamer' is also a colloquial term for a BMW car.
Same here in the States, Erik. When I first heard "beamer" used (in the wild), I explained this meaning in English and my German friends werre shocked.
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Same here in the States, Erik. When I first heard "beamer" used (in the wild), I explained this meaning in English and my German friends werre shocked.
Re: How foreign languages mutate English words
I did a search. I don't know all of these words but I included all. The most amazing to me is the origin of "Yankee".
INDIAN ORIGIN Bungalow, Cheetah, Dacoit, Guru, Jungle, Khaki, Loot, Pundit, Pyjama, Thug
ARABIAN ORIGIN Algebra Assassin Harem Mattress Safari Sofa Sultan Sherbet Tariff Zero
CHINESE ORIGIN Chi Chow Feng Shui Gung Ho Ketchup Kung Fu Lychee Silk Tea Tofu
AFRICAN ORIGIN Banana Chimpanzee Cola Dengue Jamboree Jumbo Mumbo Jumbo Voodoo Zebra Zombie
SPANISH ORIGIN Adios Cigar Guerrilla Hurricane Lolita Macho Platinum Ranch Siesta Vanilla
ITALIAN ORIGIN Artisan Balcony Cartoon Dome Gallery Graffiti Medal Replica Saloon Villa
GERMAN ORIGIN Blitz Frankfurter Hamburger Kaput Kitsch Kindergarten Lager Pilsner Wanderlust Zeitgeist
DUTCH ORIGIN Booze Cookie Cruise Decoy Excise Iceberg Measles Smuggler Yacht Yankee
PORTUGESE ORIGIN Breeze Cashew Cobra Coconut Commando Mosquito Potato Samba Tank Teak
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INDIAN ORIGIN Bungalow, Cheetah, Dacoit, Guru, Jungle, Khaki, Loot, Pundit, Pyjama, Thug
ARABIAN ORIGIN Algebra Assassin Harem Mattress Safari Sofa Sultan Sherbet Tariff Zero
CHINESE ORIGIN Chi Chow Feng Shui Gung Ho Ketchup Kung Fu Lychee Silk Tea Tofu
AFRICAN ORIGIN Banana Chimpanzee Cola Dengue Jamboree Jumbo Mumbo Jumbo Voodoo Zebra Zombie
SPANISH ORIGIN Adios Cigar Guerrilla Hurricane Lolita Macho Platinum Ranch Siesta Vanilla
ITALIAN ORIGIN Artisan Balcony Cartoon Dome Gallery Graffiti Medal Replica Saloon Villa
GERMAN ORIGIN Blitz Frankfurter Hamburger Kaput Kitsch Kindergarten Lager Pilsner Wanderlust Zeitgeist
DUTCH ORIGIN Booze Cookie Cruise Decoy Excise Iceberg Measles Smuggler Yacht Yankee
PORTUGESE ORIGIN Breeze Cashew Cobra Coconut Commando Mosquito Potato Samba Tank Teak
Signature: Harry Sargent
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