Much of English Isn’t English

Typing my first blog, circa 1958.

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Roots and Sprouts

We have “English” in America, but the language we use every day is the result of blending the roots and sprouts of Ye Old English, Danish, French, Latin, Greek, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Dutch, and Spanish, et al. 

We explore, below, some words from other languages that have been adopted and adapted into our English language. 

Old English

Kith and kin – basically means friends and relatives. This is one of my favorite phrases, and I know a certain Dragon Master who uses it as well. However, you won’t see it much in blog posts, articles, or memes. 

Eke – as in “eke out a living.” 

To and fro – back and forth

Danish/Scandinavian

Cog, cozy, hug, and maelstrom. 

French – Oh, mon dieu! 

There are about 10,000 French words we have adopted into our every-day English.

Déjà vu 

Fiancé 

Faux

A la carte

Bon appetit

Hors d’oeuvre

Vinaigrette (my favorite dressing!) 

Silhouette

Petite

Chauffeur

Critique (something writers love to get!) 

Déjà vu – Wait…did I mention that one before? 

Latin

It’s not just for attorneys anymore.

Ad hoc, bona fide, circa, ergo, et cetera (commonly known as etc.) habeas corpus, in vitro, per annum, per capita, quid pro quo – I’m looking at you, former guy! 

I could continue, ad nauseam…

Greek 

Galaxy … far, far away

Europe

Dinosaur

Democracy (remember what that feels like?)

Cynicism 

Cemetery

Acrobat

Chinese

Pekoe, bok choy, ginseng, won ton, wok, chow, and ketchup. Alert Heinz! 

We practice tai chi, talk about yin and yang (not ying yang), we play mahjong, and some of us worry about typhoons. 

Hindi

Verandah, jungle, bandana, dinghy, pyjamas (I’ve been living in these going on two years), cashmere, bangles, and shampoo.

Japanese

Tsunami, karaoke, emoji, sushi, tofu, ramen (a college dorm staple), and origami (at one time, my grandson’s obsession). 

Dutch

Boss, yankee (sorry NY, it’s not the ball team), mannequin, bazooka, snoop, frolic, and iceberg (I wonder if the lookout on the Titanic knew he was screaming in Dutch?) 

Spanish

Many of our own U.S. state names are from Spanish origins – California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona. 

You would think this would make our state and some federal administrators more respectful of our Latin American brethren.  

Other words of typical use – corral, chaps, desperado, lasso, alligator, barracuda, cockroach, and everyone’s favorite little bug – the mosquito. 

And let’s not forget an American favorite, now served, infamously on Tuesdays (I could eat them every day) – TACO. 

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What “foreign” words can you think of that

we use in our American English every day?

Who the heck was Roget?

Blue is never just blue – Blue can be azure, cerulean, cobalt, or sapphire.

Red is not simply red – Red is carmine, burgundy, garnet, rosy, scarlet, or roseate.

Green is not only green – Green should be beryl, chartreuse, forest, olive, or viridian.

I got to thinking, who the heck was Roget anyway?

Peter Mark Roget was born in London in 1779 and went on to become a physician, natural theologian, and lexicographer (author or editor of a dictionary). And of course, Roget is best known for publishing The Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, aka Roget’s Thesaurus, in 1852.

Obsessive list-making – Roget was the son of a Swiss clergyman. He was apparently obsessed with list-making (I developed the same obsession from my Welsh-Irish mother) and suffered with depression most of his life. Roget’s father died young, his wife died young, and his beloved Uncle Samuel committed suicide right in front of him. His obsessive list-making seemed to be a coping mechanism and took hold of him by the time he was just 8 years old. Roget studied medicine in Edinburgh.

From Wikipedia – “Roget retired from professional life in 1840 and about 1848 began preparing for publication the one work that was to perpetuate his memory. This was the catalogue of words organized by their meanings, the compilation of which had been an avocation since 1805. Its first printed edition, in 1852, was called Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.”

Roget died in September of 1869.

The thesaurus is a wondrous thing. Whether you use the sideline thesaurus on Word, a printed tome, or an online connection, one simple word can lead you to intricate synonyms.

I know how I use a thesaurus – frequently. But I wondered, “How do others use one?” What if you can’t find just the right word as you are working on the novel or a letter to your congressman or a passage on your resume? Do you stop and think about the right word? Do you break out the thesaurus or do you just keep typing?

What a few friends and writers say about the thesaurus

Judy Ann Lashinski Davis, author of Red Fox Woman and blogger at A Writer’s Revelations, uses Roget’s 21^st Century Thesaurus, and she’s got it “right at my elbow.”

Chris Eboch, of the Write Like a Pro! blog and action and adventure books for children like The Eyes of Pharaoh and The Well of Sacrifice, says she uses the thesaurus option at Dictionary.com so often she has it bookmarked.

Susannah Friis, writer and blogger at Personally Speaking and The Writerly Way – “I can’t move on until I find the right word.” Susannah uses the dictionary and thesaurus features on her Mac. She also uses Wiktionary (Wiki also has a neat rhymes feature).  

Valerie P. Chandler blogs at V. P. Chandler – Author and she recommends the Visual Thesaurus. This site is great if you like to see a visual map of any word and related words. You are allowed a trial version but need to sign up and pay to use it long-term. (Caution – do not use this application if you take mind-altering drugs. It’s far-out, man.)

Some word-find sources

Merriam-Webster

Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com

Wiktionary

Synonym.com

Synonym Finder

Visual Thesaurus

Sources used for this article  

Wikipedia.org

Brainy Quote

Quote Garden

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“A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” –W. H. Auden