Anglicism
Encyclopedia
An Anglicism, as most often defined, is a word borrowed from English
into another language. "Anglicism" also describes English syntax, grammar, meaning, and structure used in another language with varying degrees of corruption.
refers to poor or broken English used by native Chinese speakers, while Anglicisms in Chinese refers to appropriation of English terms, expressions, or concepts into Chinese language. These two concepts should not be confused.
)
Occasionally governments of both Quebec
and France
have undertaken strenuous efforts to eradicate Anglicisms, with some success, although in modern times there has been a more relaxed attitude. Sometimes a new word is coined in French
that succeeds in replacing the Anglicism — for instance, logiciel ("software").
However, the Académie française
's directives are not always considered very appropriate; for instance, it has decreed that "online chat" be replaced by causette or parlotte, but these are terms for "chat" that are not commonly used. In Quebec a different solution has been found to translate "online chat." The word clavardage is increasingly gaining acceptance. This neologism is a portmanteau word coined from the words clavier ("keyboard") and bavardage ("chat"); an English equivalent portmanteau might be "keyversation."
Quebec French
and European French tend to have entirely different Anglicisms for historical reasons. Quebec French acquired its Anglicisms in a gradual process of linguistic borrowing resulting from living among and alongside English speakers for two and a half centuries since the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
of 1759. European French, on the other hand, mostly adopted its Anglicisms in recent decades due to the post-Second World War international dominance of English. Furthermore, the use of English words is less of a mark of "coolness" in Quebec than in France. Thus, the people of Quebec and France often consider each other's Anglicisms to be incorrect or humorous while considering their own to be perfectly normal. In Quebec, Anglicisms are never used in formal documentation (government papers, instruction sheets) and very rarely used in informal writing (magazines, journals
). Where the use of an Anglicism is unavoidable, it is generally written in italics
.
An example of a European French Anglicism not used in Quebec
:
An example of a Quebec French Anglicism not used in France
;
Another type of Anglicism is a phrase or structure that is calque
d from the English. For example, the valediction
Sincèrement vôtre is regarded as an Anglicism, a direct translation of the English "Sincerely yours," when a native French valediction would be more appropriate.
Because English itself borrowed a great amount of French vocabulary after the Norman Conquest, some Anglicisms are actually Old French
words that dropped from usage in French over the centuries but were preserved in English and have now come full circle back into French. For instance, one attested origin of the verb "to flirt" cites influence from the Old French expression conter fleurette, which means "to (try to) seduce". (Other possible origins for the word include flit, E. Frisian flirt (a flick or light stroke) and E. Frisian flirtje (a giddy girl)). This expression is no longer used in French but the English Gallicism
"to flirt" has made its way back over the Channel and has itself now become an Anglicism in French.
Note that there are also some words that were borrowed from English into French centuries ago, such as clown , square (meaning "public square") or spleen (meaning "melancholy" rather than the organ). These are not considered Anglicisms but rather are perfectly good French words fully accepted by the Académie française.
While earlier borrowings were related to maritime terms and sports, e. g.
kil (keel)
maszt (mast)
krykiet (cricket)
jogging (jogging),
later examples include words which already have Polish equivalents and therefore are not recognized by all language users:
menadżer (manager) instead of kierownik
quad (quad bike) instead of czterokołowiec
monitoring (CCTV) instead of nadzór, dozór
W czym mogę pomóc (English: How can I help you) instead of W czym mogę służyć.
Some Polish Anglicisms appeared due to the birth of consumerism:
dyskont (E: discount store)
market (E: supermarket)
lajfstylowy (E: [adj] lifestyle)
marketing (E: [n] marketing)
For many computer- and Internet-related phenomena no Polish word has been invented. Instead, English words are used:
login
komputer (computer)
monitor
czat (chat)
on-line
interfejs (interface).
See Poglish
.
than in European Portuguese
.
, efforts were made to purify Italian
of Anglicisms and other foreign words. Today, Italy is the country in Europe where Anglicism are most used, without alterations.
In Spain, the adoption of English words is extremely common in the spheres of business and information technology, although it is usually frowned upon by purists. yes
which are from many sides of human life.
Техніка: блюмінг, бульдозер, буфер, грейдер, диспетчер, дисплей, ескалатор, каупер, комбайн, комп'ютер, конвеєр, крекінг, принтер, радар, слябінг, сейф, телетайп, тендер, трактор, трамвай, тунель, файл, фільм, форсунка, хонінгування.
Мореплавство, військова справа: аврал, браунінг, бункер, ватерлінія, вельбот, докер, дрейф, катер, мічман, снайпер, танк, танкер, трап, траулер, шквал, шлюпка, шрапнель, шхуна, яхта.
Політика, економіка, торгівля: банкнота, бізнес, блеф, блокада, бойкот, бос, бюджет, гангстер, демпінг, долар, інтерв'ю, лідер, локаут, маркетинг, менеджер, менеджмент, мітинг, рекет, трест, чек.
Спорт: аут, бокс, боксер, ватерполо, волейбол, гол, голкіпер, матч, жокей, нокаут, раунд, рекорд, спаринг, спорт, спортсмен, старт, теніс, трек, тренер, фініш, форвард, футбол, хокей.
Одяг, тканини: бязь, вельвет, джемпер, піджак, піжама, плед, плюш, смокінг, френч.
Їжа, напої: біфштекс, кекс, пудинг, пунш, ром, ростбіф, сандвіч, торт.
Культура: гумор, джаз, клоун, клуб, комфорт, памфлет, сквер, тент, фокстрот, фольклор, хол.
The Anglicisms can be divided to four types: direct phonetic imitation, lexical and grammatical calque
s, and contamination of orthography. Official language (as given by the Language Planning Office) deprecates Anglicisms, and for the most part, native constructions are sufficient even in spoken language
. Nevertheless, some Anglicisms creep in.
Computer jargon is generally full of direct imitation, e.g. svappi "swap". Other jargons with abundant Anglicisms are pop music, scifi, gaming, fashion, automobile and to some extent scientific jargon. This is regarded a sign of overspecialization, if used outside the context of the jargon. Generally, direct imitation is not as common, but there are examples. For example, the word sexy [seksy], pronounced with an Y unlike in English [seksi], might be used as an adjective. This is teenager-specific.
Lexical calques take an English expression, like killer application
, and produce tappajasovellus, which does mean "an application that kills" just as in English. You will need to know the equivalent English term to understand this.
Some speakers, especially those in frequent contact with the English language have created a grammatical calque of the English you-impersonal. The English impersonal utilizes the second person pronoun you, e.g. You can't live if you don't eat. Here, the word you does not refer explicitly to the listener, but signifies a general statement. The same example is rendered in Finnish as Syömättä ei elä, where a separate grammatical impersonal (also known as passiivi) is used. When translated word-by-word, Sä et elä jos sä et syö, it will refer directly to the listener. Here the contraction sä of spoken language is used instead of the sinä of spoken language. Then, you will need to understand that it is an Anglicism, or you can be offended by the commanding "You there!" tone produced. (There are also native examples of the same construction, so the origin of this piece of grammar may not always be English.)
An English orthographical convention is that compound words are written separately, whereas in Finnish, compound words are written together, using a hyphen with acronyms and numbers. In Finnish, prosessitekniikka and Intel 80286 -prosessori would be correct, but process engineering or Intel 80286 processor would not. Failure to join the words or omitting the hyphen can be either an honest mistake, or contamination from English.
Another orthographical convention is that English words tend to be written as the originals. For example, the computer jargon term from to chat is written as chattailla (chat + frequentative
), even if it is pronounced sättäillä. The forms chattäillä or chättäillä are used, too. Sometimes, it is even standard language, e.g. sherry ʃerry, instead of according to English pronunciation šeri [ʃeri].
, an Anglicism is a uniquely English expression used when speaking or writing Interlingua. Many English expressions have penetrated into a wide variety of languages
, making them good Interlingua expressions. Novice speakers sometimes assume that an English expression is correct Interlingua when in fact it is not sufficiently international. For example, a novice may use Lassa nos considerar le optiones to mean 'Let's consider the options', as in English. In Interlingua, however, this expression means 'Permit us to consider the options'. A more international expression is Que nos considera le optiones, literally 'That we consider the options'.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
into another language. "Anglicism" also describes English syntax, grammar, meaning, and structure used in another language with varying degrees of corruption.
Anglicisms in Chinese
Note: ChinglishChinglish
Chinglish refers to spoken or written English language that is influenced by the Chinese language. The term "Chinglish" is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts, and may have pejorative or deprecating connotations, reflecting the attitudes of those who apply...
refers to poor or broken English used by native Chinese speakers, while Anglicisms in Chinese refers to appropriation of English terms, expressions, or concepts into Chinese language. These two concepts should not be confused.
- Example of anglicism by phonetic borrowing: use of expression "
巴士 " (instead of "公共汽車" or "公共汽车") for "bus" in Hong Kong and Macao because of similarity in pronunciations. - Syntactic Anglicism: occurs when a sentence is rendered following the English word order instead of Chinese word order. For example, "网络" ("網絡") or "网路" ("網路") (network); "网" or "網" can be translated as "net".
Anglicisms in Afrikaans
See Anglisaans (content in AfrikaansAfrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
)
Anglicisms in French
A distinction is made between well-established English borrowings into French, and other words and structures regarded as incorrect.Occasionally governments of both Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
have undertaken strenuous efforts to eradicate Anglicisms, with some success, although in modern times there has been a more relaxed attitude. Sometimes a new word is coined in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
that succeeds in replacing the Anglicism — for instance, logiciel ("software").
However, the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
's directives are not always considered very appropriate; for instance, it has decreed that "online chat" be replaced by causette or parlotte, but these are terms for "chat" that are not commonly used. In Quebec a different solution has been found to translate "online chat." The word clavardage is increasingly gaining acceptance. This neologism is a portmanteau word coined from the words clavier ("keyboard") and bavardage ("chat"); an English equivalent portmanteau might be "keyversation."
Quebec French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
and European French tend to have entirely different Anglicisms for historical reasons. Quebec French acquired its Anglicisms in a gradual process of linguistic borrowing resulting from living among and alongside English speakers for two and a half centuries since the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
of 1759. European French, on the other hand, mostly adopted its Anglicisms in recent decades due to the post-Second World War international dominance of English. Furthermore, the use of English words is less of a mark of "coolness" in Quebec than in France. Thus, the people of Quebec and France often consider each other's Anglicisms to be incorrect or humorous while considering their own to be perfectly normal. In Quebec, Anglicisms are never used in formal documentation (government papers, instruction sheets) and very rarely used in informal writing (magazines, journals
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
). Where the use of an Anglicism is unavoidable, it is generally written in italics
Italic type
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, such typefaces often slant slightly to the right. Different glyph shapes from roman type are also usually used—another influence from calligraphy...
.
An example of a European French Anglicism not used in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
:
- sweat: short for sweatshirt, but pronounced like the English word "sweet"
An example of a Quebec French Anglicism not used in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
;
- frencher: to French kissFrench kissA French kiss is a kiss in which one participant's tongue touches the partner's lips or tongue and usually enters his or her mouth. A French kiss is a slow passionate kiss which is usually considered intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual...
Another type of Anglicism is a phrase or structure that is calque
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
d from the English. For example, the valediction
Valediction
A valediction , or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message, or the act of saying parting words- whether brief, or extensive.For the greetings counterpart to valediction, see salutation.Alternatively,...
Sincèrement vôtre is regarded as an Anglicism, a direct translation of the English "Sincerely yours," when a native French valediction would be more appropriate.
Because English itself borrowed a great amount of French vocabulary after the Norman Conquest, some Anglicisms are actually Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
words that dropped from usage in French over the centuries but were preserved in English and have now come full circle back into French. For instance, one attested origin of the verb "to flirt" cites influence from the Old French expression conter fleurette, which means "to (try to) seduce". (Other possible origins for the word include flit, E. Frisian flirt (a flick or light stroke) and E. Frisian flirtje (a giddy girl)). This expression is no longer used in French but the English Gallicism
Gallicism
A Gallicism can be:* a mode of speech peculiar to the French;* a French idiom;* in general, a French mode or custom.* loanwords, words or phrases borrowed from French....
"to flirt" has made its way back over the Channel and has itself now become an Anglicism in French.
Note that there are also some words that were borrowed from English into French centuries ago, such as clown , square (meaning "public square") or spleen (meaning "melancholy" rather than the organ). These are not considered Anglicisms but rather are perfectly good French words fully accepted by the Académie française.
Anglicisms in Polish
Due to increased contact with English, Polish has in the 20th and 21st centuries borrowed many words and expressions from English.While earlier borrowings were related to maritime terms and sports, e. g.
kil (keel)
maszt (mast)
krykiet (cricket)
jogging (jogging),
later examples include words which already have Polish equivalents and therefore are not recognized by all language users:
menadżer (manager) instead of kierownik
quad (quad bike) instead of czterokołowiec
monitoring (CCTV) instead of nadzór, dozór
W czym mogę pomóc (English: How can I help you) instead of W czym mogę służyć.
Some Polish Anglicisms appeared due to the birth of consumerism:
dyskont (E: discount store)
market (E: supermarket)
lajfstylowy (E: [adj] lifestyle)
marketing (E: [n] marketing)
For many computer- and Internet-related phenomena no Polish word has been invented. Instead, English words are used:
login
komputer (computer)
monitor
czat (chat)
on-line
interfejs (interface).
See Poglish
Poglish
Poglish, Polglish or Ponglish , a portmanteau word combining the words "Polish" and "English," designates the product of mixing Polish- and English-language elements within a single speech production, or the use of "false friends" and of cognate words in...
.
Anglicisms in Portuguese
"Anglicismos" are more common in Brazilian PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
than in European Portuguese
European Portuguese
European Portuguese refers to the variety of Portuguese spoken in continental Portugal, as well as the Azores and Madeira islands...
.
Anglicisms in Italian
Under Benito MussoliniBenito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, efforts were made to purify Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
of Anglicisms and other foreign words. Today, Italy is the country in Europe where Anglicism are most used, without alterations.
Anglicisms in Spanish
The Hispanisation of English words is fairly common in the United States.In Spain, the adoption of English words is extremely common in the spheres of business and information technology, although it is usually frowned upon by purists. yes
Anglicisms in Ukrainian
There are a lot of Anglicisms in Ukrainian languageUkrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
which are from many sides of human life.
Техніка: блюмінг, бульдозер, буфер, грейдер, диспетчер, дисплей, ескалатор, каупер, комбайн, комп'ютер, конвеєр, крекінг, принтер, радар, слябінг, сейф, телетайп, тендер, трактор, трамвай, тунель, файл, фільм, форсунка, хонінгування.
Мореплавство, військова справа: аврал, браунінг, бункер, ватерлінія, вельбот, докер, дрейф, катер, мічман, снайпер, танк, танкер, трап, траулер, шквал, шлюпка, шрапнель, шхуна, яхта.
Політика, економіка, торгівля: банкнота, бізнес, блеф, блокада, бойкот, бос, бюджет, гангстер, демпінг, долар, інтерв'ю, лідер, локаут, маркетинг, менеджер, менеджмент, мітинг, рекет, трест, чек.
Спорт: аут, бокс, боксер, ватерполо, волейбол, гол, голкіпер, матч, жокей, нокаут, раунд, рекорд, спаринг, спорт, спортсмен, старт, теніс, трек, тренер, фініш, форвард, футбол, хокей.
Одяг, тканини: бязь, вельвет, джемпер, піджак, піжама, плед, плюш, смокінг, френч.
Їжа, напої: біфштекс, кекс, пудинг, пунш, ром, ростбіф, сандвіч, торт.
Культура: гумор, джаз, клоун, клуб, комфорт, памфлет, сквер, тент, фокстрот, фольклор, хол.
Anglicisms in Finnish
See also (American) FinglishFinglish
The term Finglish was introduced by professor Martti Nisonen in 1920s in Hancock, Michigan to describe a linguistic phenomenon he encountered in America. As the term describes, Finglish is a mixture of English and Finnish. In Finglish the English lexical items are nativized and inserted into the...
The Anglicisms can be divided to four types: direct phonetic imitation, lexical and grammatical calque
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
s, and contamination of orthography. Official language (as given by the Language Planning Office) deprecates Anglicisms, and for the most part, native constructions are sufficient even in spoken language
Spoken Finnish
Colloquial Finnish is the "dialectless" colloquial standard of the Finnish language. It is spoken in the Greater Helsinki region, and in urbanized areas in the Tavastian and Central Finland dialectal areas, such as the cities of Jyväskylä, Lahti, Hyvinkää, and Hämeenlinna...
. Nevertheless, some Anglicisms creep in.
Computer jargon is generally full of direct imitation, e.g. svappi "swap". Other jargons with abundant Anglicisms are pop music, scifi, gaming, fashion, automobile and to some extent scientific jargon. This is regarded a sign of overspecialization, if used outside the context of the jargon. Generally, direct imitation is not as common, but there are examples. For example, the word sexy [seksy], pronounced with an Y unlike in English [seksi], might be used as an adjective. This is teenager-specific.
Lexical calques take an English expression, like killer application
Killer application
A killer application , in the jargon of marketing teams, has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, gaming console, software, or an operating system...
, and produce tappajasovellus, which does mean "an application that kills" just as in English. You will need to know the equivalent English term to understand this.
Some speakers, especially those in frequent contact with the English language have created a grammatical calque of the English you-impersonal. The English impersonal utilizes the second person pronoun you, e.g. You can't live if you don't eat. Here, the word you does not refer explicitly to the listener, but signifies a general statement. The same example is rendered in Finnish as Syömättä ei elä, where a separate grammatical impersonal (also known as passiivi) is used. When translated word-by-word, Sä et elä jos sä et syö, it will refer directly to the listener. Here the contraction sä of spoken language is used instead of the sinä of spoken language. Then, you will need to understand that it is an Anglicism, or you can be offended by the commanding "You there!" tone produced. (There are also native examples of the same construction, so the origin of this piece of grammar may not always be English.)
An English orthographical convention is that compound words are written separately, whereas in Finnish, compound words are written together, using a hyphen with acronyms and numbers. In Finnish, prosessitekniikka and Intel 80286 -prosessori would be correct, but process engineering or Intel 80286 processor would not. Failure to join the words or omitting the hyphen can be either an honest mistake, or contamination from English.
Another orthographical convention is that English words tend to be written as the originals. For example, the computer jargon term from to chat is written as chattailla (chat + frequentative
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form of a word is one which indicates repeated action. The frequentative form can be considered a separate, but not completely independent word, called a frequentative...
), even if it is pronounced sättäillä. The forms chattäillä or chättäillä are used, too. Sometimes, it is even standard language, e.g. sherry ʃerry, instead of according to English pronunciation šeri [ʃeri].
Other definitions
In the context of InterlinguaInterlingua
Interlingua is an international auxiliary language , developed between 1937 and 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association...
, an Anglicism is a uniquely English expression used when speaking or writing Interlingua. Many English expressions have penetrated into a wide variety of languages
Interlingua and eligibility of international words
Words can be included in Interlingua in either of two ways: through regular derivation using roots and affixes or by establishing their eligibility as international words...
, making them good Interlingua expressions. Novice speakers sometimes assume that an English expression is correct Interlingua when in fact it is not sufficiently international. For example, a novice may use Lassa nos considerar le optiones to mean 'Let's consider the options', as in English. In Interlingua, however, this expression means 'Permit us to consider the options'. A more international expression is Que nos considera le optiones, literally 'That we consider the options'.
See also
- Barbarism (grammar)Barbarism (grammar)Barbarism refers to a non-standard word, expression or pronunciation in a language, particularly one prescriptively regarded as an error in morphology, while a solecism is something prescriptively regarded as an error in syntax. The term is used mainly for the written language...
- BéarlachasBéarlachasBéarlachas is an Irish term for a variety of words and phrases used in the language that are perceived to be either excessively influenced by English or to be English. This influence may vary between simple anglicisms to a process of interlanguage forms...
(False Irish) - CalqueCalqueIn linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
- Eurospeak
- Engrish
- FranglaisFranglaisFranglais , a portmanteau combining the French words "français" and "anglais" , is a slang term for an interlanguage, although the word has different overtones in French and English....
- LoanwordLoanwordA loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
- Pseudo-AnglicismPseudo-AnglicismPseudo-anglicisms are words in languages other than English which were borrowed from English but are used in a way native English speakers would not readily recognize or understand. Pseudo-anglicisms often take the form of portmanteau words, combining elements of multiple English words to create a...
- Briticism
- Americanism (disambiguation)