English Vocabulary in Use Advanced » Unit 89: English: a global language

Word List
  • amber
  • Anglo-Saxon
  • borrowing
  • classical origin
  • concept
  • consequence
  • cot
  • enrich
  • false friend
  • gift
  • gimmick
  • hammock
  • have an impact on
  • impact
  • intelligentsia
  • karaoke
  • lexicon
  • linguistic
  • loanword
  • mumps
  • Norman
  • palaver
  • roster
  • source
  • sympathetic
  • tabby
  • tonic
  • turban
  • Viking
  • word stock
Exercises

89.1 ‣ Complete the sentences with a word from A opposite.

  1. A linguist may talk about a language’s vocabulary as its _____.
  2. Old English is also known as _____.
  3. Ancient Greek and Latin are referred to as _____ languages.
  4. A loanword can also be termed a _____.
  5. Where something originates from can be called its _____.
  6. A word for something that happens as a result of something else is _____.
  7. A synonym for eff ect or influence is _____.
  8. The opposite of impoverish or make poorer is _____.

89.2 ‣ Which of the words in B opposite do these pictures illustrate?

  1. _____
  2. _____
  3. _____
  4. _____

89.3 ‣ Fill the gaps with one of the words from B.

  1. We’re having a _____ evening at school tonight – it should be great fun.
  2. Most babies these days have an injection to protect them from getting _____.
  3. I have some lovely _____ earrings. They match my orange scarf perfectly.
  4. Have a refreshing drink of lemon and honey every morning – it’ll be just the _____ you need to make you feel better again.
  5. Who’s on the _____ for the cleaning this week?
  6. The clowns went out into the street as a _____ to advertise their circus.

89.4 ‣ Think of words that have come from your own language into English. Try to find words from these topic areas, which are particularly rich in loanwords in English.

  1. food and drink - _____
  2. animals, flowers and landscape features - _____
  3. industrial products and inventions - _____
  4. clothing and the home - _____
  5. politics and society - _____
  6. the arts, sports and leisure activities - _____

89.5 ‣ Make a list of false friends for English and your own first language. Here is a list begun by a Spanish speaker.

English wordsimilar word in my language + meaningmeaning in English
complexioncomplexión = person’s physical buildappearance of skin on a person’s face (a clear complexion)
destitutedestituido = removed from jobwithout money, food, home or possessions

89.6 ‣ These words are said to have moved from English into a number of other languages. Which of them exist in your language?

thematic fieldsEnglish source words
food and drinkbeefsteak, jam, pudding, sandwich
animalsbulldog, dog, skunk
clothingblazer, cardigan, pullover, sweater
political and social lifeparliament, Tory, boycott, budget, inflation, strike
industry and inventionscar ferry, container, freight, computer chip, cable TV
arts, sports and leisureace [1 in playing cards], boxer, football, break-dance
Answer Key
A ‣ The origins of English vocabulary

LANGUAGE ONLINE

Some languages do not easily accept words from other languages into their lexicon1, but English has always welcomed them. It is estimated that English vocabulary has its sources2 in at least 120 languages. Some languages have, of course, provided English with more words than others. English started out with a basic Anglo-Saxon3 word stock4. Viking5 and Norman6 invaders from the 9th century onwards enriched7 the language enormously with large numbers of words brought from their own languages. The Vikings brought new words of Germanic origin while the Normans spoke a form of French. Both sets of invaders had an enormous impact on8 English vocabulary, explaining why English may sometimes seem to have several words for the same basic concept9. During the Renaissance of the 15th to the 17th centuries, scholars introduced many words of classical origin10. And throughout history, English speakers’ contact with the world as explorers, scientists, traders, pirates and holiday-makers has had linguistic consequences11 in a wealth of new words from every part of the world that they reached. These words taken from other languages are sometimes referred to as loanwords or borrowings.

1 vocabulary (specialist term)
2 where something comes from
3 Old English
4 set of words
5 Norse, from the north of Europe, e.g. Denmark or Norway
6 from Normandy, a region in the north of France
7 made richer
8 influenced, had an effect on
9 idea
10 from Latin or Ancient Greek
11 results affecting language

B ‣ English words from other languages

languagewordmeaningphrase
Arabicamberyellowy-orange substance originating from tree resin and used in jewelleryan amber necklace
Dutchrosterlist of people’s turns for jobsthe cooking roster
Farsitabbygrey and brown stripy catour old tabby
Germangimmickan amusing or unusual way of attracting attentionadvertising gimmicks
Greektonicmedicine to make you feel stronger and bettertake a tonic
Hindicotchild’s bed with high vertical sides xchild’s bed with high vertical sides sleep in a cot
Icelandicmumpsa childhood illnesshave mumps
Japanesekaraoketype of entertainment where ordinary people sing to popular musica karaoke machine
Portuguesepalaverunnecessary troubleWhat a palaver!
Russianintelligentsiasocial class of intellectuals19th-century intelligentsia
Spanishhammocknet hung and used as a bedsleep in a hammock
Turkishturbantype of men’s headwear, made from a long piece of clothwear a turban
C ‣ False friends

Some English words may look like words in your language but have a different meaning. Such words are known as false friends, e.g. the German word Gift looks like the English word gift [present] but actually means poison in German. The English word sympathetic resembles a word meaning, simply, nice in many other European languages, but in English sympathetic has a much narrower meaning [understanding and caring about someone else’s suffering]. Note also that the pronunciation of a word borrowed into English may be quite different from its pronunciation in its language of origin.

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