The English language: a melting pot of different languages

Where do English words come from? As the title suggests, English receives influence from a great deal of languages. In the same way that - as seen in the picture above- America is a melting pot of different cultures, English is a melting pot of different languages.  In this post, I will try to show you some of the languages that deeply influenced the English language and I will try to exemplify it with English words.

First of all, one of the main influences English had was French. In the 11th Century, Edward the Conqueror – who was French - became king. As a result, many French words started to appear in English language. We, as speakers, use these words without realizing they have a French origin. French words influenced started to enter the English language. At some point both the English and the French words managed to coexist, but in different contexts and registers. In this link, you can see more clearly the influence of French in the English language and viceversa, and also the influence of Spanish.  In general, French words are used in more learned formal contexts. For example, the French words have specialized to deal with the meat of animals, whereas the English words depict the animals themselves. Here is a list for you to see what I mean more clearly. 

ENGLISH WORDS	WORDS WITH FRENCH ORIGIN
Pig	Pork (French: ‘porc’)
Deer	Venison (French: ‘venaison’)
Sheep	Mutton (French ‘mouton’)
Ox	Beef (French ‘boeuf’)
Calf	Veal
Motion	Movement
Front of building	Facade  (French ‘façade’)
Feature	Characteristic (French: ‘characteristique’)
Large, splendid	Grand
Character / VIP	Personage
Naivety	Naiveté
Trip	Journey (French ‘journée’)
Trade	Commerce
Underwear	Lingerie
Curriculum (Latin origin)	Résumé
Newspaper	Journal

Moreover, Latin has also influenced English. The influence in Latin is vast, frequently causing the English language to resemble Spanish. Here you have a list of Latin words. My advice is to use Latin words with caution and merely in formal contexts, the English words being far more common:

ENGLISH WORDS	LATIN WORDS
Student	Alumnus (pl. ‘alumni’)
Moon	Lunar (Latin: ‘luna’)
Sun	Solar (Latin: ‘sol’)
Life	Vital (Latin: ‘vita’)
Speed	Rapidity (Latin: ‘rapidus’)/ velocity (Latin: ‘velox’)
Aerial	Antenna (Latin: ‘antenna’)
Marriage	Matrimony (Latin: ‘matrimonium’)
Sell	Vend (Latin: ‘vendere’)
Undefeatable	Invincible (Latin ‘vincere’)
Unreadable	Illegible (Latin: ‘leggere’)
Unbelievable	Incredible (Latin: ‘credere’)
End	Finish/terminate (Latin: ‘finis’/’terminus’)
Start/begin	Initiate (Latin: ‘inicio’)
Unavoidable	Inevitable (Latin: ‘evitare’)
True	Veritable (Latin: ‘veritas’)
Channel	Canal (Latin: ‘canalis’)
Hundred	Century (Latin: ‘centum’)
Head	Capital (Latin: ‘caput’)
Do	Fact (Latin: ‘faccio’)
Keep/carry on	Continue/proceed (Latin: ‘continuare’/ ‘procedere’)
Husband / wife	Spouse (Latin: ‘spondeo’)
Build	Construct (Latin: ‘construo’)
Answer	Respond (Latin: ‘respondere’

English also receives influence from Spanish. Even though some Spaniards find it difficult to speak English, Spanish seems to leave a mark among English speakers. Here you have a list of Spanish words that have successfully entered the English language:

ENGLISH WORDS	SPANISH WORDS EXISTING IN ENGLISH
Nap	Siesta
Party	Fiesta
Canteen	Cafeteria
Coffee shop	Café
Watcher	Vigilante
Alone	Solo
Donkey	Burro
Courtyard	Patio
Friend	Amigo
Village	Pueblo

There are other languages influencing English such as Italian (‘piano’, ‘tempo’…), Greek (‘philosophy’, ‘telephone’, ‘criterion’), Hebrew (‘kibbutz’), but I will speak about them in another post. As you see, the English language is unique but it also borrows a lot of words from other languages, and has a decisive influence over countless languages throughout the world. This is what makes the English language the most generous language of all, don’t you think ?