One of the chief characteristics of
English
is its teeming vocabulary, an
estimated
80% of which has come from other
languages!
Linguistic borrowing has occurred over many
centuries, whenever English speakers have
come
into contact with other cultures, whether through
conquest and colonization, trade and commerce,
immigration, leisure travel, or war.
While English has borrowed most
heavily from
the languages of Europe and the Near East, it
has
also acquired many loan words from Asia,
sometimes through the intermediary of Dutch, the
native language of the merchant-sailors who
dominated the Spice Islands trade in the 17th
century.
Many of these borrowed words no longer seem
foreign, having been completely
assimilated into
English.
Some examples are boondocks, gingham, and
ketchup. Others are still strongly associated
with their country of origin, such as terms for
specific "ethnic" dishes or the different
schools of
martial arts.
Chinese & Korean
Words
Cantonese (southern China, Hong Kong)
chop suey, from a word
meaning "miscellaneous
bits."
chow, related to chop in chop
suey, from
a word
meaning "food, miscellany."
kumquat, a small citrus fruit.
typhoon, from the words for "great
wind."
wok
yen, meaning a "yearning" or "strong
desire."
Mandarin (Beijing, China; official
national
standard)
gung ho, a motto used by the Chinese
Industrial
Cooperative Society, from words meaning "work
together." It was picked up by U.S. Marines
during
World War II.
kow-tow, from words meaning "to knock
[one's]
head."
kung fu, from gong fu, meaning "skill,
art."
Korean
tae kwon do, meaning
"trample-fist-way."
Japanese
Words
aikido, from words meaning "mutual
spirit
art."
futon, a type of mattress.
geisha, from gei, meaning "art"
and sha,
"person."
hara-kiri, from hara, meaning
"abdomen,
bowels" and kiri, "to cut."
honcho, from a word meaning "squad
leader."
judo, from words meaning "soft
way."
jujitsu, from words meaning "soft
arts."
kamikaze, is translated literally as
"divine wind," from the name of a typhoon
that saved
Japan by destroying the Mongol navy in 1281.
karaoke, from kara, meaning "void,
empty"
and oke(sutora), meaning "orchestra." In a
case of
reverse borrowing, the Japanese word
okesutora came
from the English word orchestra.
karate, from words meaning "empty
hand."
kimono
ninja, from nin, meaning "to
endure" and
ja, "person."
ramen, ultimately from the Mandarin
Chinese words for "pulled noodles."
rickshaw, from jinrikisha, meaning
"person-strength-vehicle."
sake, a rice wine.
samurai, "warrior."
shogun, "general."
soy
sushi
tofu, originally borrowed into
Japanese
from Chinese.
tsunami, meaning a "large ocean
wave."
tycoon, from taikun, meaning "great
prince." Used as a title, the word was originally
borrowed into Japanese from Chinese. It was
brought
to the U.S. after Matthew Perry's visit to
Japan in
1853 and 1854. Members of Abraham Lincoln's
cabinet
used it as an affectionate nickname for the
president. Later it was applied to business
magnates
such as J. P. Morgan.
Malay & Tagalog
Words
Malay (Malaysia and Indonesia)
amuck (or amok)
batik
cockatoo, from Malay kakatua, via
Dutch.
gingham, borrowed from Malay into
Dutch
(ginggang), and from Dutch into English.
ketchup, from kicap, meaning "fish
sauce."
launch, a type of boat.
orangutan, from orang, meaning
"man" and
hutan, "wilderness, jungle."
paddy, from padi, meaning "rice, rice
field."
rattan
sarong
Tagalog (northern Philippines)
boondocks, from bundok, meaning
"mountain." During the U.S. occupation of the
Philippines, the word was adopted by American
soldiers, who used it to refer to any far-off or
wild place. Later it passed into the general
vocabulary.
Polynesian
Words
Hawaiian
hula
luau
ukelele, from words meaning "flea
jumping."
Tahitian
tattoo, introduced to the
English-speaking world by Capt. James Cook in his
account of his voyage around the world from 1768
to1771. Sailors later brought the actual
custom to
Europe.
Tongan
taboo, like tattoo, occurs for the
first
time in Capt. James Cook's journals.
May is Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage
Month - a celebration of Asian and Pacific
Islanders in the United States.
For much more information, click
here.
By permission:
Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Gung
ho,
Tycoon, Amuck."
Infoplease.
© 2000-2006 Pearson Education, publishing as
Infoplease.
28 Apr. 2006
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http://www.infoplease.com/spot/asianwords1.html>.