Considering that all new words generally start off as slang, no word really just enters the English language immediately, all words come from different languages. Here is a list of the most common foreign language influences in English, where other languages have influenced or contributed words to English

• French words for the meat of an animal, noble words (this comes from the influence of the Norman language), words referring to food - e.g. au gratin. Nearly 30% of English words (in an 80,000 word dictionary) may be of French origin.

• German some words relating to the First World War and the Second World War, e.g. Blitz. And some food terms, such as wurst, Hamburger and Frankfurter. Also: wanderlust, schadenfreude, zeitgeist, kaputt, kindergarten, autobahn, rucksack.

• Scandinavian languages such as Old Norse - words such as sky and troll or, more recently, geysir.

• Dutch - words relating to sailing, e.g. skipper, keel &c, and civil engineering, such as dam, polder, &c.

• Latin words, technical or biological names, medical terminology, legal terminology. See also: Latin influence in English

• Greek words - medical terminology (like for instance phobias and ologies)

• Spanish - words relating to Spanish culture - for example paella, siesta, plaza, etc.

• Italian - words relating to music, piano, fortissimo. Or Italian culture, such as piazza, piza, gondola, etc. Also: balcony. Also: Fascism

• Nahuatl - tomato, coyote, chocolate

• Afrikaans - apartheid, trek.

• Russian - words relating to the Cold War and the aftermath (glasnost), and also words relating to Russian culture, such as Cossack or Baboeschka.

• Indian - words relating to culture, originating from the colonial era, e.g.: pyjamas,bungalow, verandah jungle and curry. Also:shampoo, khaki.

Related articles

• Lists of English words of international origin
• English language

External links

• AskOxford - What is the proportion of English words of French, Latin, or Germanic origin?