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Terms related to food and drink: beer soup, blutwurst, bock beer (a variety of dark lager beer), delicatessen (prepared foods, such as cooked meats, cakes, etc.), dunk (to dip something into a liquid), frankfurter (a smoked sausage made of beef and pork put into a casing), hamburger, lager beer [‘la:ga], liverwurst, noodle (a thin strip of dough, of varying widths), pretzel (a kind of salted bread or biscuit, often made in the form of knot or ring), pumpernickel (a dark, heavy bread made of rye), sauerbraten (a kind of roast), sauerkraut (cabbage, which has been cut into small pieces and pickled), schnitzel, smearcase (cottage cheese), snits (slices of dried fruit), stolle (a kind of bread for Christmas), switzer cheese, wienerwurst (sausage stuffed in long, slender links), zwieback (a kind of dry biscuit).Educational Terms: diener (laboratory assistant), festschrift (commemorative publication), semester, seminar.Social Terms: beer garden (an open-air spot furnished with tables and chairs, where beer is retailed), bower (jack or knave), Kris Kringle (St. Nicholas), pinochle (a card game), poker, rathskeller (a beer restaurant below the street level or in a basement), saengerfest (a singing festival), stein (beer mug), turnverein (a club or society of turners)Miscellaneous Terms: bub (a playful form used to boys and young men), bum (bottom), hausfrau (used either as a compliment or as a criticism of the woman, whose main interests are cleaning, cooking, washing, etc.), hex (to bewitch, a witch), katzenjammer (mess, disorder; hangover), loafer (one too lazy to work), nix (no, nothing), ouch, phooey (a term of content distaste or disbelief), spiel (well-prepared speech to persuade or convince the listener to do something), wunderkind (child prodigy).Such compounds as rain worm, cookbook and back country could be translations of Regenwurm, Kochbuch, and Hinterland, respectively.c). Spanish Influence The contacts between America and the Spanish began before America was called America, but the Indies. In the course of years the number of British settlers increased and they began to move towards the West in order to find better places to live. The newcomers learnt words which were connected with everyday life. Subjects important at that time were plants, animals, ranch life, food and drink, people, building, mining, clothing and toponymy. There are some examples of these:
The words wrangler from caballerangero, mustang[‘mastaen] from mesteño and lariat = lassofrom la reata represent borrowings which have undergone considerable phonological alteration. Later borrowings have been adopted without phonological changes. Examples of these are bronco, burro, rodeo, palomino, sombrero and they seem to represent a period of genuine bilingualism. In some cases it is hard to trace the origin of the word. Portuguese was a widely used language not only in South America but also in North America. The adoptions like pickaninny, savvy=intelligence and lasso might be of Portuguese origin. Some Spanish borrowings are well-known only in a certain area. For example frijole is known along the Mexican border. Reata is common in the Far West and alcalde and cuartel are only used in New Mexico and Texas in the Hispanic regions. The fish name pompano is known mainly on the Gulf Coast. Since the Mexican food has become popular all over the U.S. and in other parts of the world, too, the words like taco, enchilada and tortilla have become widely known. These words as well have a strong Spanish background. In Spanish the words ending with -eria like cafeteria are very common. They also became popular in AE, although they have a slightly different meaning in AE and Spanish. A cafeteria in Spain is a café where you have table service whereas cafeteria in America means a self-service restaurant. Similarly the words like groceteria, bookateria, snacketeria, smoketeria all have this idea of some kind of self-service. Many western movies have frequently used Spanish words like amigo and hombre, although their pronunciation is not that of Spanish. Some of the most fashionable loan words of the 1970’s are the combinations of words that have something to do with macho culture. Examples of these are macho man, macho burger and machismo. Macho is very easily used as a part of a compound word. One of the most common recent borrowings from Spanish into English is the word chicano meaning an American citizen originally coming from Mexico. Place names of Spanish origin can mainly be found in Florida and the Southwest. About a fifth of those in California are somehow connected with saints’ names. Examples of these are San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara. There are also cases where the original Spanish names have been translated either totally or partly into English like Rio de los Santos Reyes into Kings River, Rio de las Plumas into Feather River. The following state names remind us of the Spanish influence: California - earthly paradise, Colorado - red color of the earth, Nevada - snowy, Texas - allies, Montana -mountainous, New Mexico named after Mexico and Florida -land of flowers. American English has borrowed more words from Spanish than from any other modern language. The Spanish influence on American life and language will continue. Many of America’s nearest neighbors like Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico are Spanish-speaking and immigration is continuously a current topic. About 500,000 legal immigrants arrive in the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries every year. It seems that Spanish will play an important role in American English in the future. d). French Contributions. There are thousands of words that have a French origin, and many of them came into the English language after the Norman Conquest of England. The more recent influences on American English have sprung from southwestern Louisiana. It is important to note that, of all the various languages which contributed to American English in these early days, French was the only one that had a generally acknowledged prestige value. It was important in New England because it was the language that Calvin had used. And it was highly regarded there as a necessary part of any aristocratic family's social - if not intellectual - attributes. Here are some French borrowings into AE that seem to be bona fide Americanisms. Flora and fauna: A gopher is a striped squirrel that lives in the ground and is found on the prairies of North America. The word gopher is probably from the French word gaufre meaning honeycomb; the small ground squirrel was called a gopher because of its habit of making a very complicated underground borrow. The word gopher should not be confused with the slang term, also an Americanism, gofer or go-fer, meaning an employee who performs minor tasks such as running errands. He is sent out for or "goes for" whatever is needed: coffee, cigarettes, pizza, etc. Exploration and travel: A cache began as a hiding place for an explorer’s supply of things, like fur or ammunitions. It can now mean either the hiding place for illegal goods or the goods themselves: weapons or drugs, for instance. A carryall (French carriole) first meant a light one-horse wagon, but by 1811 had come to designate a large, heavy utility wagon which could carry any and everything. A carryall may now be also a large basket or bag that, like a big wagon, will carry any thing and everything. Food: A la mode, meaning “with ice cream on top”, and spelled with or without the accent, as in apple pie а la mode or chocolate cake а la mode, may or may not be a true Americanism. Chowder is definitely an American expression. The type that immediately comes to my mind is “Boston clam chowder,” a thick soup made of clams. The word is definitely from the French word chaudiere or chaudron, meaning a large pot. The dish served mainly in Louisiana and called jambalaya is similar to paella but spicier. Specifically, Webster’s defines it as a Creole stew made of rice and shrimp, ham, chicken, etc., with spices and often vegetables. Way of Life: Lagniappe, a term used almost exclusively in the South, particularly in Louisiana. A lagniappe is a small present given to a customer with a purchase, something added, something extra, like the small samples you are given at a perfumery when you purchase something. It may also be a tip. In French, un bureau is the equivalent of a desk in English. It is also a room, "mon bureau" or my office in which my desk is kept. When used in AE it may denote a piece of furniture, but gained the extended meaning of an agency for collecting and giving news or information or performing other services (a credit bureau, a travel bureau). It may also be a government department, or a subdivision of a government department, – like, for example, the F.B.I. - the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Land Toponymy: A butte is a conspicuous hill, especially one with steep sides and a flat top. It has given its name to a city in Montana, Butte. The Americanism chute may variously mean a) a waterfall b) rapids in a river, c) an inclined or vertical passage down which something may be slid or dropped, like a slide for garbage or laundry: a garbage chute or a laundry chute. It is obviously from the French word for fall. A chute-the-chute is an amusement-park ride with a steep slide, often into a pool of water. The American word prairie was borrowed directly from the French. French place names are found predominantly in three states, those of Maine, Vermont and Louisiana. They have been given to countless rivers and towns. Baton Rouge is on the Mississippi River. It is the French translation of the Choctaw word, itu-uma, red pole, in other words, a baton rouge. The name of Detroit was first applied to the river flowing south from Lake St. Clair into Lake Erie: in other words, a strait or narrow passage of water connecting two lakes. Then it gave its name to the city of Detroit, Michigan. Little Rock, Arkansas, is a loan translation of the name of the cliff above the river at the location of the town: La Petite Roche, where the French established a trading post in 1722. Next we have a list of true American expressions formed with the word French: French dressing as accepted in Europe is a salad dressing made of vinegar, oil, and various seasonings; vinaigrette; but in America it also denotes an orange-colour, creamy salad dressing made commercially that you will be served in most American restaurants if you order French dressing. French fries are strips of potato that have been fried in deep fat. French toast is sliced bread dipped in a batter of egg and milk and then fried. Other terms with the word "French" once created by the English were used by American colonists, or later by American soldiers who fought beside the British during World War I: The French pox, or French disease was syphilis, which the French called the English disease. To take a French leave means "filer а l'anglaise" - without polite goodbyes. Militarily, it means to be absent without leave. A French postcard was the name for a pornographic picture. e). Italian Influence. Some Italian contributions retained their original form (pizza, spaghetti, ghetto), while others were anglicized (sonnet, gazette, balcony) when they crossed the ocean. The Italians gave Americans and the whole world musical words (concert, opera, serenade, sonata, aria, finale); musical directions (adagio, allegro, crescendo); musical performers (tenor, diva , soprano); the musical scale (do , re , mi) and musical instruments (piano, piccolo, viola, mandolin, and Stradivarius, the famous violin maker), and artistic words such as fresco, profile, impasto, model, studio, torso and bust. Thanks to the Italian language Americans can attend gala balls, throw confetti, and wear costumes. They hope that their evening won’t be ruined by vagabonds, charlatans, ruffians, or bandits brandishing stilettos. The Italians contributed to English catacombs, limbo, Madonnas, monsignors, cardinals and the cassocks they wear. And in the military field, they made it possible for corporals to fire cannons, carbines and muskets when attacked by squadrons, regiments, battalions or the cavalry. Italy gave Americans laundries, cafeterias, and saloons, as well as banks, cashiers, credit and debt, but the best Italian contributions are found on a menu list – zucchini, ravioli, pasta, macaroni, and vermicelli (even if it does mean “little worms”). The early Christians scribbled messages and slogans on the walls of the catacombs. This writing came to be known as graffito, or little scratch. We still use the term graffiti for modern-day scratchings on subway cars, buildings, etc. |