Page 16 - Supplement_Primary-1_Neat
P. 16
Week
Foreign 7
yet Not
• Venus Alleah Nuñez
nglish has a lot of words. Did you know that there are English words that
trace their roots to other languages? You probably do not know that some of
Ethe words you use are foreign! Read Sam and Daphne’s conversation to know
more about common loanwords we use every day.
Daphne: Sam, Mom taught me some loanwords today!
Sam: Teach them to me too, Daphne! Oh, what are loanwords, by the way?
Photo credit (globe): maciej326, Pixabay. Sam: That is amazing! I have never thought that there are English words borrowed
Daphne: Mom told me that a loanword is a word used directly from another language
with little or no translation. Sometimes loanwords read and spell like the
original ones.
from other languages. I thought they are all originally English.
Daphne: Oh, no, Sam. Some have been adopted from foreign languages to describe or
identify things that English does not have a word for yet.
Sam: Would you give me an example of a loanword, Daphne?
Daphne: You are in for a surprise! Do you know that the word “sofa” is an Arabic word
adopted by the Turkish and French before it made its way to the English
language? We probably even use loanwords every day!
Sam: That is amazing! Could you teach me more words?
Daphne: Let us take a walk outside! I will tell you if what we see is a loanword or not.
Sam: Oh, thank you, Daphne! This is such an exciting day!
TRY THIS!
Write a sentence for each loanword below. If you are unsure of what a specific loanword
means, look up the definition in the dictionary.
piano (Italian)
ketchup (Chinese)
piñata (Spanish)
karaoke (Japanese)
REFERENCES:
12 Kreisa, Meredith. “Gifts from the world: Over 50 surprising foreign words used in English.” FluentU. https://www.fluentu.
com/blog/foreign-words-used-in-english/. Accessed 14 March 2019.
Sitzman, Ryan. “45 common English words that came from other languages.” FluentU. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/
english/english-words-from-other-languages/. Accessed 14 March 2019.
