Yi Hu
Before I move on to the topic of this blog, please let me ask you one question first. When you go to the store and want to buy tofu, have you ever thought that the word ‘tofu’ is an original English word or it was borrowed from other language? Actually, this word is a loanword that originates from the Chinese word ‘dòu fu’. We can find many examples like this in our life.
Loanwords are words that are adopted from one language into another with little or no alteration. Borrowing is a consequence of cultural contact between two language communities. Borrowing of words can go in both directions between the two languages in contact, but often there is an asymmetry, such that more words go from one side to the other. The actual process of borrowing is complex and involves many usage events.
In order to study Chinese borrowed words in English vocabulary based on dictionary research, Vice Professor Zeng Tai Yuan of Dong Wu University, Taiwan, gave a close look at Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth Edition) and found out that there were at least about 300 words in English vocabulary borrowed from Chinese (Zeng, 2005). We can see some examples from this site https://www.thoughtco.com/english-words-borrowed-from-chinese-688248 Similarly as English has borrowed lots of words from Chinese, there are many words borrowed from English in Chinese vocabulary, from every aspect of social life. According to Zhang’s (2005) stratified sampling research, English-borrowed words can be divided into 14 groups. From my perspective, one of the reasons why there are loanwords between English and Chinese is due to external factors. To be more specific, they are related to geographical neighbourhood, politics, economy, culture, military, and other activities between different countries.
Language is the key to human communication, and despite the vast differences between world countries and their cultures, their people’s languages have always influenced one another. In my opinion, loanwords have many advantages. They usually seem fashionable and interesting, which can attract Chinese young students deeply and stir up their enthusiasm and motivation in learning English. In addition, the process of borrowing words can be regarded as the process of gaining a better and deeper understanding of each associated country’s cultures, economies, policies, etc.
So, here is the question: as language teachers, how can we help students learn languages better by using loanwords? And do you think there are still disadvantages of loanwords? If so, how could we improve them?
References:
Zeng, T. (2005). Translating Chinese Culture-Specific Words into English–from a Perspective of Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 5th edition. Journal of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, 11, 74-77.
Zhang, P. (2005). Study on English Loan Words in Chinese. Tianjin University of Finance & Economics, 10-15.
Hi Yi,
Thank you for this very interesting blog post! As a beginner learner of Mandarin I find the topic of loan words fascinating. My personal favorite is mai dang lao (McDonald’s) 🙂
The interesting thing though is that due to phonetic restraints and the creativity for using meaningful characters most of these words become completely unrecognizable to English speakers. Consider for example leng zhan (cold war). If we can talk about degrees of phonetic assimilation, Mandarin would score really high on the scale, while some languages like Korean or English would score relatively low because they borrow phonetically.
Sam Lyn
Hi Yi! As you said, loanwords are words adopted from another language with little to no modification. What I find most interesting about loanwords is that they can go both ways. For example, Chinese can adopt English words, but English can also adopt Chinese words. Although loanwords are used in every aspect of social life, I feel like there are a lot more loanwords when it comes to food. Especially when there is not direct translation from Chinese to English, it makes sense to keep the name of the food, the dish in Chinese. Great post!
-Victoria
Hi Yi,
A very interesting topic. Actually, I usually use loanwords in motivating learners, especially beginners. I tell them that they already know more than they think they know about English. In my case, the dominant language of my students is French, so I usually ask them to use their French to guess the meaning of new words. For instance, many English vocabulary words are borrowed from French, such as explanation, chef, document, etc. So, I highlight the importance of cognates in building up on what they already know. I use loanwords from other languages as well. For example, lemon, coffee, and spinach were borrowed from Arabic. Ranch, patio, and stampede were borrowed from Spanish. Such knowledge would help the students acknowledge the importance of their L1s in learning a second language. Thank you today for providing us with a long list that we can use with our Chinese students!
Ali El Mahmoud
Hi Yi! Thank you for your contribution! I think it’s great for English to use more loanwords with Chinese origin especially in terms of food! I found that English speakers are very familiar with some loanwords with Japanese origin and it’s really a good way for them to understand Japanese culture. Therefore, I think Chinese loanwords can help English speakers understand and appreciate Chinese food and culture!
-Xavier
Hi Yi,
I like the topic you raise in the paper. In fact, as a language learner, I think loanwords actually help me a lot when I try to make a connection between the target language I want to learn and my mother language. For example, when I try to learn Japanese since there are some similarities between Japanese characters and Chinese characters, I find that Japanese loanwords are easy for me to understand. Therefore, as teachers, I think we can use the loanwords’ advantage so as to better educate students.
-Jundong Ma
Hi, Yi. Very interesting topic! I feel that those loanwords carry the cultural aspects behind the words, like the example (tofu) you gave at the beginning of the paragraph. Those English words which got literally translated into Mandarin such as hot dog (re gou) can be interesting for students to learn. Students may have interest in know more about why it is called hot dog to know more about cultures hidden behind words. And some of those loanwords are easy to be remembered as they can be translated directly. Currently, I feel that there is no typical disadvantage of loanwords.
Yurun
Hi Yi! I like your blog and I was trying to think about your question. I think that not only Chinese, but also many foreign languages come from different countries and nations, which have distinctive characteristics of their home countries. When learners learn these loanwords without knowing the history, culture, and religion of their home countries, they often feel abrupt, boring, or even unable to find a starting point, and do not know how to learn more efficiently, which brings some difficulties to learners in spelling. Only when learners deeply study the home country information of loanwords can they better understand this part of the content. When teaching these words, teachers can help learners understand the origin of this word and the cultural stories behind it as much as possible, and help them remember and apply it.
Hi Yi! I like your blog and I was trying to think about your question. I think that not only Chinese, but also many foreign languages come from different countries and nations, which have distinctive characteristics of their home countries. When learners learn these loanwords without knowing the history, culture, and religion of their home countries, they often feel abrupt, boring, or even unable to find a starting point, and do not know how to learn more efficiently, which brings some difficulties to learners in spelling. Only when learners deeply study the home country information of loanwords can they better understand this part of the content. When teaching these words, teachers can help learners understand the origin of this word and the cultural stories behind it as much as possible, and help them remember and apply it.
By Shuhang