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.
