Expanding the English Lexicon

Samloyal23

Adventurer

• Jul 2, 2014

• #1

I have had loanwords on my mind. English is mostly loanwords, very little is left of actual Anglo-Saxon. This is why English is so flexible and expressive. So I want to do something to contribute to the English language. I want to find foreign words and expressions that should added to English. If you know a foreign language and can think of something that is easier to say in that language than in English, let us add that to our lexicon. I want to make a list and spread it around. Spanish, Italian, French, and German already have added a lot to English, so we will skip those. Go straight for the exotic, send me words from Farsi, Japanese, Swahili, or other foreign tongues. Artificial language is are fine, too, whether it is Esperanto or Klingon. Just make it a meaningful and useful addition to English that will be easy for people raised in America to pronounce and remember...

 

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Hussar

Legend

• Jul 2, 2014

• #2

The problem is, for these words to be true cognates, the meaning should be the same. But many of the words you are asking for are culturally based and don't translate worth a damn.

For example, shikataganai in Japanese translates to something along the lines "that there is nothing to be done about it".

But the fatalism inherent in that statement is seen as very negative by most Westerners. But it is not meant in a negative sense at all.

 

O

Olgar Shiverstone

Legend

• Jul 2, 2014

• #3

Those aren't loans; they're outright theft. English killed Latin and took its stuff.

 

delericho

Legend

• Jul 2, 2014

• #4

English grows best when it grows organically. Trying to forcefully import words to the language makes me double plus sad.

(Although it occurs to me that Orwell missed a trick with Newspeak - there's no need for "double plus", since "plus plus" does it just as well. But that's an aside.)

 

Scrivener of Doom

Adventurer

• Jul 3, 2014

• #5

delericho said:

English grows best when it grows organically. Trying to forcefully import words to the language makes me double plus sad.

(Although it occurs to me that Orwell missed a trick with Newspeak - there's no need for "double plus", since "plus plus" does it just as well. But that's an aside.)

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"Plus plus" sounds like you are stuttering.

 

Samloyal23

Adventurer

• Jul 3, 2014

• #6

Well, this is an experiment, mostly for fun. Neomots get invented and added to English all of the time, this is nothing new. I want to aim for more exotic fair than most people are used to. If I can make a list of 20-30 interesting new terms, I will blog the whole list at a few locations online and ask people to share...

 

delericho

Legend

• Jul 3, 2014

• #7

Scrivener of Doom said:

"Plus plus" sounds like you are stuttering.

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Well yes. But since the purpose of Newspeak was to reduce the number of words and thus reduce the range of ideas that could be expressed (with no concern for aesthetics), that would seem to be a lesser concern.

 

Hand of Evil

Hero

Epic

• Jul 3, 2014

• #8

American English - we pick slang an other word way too much.

 

Scrivener of Doom

Adventurer

• Jul 3, 2014

• #9

Hand of Evil said:

American English - we pick slang an other word way too much.

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American English also has fewer words than real English for another reason: American English does not use adverbs.

 

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Jul 3, 2014

• #10

Scrivener of Doom said:

American English also has fewer words than real English for another reason: American English does not use adverbs.

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Do what, now?