Job Discussion Forums

[Non Sequitur]

I've been asked to suggest some foreign words and phrases commonly encountered in English to include in a compendium.
Items like 'la dolce vita', 'honcho', 'deja vu' come to mind.
Like the Shakespeare thread currently running, the target is English majors who expect a bit more depth to their understanding of usage.
I'm wondering if that is a bit too narrow a focus and that our Oral English students could profitably learn about this aspect.
I've formulated some poll questions to get a handle on your thoughts.

[Javelin of Radiance]

I've used the wikipedia entry for this sort of thing in the past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_English_words_by_country_or_language_of_origin

Pick and choose the ones you find useful or relevant to your particular students.

BTW, Not to be too nit-picky but once a word of foreign origin is accepted into common usage and appears in English language dictionaries it isn't considered foreign any longer, although the origin will always be foreign. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and suggest that most native speakers aren't even aware of how many loan words or phrases they use on any given day, or where they came from. There are just so many and they've been with us so long people just don't know. Some might have a differing opinion on what I've just written.

Roots, prefixes, and suffixes of foreign origin might also be relevant.

This thread has good potential for thought provoking discussion.

[Denim-Maniac]

There isnt an option for me ... my choice (if available) would be 'not especially useful for any students'. Certainly not useful enough to warrant compiling a book / writing specific lesson plans for.

My students sometimes encounter such words ... material might include the phrases 'Bon Voyage' in a travel lesson, or 'Hasta Le Vista' in another context. Of course I explain these when we encounter them, but their use is quite infrequent and my students have greater needs in other areas. Further to that I would actively discourage the use of word lists and compendiums as this further encourages student behaviour that I really want to stop ... that is, rote memorisation of lists of things that may, or even frequently may not, be useful. I take the same approach with the teaching of idioms.

More often than not ... my students have gone through vocational colleges or university ... idioms and phrases are not their typical shortcomings so Id vote against investing time in this teaching idea.

In 2011 I had a Chinese friend in the UK. She had lived and studied there for 7 years after completing her university studies in the UK. I helped her write her MA paper on architecture ... her problems were very basic ones. An inability to use articles correctly. Frequent confusion with noun and adjective forms. Poor understanding of the conventions of academic writing. Some of these things would have been better addressed for her needs.

For my current students ... an awareness of language register, concentrated practice on using grammatical structures accurately, listening skills and pronunciation at sentence level would all be more important (IMO of course!)

NB - Im referring to foreign phrases only. Not foreign words like 'siesta', 'rucksack', 'kindergarten' etc.

[Non Sequitur]

[Sarcastro]

I think it seems a little redundant to teach a foreign language class and say "Hey! These words are foreign!" Its all foreign to them whether they are on loan from some old civilization or not. To these guys, all the foreign words are "foreign". I suppose if you had some super advanced class who know the difference between French, Spanish, Norse, Gulla and Creole influences; maybe then you would want to have something like this.

But for the rest of the 95% I think this is way too specialized.

[Bud Powell]

"...Not to be too nit-picky but once a word of foreign origin is accepted into common usage and appears in English language dictionaries it isn't considered foreign any longer, although the origin will always be foreign..."

True. They're considered borrowed words or loan words.


Non sequitur is a good example of a Latin term that is used throughout the English language in many contexts. It's easier to use that phrase than to EXPLAIN that it is a fallacious argument, etc., etc., etc.. Sometimes the borrowed word or phrase is handier than its current English counterpart.

Sometimes the phrase just adds that je ne sais quoi to a sentence. They're used for effect.

Sometimes they're used because the word from the source language is not only more compact, but because it best describes the idea or because there's no current English equivalent. One word that comes to mind is schadenfreude.

If one teaches loan words, one should also teach their judicious use.

[Non Sequitur]

[Bud Powell]

Loan words and phrases are part of the English language. Teach them. If you teach curious students, they'll want to know these things.

If you can categorize them by use and/or situation, all the better.

[Non Sequitur]

[A593186]

[Non Sequitur]

Mmmm...
Why would their be any difference in usages of 'words' versus 'phrases' ?

[roadwalker]

I think it is all about context. Is this a word or phrase that the students are likely to encounter in the context that is given? For example if teaching law or biology in English it would be a good idea to introduce Latin phrases that are common in textbooks and decisions. Or if it is only one passage that throws in some legalese, I'd mention it and that legal writing in English often uses Latin terms and phrases but wouldn't spend much time on it for general English students.

I'd only mention that a word is French/Spanish/German/Latin/whatever if the pronunciation is different than would be expected under the various rules of pronunciation of English, such as they exist. And hopefully, I would consider whether this is a word that they are likely to encounter in the context given or not. Sometimes it's a tough decision: many students may be vocabulary sponges but others may get confused by the extra information.

With that being said, I marked the choice that all English language students would profit from it. But in context if/as it comes up.

[Denim-Maniac]

[Non Sequitur]

Thanks to all for input and comment.
The resource has been completed and consists of 51 words and phrases from foreign languages which are in common English usage. This number should enable each student to have their own word or phrase to use in a sentence. In addition to 28 from French, the languages are , Italian (6), Latin (6), German (4), Spanish (3) and Russian (2).
The format consists of the word/phrase, an explanation and a sentence or two illustrating its usage.
For example the French ‘cul de sac’, is shown as:
‘A small street that comes to an end with no exit to another street’.
‘Brian tried to find his way back to the main road. Unfortunately, he had entered a ‘cul de sac’ and had to return the same way’.
I am told that so far it has been used only in English Major sophomore classes, although the students who drew Latin words were a bit puzzled at first.

[choudoufu]