English words are not always that "English"

In an article published in the Financial Express author Christopher Caldwell explains why English is "the international language of choice" and how it is "creeping into the very fabric of all other languages".

The dominance of the English language, especially when it comes to business, politics or new technologies, cannot be denied neither do we have to look very hard for occurrences of English words in other (non-English) languages. Yet commentators on the supremacy of the English language tend to forget that English is mainly of Roman-Germanic origin and, therefore, has itself a fair share of vocabulary borrowed from other languages.

In his article "The unavoidable language" Caldwell cites the German politician Guido Westerwelle, chairman of the Free Democrats (FDP), who described the coalition discussions as having been "sehr fair". The author found it telling that, "at a moment of drama and tension, Mr Westerwelle should use English words in full confidence that his fellow citizens will understand him." And they do - the word is even listed in the DUDEN, the German equivalent of the Webster or Oxford English dictionaries, as meaning "according to the rules". It has found its way into German and is frequently used.

From a linguistic point of view, the word is of Old English origin (just like the words "meeting" and "leader", which were also given as examples) and it is, therefore, "fair" to refer to it as an English word. But what about the other examples given in the text? "The word "hamburger" "supplants no French equivalent," according to Caldwell. Nor does it have an English equivalent because the food it refers to is named after the German town of Hamburg - for whatever reason.

And what about the word "budget", which, as no surprise to the author, can be found in French dictionaries? Well, you can also find it in German dictionaries - with a French pronunciation because it is a French word, which was introduced to the English language during the Middle English period (ca. 1100 AD - 1500 AD).

Despite the fact that English has become the world's leading language in the areas of scientific research, technological development, business negotiations and political affairs due to colonialization and recent political and economic developments one should not forget its origins. Since people first started migrating and dealing with their neighbours different languages and cultures have been influencing one another and left their traces. This holds true for English during the past centuries but also for Latin, which influenced every other modern European language during the times of the Roman Empire or for Greek during the times of Alexander the Great.

The article rightfully points out the rise of the English language to a Lingua Franca (also because it is "fantastically simple as a pidgin"), yet the examples given to demonstrate how English words have become part of the everyday vocabulary of other languages merely reflect the divers origin of the English language itself. Why should, therefore, no other language now have its turn in borrowing from the English language?

The article can be found in The Financial Express.