How do English phrases travel across countries?

David Crystal
A suitcase with flag stickers on sat on a map of the world

All living languages change. It’s a fact of life that some people find uncomfortable, but that no one can prevent. The only languages that don’t change are dead ones.

How does change happen? The chief way is through mutual influence, when languages – which means people – come into contact with each other. An immediate effect is that words and phrases begin to be exchanged.

Origins of English

The history of English shows this taking place from the very beginning. When the Germanic tribes first arrived in Britain, bringing with them the dialects that would become English, their vocabulary already contained words and phrases borrowed from Latin, a consequence of the interaction with the soldiers of the Roman Empire.

Today we think of such words as 'butter', 'cup', 'kitchen', 'mile', and 'street' as true English words, but they are all Latin in origin ('butyrum', 'cuppa', 'coquina', 'mille', 'strata'), taken into Germanic while the tribes were still on the European mainland.

The process continued over the centuries. An everyday word like 'take' reminds us of the Viking invasions, for this came from Old Norse 'tacan'. So did 'knife' (from 'knifr'). Even basic grammatical items were affected: 'they', 'them', and 'their' are all from Old Norse.

When the French arrived, in the eleventh century, the borrowing became a flood, with thousands of French words expanding the vocabulary to an unprecedented size, in such domains as law, religion, politics, food, and the arts – 'duke', 'abbot', 'war', 'peace', 'pork' and 'beauty'. During the Renaissance, Latin added tens of thousands more.

In all cases, the words traveled because cultural contact – in its broadest sense – made them do so.

The history of contact

This history of contact is one of the reasons that English has so many near-synonyms: we can 'ask' (from Old English), 'question' (from French), and 'interrogate' (from Latin). We can talk about a 'fire', 'flame', and 'conflagration'; 'kingly', 'royal', and 'regal'. But although French and Latin are the dominant voices, they are put in the shade by the accumulated impact of the many languages that English has since encountered as its speakers moved around the globe, especially in the days of the British Empire.

Today, a search through the files of any major dictionary shows the presence of hundreds of languages, from 'aardvark' (Afrikaans) to 'zygote' (Greek).

It’s been estimated that around 80 percent of present-day English vocabulary comes from languages other than the original Anglo-Saxon Germanic. English seems to always be a vacuum cleaner of a language, sucking in words from whichever culture it was in contact with. The process continues. In recent years, dictionary writers have been considering such new borrowings of words from other languages.

But not everything in language change is due to borrowing. When we look at recent lists of updates in the dictionary world, we find hundreds of phrasal expressions, such as 'solar farm', 'travel card', 'skill set', 'cold caller', 'air punch', and 'set menu'.

Blends of existing words form an increasingly large component of modern vocabulary, such as 'glamping' (glamorous + camping) and 'Pokemon' (pocket + monster), as do internet abbreviations, such as 'GTG' (got to go) and 'BRB' (be right back).

And it’s here that we see the most noticeable phenomenon of the last few decades: the impact of English on other languages. The traveling is now going in both directions.

Over a decade ago, Manfred Görlach published his Dictionary of European Anglicisms, showing English to be "the world’s biggest lexical exporter”. The book lists hundreds of words and phrases that have entered the languages of Europe. A small selection from letter 'A' shows 'ace' (from tennis), 'aerobics', 'aftershave', and 'aqualung', as well as phrases such as 'acid house' and 'air bag'.

The factors are exactly the same as those that brought foreign words into English in the first place, such as business, culture, medicine, sport, the arts, popular music, science and technology. The difference is that these expressions come from all over the English-speaking world, with American English the primary supplier, thanks chiefly to its presence in the media.

The impact of media

It is the media that provides the main answer to the question “How?”. In the old days, face-to-face contact caused expressions to be shared, and it would take time for words to travel – a generation before a word would become widely used. Today, the use of English in film, television, and especially the internet allows 'word travel' to take place at a faster rate than ever before.

A new word or phrase invented today can be around the globe by tomorrow, and if it appeals it will spread on social media and become part of daily use in no time at all. Even an everyday phrase can receive a new lease of life in this way.

Many countries try to resist the borrowing process, thinking that an uncontrolled influx of English expressions will destroy their language.

The evidence from the history of English shows that this does not happen. Because of its global spread, English has borrowed more words than any other language – and has this caused its destruction? On the contrary, in terms of numbers of users, English is the most successful language the world has ever seen.

Borrowing does change the character of a language, and this too is something that causes concern. But again, I ask: is this inevitably a bad thing? Shakespeare would have been unable to write his characters in such an effective way without all those borrowings from French and Latin.

Much of his linguistic playfulness and creativity relies on how everyday words are contrasted with their scholarly or aristocratic counterparts. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, Don Armado gives Costard a coin as a tip, calling it a "remuneration".

Costard has no idea what the word means, but when he looks at his coin he realizes he’s been given a tiny amount. “Oh, that’s the Latin word for three farthings”, he reflects. “I will never buy and sell out of this word”. It always gets a laugh from an audience.

Today's challenges

Keeping up-to-date with language change is probably the greatest challenge facing foreign language learners because there is so much of it.

Textbooks and teachers face a daily risk of falling behind the times. But the risk can be reduced if we build an awareness of change into the way we present a language. And understanding the natural processes that underlie linguistic change is the essential first step.

Make sure to check out our postsHow the English language has changed over the decadesand How English conversation works.

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    What are the challenges of CLIL?

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    And when it comes to classroom management, educators need to be very aware of individual student understanding and progress.

    It’s therefore important to consistently concept check and scaffold the materials to be sure both the language and content are being learned.

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    It’s important to have a strategy in place when applying CLIL in your courses. One of the key things to remember is that the language and subject content are given equal weight and that it shouldn’t be treated as a language class nor a subject class simply taught in a foreign language.

    According to Coyle’s 4Cs curriculum (1999), a successful CLIL class should include the following four elements:

    • Content – Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of a defined curriculum
    • Communication – Using language to learn whilst learning to use language
    • Cognition – Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete), understanding and language
    • Culture – Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness of otherness and self

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    Bloom’s Taxonomy, for example, classifies learning objectives in education and puts skills in a hierarchy, from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).

    In the diagram below, you can see the levels increasing in complexity from the base up to the triangle’s peak.

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    Praise in the classroom is a valuable resource that every teacher has in their toolbox.It can encourage struggling students and reward learners who have been studying diligently and working hard on their language skills.

    But not all types of praise have the same effect. Let’s take a look at different types of praise and how you can use it to boost your learners’ motivation andself-esteem.

    Different types of praise in the classroom

    There are three types of praise that teachers commonly engage in - but they’re not all equal and are not all desirable:

    • Personal praise: Here you praise a student for a specific ability or quality. For example, you might say something like,“You have a great memory for vocabulary”.
    • Effort-based praise: Thisis when you comment on a student’s efforts. For example, you could say,“I can see you tried really hard with this vocabulary homework – well done.”
    • Behavior-based praise:This type of praiseis where you comment on how a student is acting, an example would be,“You were really paying attention during the vocabulary lesson – good job.”

    So how – and when – should we use these types of praise in the classroom?

    Try not to praise ability

    The first type of praise – personal praise – should be avoided in the classroom.has shown that this type of praise doesn’t have a beneficial effect on motivation.

    In fact, praise for intelligence actually has a detrimental effect on student achievement. When students were praised for their intelligence, they tended to care more about their performance goals – the score they achieved on a test, for example. Learning goals, like mastering a new skill, became less important to them.

    Moreover, personal praise has been shown to undermine student resilience in the face of failure. Students showed less persistence when it came to challenging tasks and less enjoyment of the challenge. They also performed more poorly than children praised for effort.

    Furthermore, when you praise students for their ability, they also tend to see intelligence or aptitude as a fixed trait. However, students who are praised for effort are more likely to see ability as something they can improve on. This feeds into the development of a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset.It’s important toinstilla growth mindset in learners to enable them to reach their full potential.

    How to praise effort and behavior

    When it comes to praising effort and behavior, what’s the most effective way to do it? Here are some techniques to employ:

    1. Be specific

    General praise such as “Good job” isn’t nearly as effective as a comment that shows you’ve been paying attention to what the student is doing. A precise compliment will make a much bigger impact on a student, for example:“I was really impressed at how hard you concentrated during the listening exercise. Well done.”

    2. Give praise in the moment

    Immediate praise doesn’t need to be disruptive, but it shows students that you are paying attention and noticing good behavior and effort.

    3. Avoid comparisons with other students

    Instead of saying, “You got the best mark in the class – well done!” say something like,“You got a really high score in the reading test. Your hard work has really paid off this term.”

    4. Keep track of praise

    Before your class, choose three or four students you’re going to praise that day. That way, you can be sure that each and every student will benefit from the motivational power of effective classroom praise!

    5. Personalize your praise, depending on the student

    Young students enjoy being praised publicly, but shy students, older children and teenagers prefer positive feedback to be given quietly.

    Don’t overpraise and watch your positive bias

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    By Joanna Wiseman

    The new academic year is here and we're getting ready to head back to the English classroom. Yet, after a long and relaxing summer holiday, some students may feel unmotivated to return to the same class routine, especially if they have been learning English for several years. So, how can we reinspire students to keep learning and reconnect with English? By bringing in new resources, learning approaches and targets, we are sure you'll be able to rekindle their love of learning.

    So let's look at five ways to reinspire your English students in the coming academic year.

    1. Set new goals

    Students may lose interest in classes or feel discouraged when they don't have a clear target to work towards. If this is the case with your class, have them write up a list of five new goals they'd like to achieve.

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    For example:

    Specific: "I'd like to learn new advanced vocabulary to use in my writing."

    Measurable: "I'll test myself to see if I can define and use 20 new words in sentences."

    Achievable: "I will dedicate 2 hours a week to studying the definitions and writing example sentences in context."

    Relevant: "This will help me get a good score in myas I struggle with formal academic language."

    Timely: "I will learn 20 new words by the end of September."

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    The idea is to encourage them to set clear objectives, giving them an exciting new challenge to work towards for the year ahead.

    2. Encourage students to find conversation partners

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    A great way to tackle this is by encouraging them to talk with English speakers outside of class. By doing this, they'll pick up new vocabulary and expressions, giving them more confidencein their language abilities.

    Suggest that they attend a language exchange.andaregreat platforms to find regular language exchange events in their local area. While this is suitable for intermediate learners and above, it may be a bit daunting for beginners.

    In this case, the appmay be a suitable alternative. Similar to a language exchange, learners can connect with people from around the world. They can choose people with a similar level as them and either write messages, send short audios, or do video calls, depending on their ability and confidence.

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    3. Introduce interesting new vocabulary

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    They already have to study a lot of vocabulary from their textbooks, so why not give it a more personal twist and ask for suggestions of topics that interest them?

    Maybe they are gamers and want to learn how to communicate better with other players around the world. Select vocabulary about styles of games, turn-taking, and strategizing that they could use – they can practice in class and be thrilled to be given homework.

    Perhaps some of your students want to study or work abroad. This may be a common topic, but one thing that is not frequently discussed is how to deal with the paperwork of living in another country. For example, getting into more specific language about banking, housing rentals, or setting up wifi will help them feel more confident about their move. Though these things differ between countries, there is a lot of overlapping vocabulary and roleplaying will do wonders to reassure and excite them about their upcoming adventures.

    By allowing your students to take control of their learning, their motivation is naturally higher and you too will enjoy finding out specific language about their interests.

    4. Work on specific problem areas

    Language learners may become frustrated and lose motivation if they continue to make the same mistakes. It may cause them to feel disheartened in their abilities and want to give up, especially for those who aim to sit exams. You can help them level up by identifying specific problem areas and tailoring your classes to work on these.

    Tests can help your learners discover their weaknesses and avoid the frustration of sitting and not passing an exam. They'll be able to pinpoint what they need to work on, and you can dedicate your classes to exactly what they need, rather than cover areas they may not have problems with.

    For example, if students are experiencing difficulties with reading comprehension, you could try introducing more varied reading materials. Ask them to bring in blog posts, magazines and news articles on topics that they find interesting. Highlight keywords in the text to enhance their understanding of the piece and create comprehension questions similar to the test format they'll take.

    By giving a little extra attention to fixing problem areas, learners will soon start to see their progress, encouraging and inspiring them to keep going.

    5. Change your class format

    Sometimes learners become demotivated simply because they have become too used to the format of the classes. If this is the case, you might want to take a break from the textbook and try more creative language learning methods. For example:

    Use interactive games

    Suitable for all levels, you can use platforms such asor to test your learners. They offer a new dimension to the class, encouraging students to have fun with the language. Divide them into teams to add an element of competition – there's nothing like a friendly game to excite students!

    Set project work

    Put your class into small groups and have them work on a project to present to the rest of the group. Choose topics they might cover in their textbooks, such as occupations, travel or cultural traditions. Or even better – let students come up with their own! This activity can be modified to suit all levels and offers a challenge as learners will need to push their language limits.

    Hold class debates

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    Throw in some unexpected activities to bring students' attention back to class and spark their interest in learning again.