Have you ever said the word ‘octopuses’ and had someone tell you that the correct plural of the word is ‘octopi’? Or perhaps you’ve said ‘octopi’ and had someone tell you the correct plural is ‘octopuses’? Which one is actually correct? What plural form should you use? In our blog post Ten Tips for Forming Plurals, number eight deals with loanwords: 8. Watch out for loanwords. Usually foreign words take on English plural endings, and in some cases it is acceptable to use either the plural from the original language or the English plural. In a few cases (usually technical terms such as ‘algae’ or ‘larvae’), th...
Both Karaoke and Karate are Japanese loanwords. A loanword is the term given to a word which is directly borrowed from another language and used in the recipient language without being translated first. One of the reasons why English is such a difficult language to learn (and why its spellings are so inconsistent!) is because the language is full of loanwords. Some loanwords are obvious, such as words used to describe food traditionally from other countries (such as ‘tsatsiki’ or ‘chow mein’), whereas others were borrowed so long ago that you might be surprised to discover they are loanwords at all (such as: ‘pyjamas’ or ‘breeze’). Accord...
Last week we shared the first half of our twenty English words of Indian origin – click here to read it. Because Sanskrit is such an old language, Sanskrit words have entered the English language in a variety of ways. Some are direct loanwords, while others have travelled across the world, evolving as they move from language to language, before finally being adopted into English. This week we’re going to take a look at ten more words – scroll down to find out more! Dinghy "a small boat of shallow draft, with cross thwarts for seats and rowlocks for oars with which it is propelled" The Hindi word ‘dingi’ means ‘small boat’. ...
Over the next two posts, we’re going to take a look at twenty English words which originate from Indian languages. Sanskrit words have entered the English language in a variety of ways. Some are direct loanwords, while others have travelled across the world, evolving as they move from language to language, before finally being adopted into English. Scroll down to find out more! Aubergine “egg-shaped vegetable having a shiny skin typically dark purple, but occasionally white or yellow” This word is originally from the Sanskrit ‘vatigagama’, and entered English via the Persian ‘badin-gam’, the Arabic ‘alberginera’, the French ...
Most plurals are formed by adding an -s to the end of the word. However, you should NEVER use an apostrophe to form a plural (click here for Ten Tips for Using Apostrophes). If the noun ends in a consonant plus –y, form the plural by swapping the –y for –ies. Click here for a word list. Watch out: if the noun ends in a vowel plus –y, form the plural by adding –s as usual. For example, story (as in a tale/book) becomes stories, whereas storey (as in a floor/level) becomes storeys. If the noun ends in –ch, -s, -sh, -x, or -z, form the plural by adding –es. Click here for a word list. HOWEVER, if a noun ending in...
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