4 ms·
Much the same thing that it says about English-speakers when they have to borrow the word "entrepreneur".
by gloob 15y ago
Much the same thing that it says about English-speakers when they have to borrow the word "entrepreneur".
- ckuehne 15y agoOr "Zeitgeist" and "Schadenfreude" for that matter.
- Vivtek 15y agoOr even kindergarten.
- swombat 15y agoAnd for anyone who knows how entrepreneur-friendly France is, the fact that it's borrowed from there of all places is particularly ironic.
- Vivtek 15y agoWell, they didn't mind lending it out, since they weren't using it anyway.
- geebee 15y agoThere is a slight difference, though, in that the English speaking world has taken a huge amount of its vocabulary from French. It may be less remarkable when Americans borrow a word then when Germans do this. That said, "Entrepreneur", from what I read on wikipedia, was a 19th century import, not a William the Conquerer import, so you do make a pretty good point - it does seem more of a "borrowed word" than a core part of the language. You'd have me convinced, except that I have it on the assurances of a fine former US president that the French, in fact, have no word for entrepreneur.
- lispm 15y agoEnglish has a huge vocabulary from German. Even the royal family was mostly imported from Germany.
- geebee 15y agoOh yeah, English vocabulary may be even more German than French... what I remember is that while overall English vocabulary is heavily French, it leans more German when you consider the most frequently used, conversational words.
- sambeau 15y agoThe little words tend to be Germanic the big words tend to be French. The names of farm animals tend to be Germanic the names of meats tend to be French. Swearing is Germanic. It's a class thing.
- mhd 15y agoConsidering that we're neighbors (and, well, wars), it's not surprising that Germany has quite a few words borrowed from French, too. Actually, some words that are considered very normal by Germans were inventions by a few linguists to counter that (and Latin). And not even for nationalistic reasons, just to make it easier for the common man... Especially considering the Latin roots and constant cross-pollination, European languages can't be considered very isolated from each other. Never mind that there are quite a few words for small talk, too. As if that's the only word in English for it... It's just that it got quite popular due to its poignancy. Just like "Zeitgeist" the other way 'round.
- notJim 15y agogeebee: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/bush.asp http://www.snopes.com/quotes/bush.asp