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76250, or 93/100. Native English speaker from London. Some of the last 10 words were seriously obscure. Are accoutrement and ziggurat really English words? Acc

76250, or 93/100. Native English speaker from London. Some of the last 10 words were seriously obscure. Are accoutrement and ziggurat really English words? Accoutrement is even pronounced as French!

stavros 4mo ago
Depending on what you consider an "English" word, anywhere from 0% to 100% of words are English words. I've definitely seen accoutrement and ziggurat in English, and quite often.
- walthamstow 4mo ago
  Of course, the line is very blurry. I've used accoutrement(s) in English many times, but I've never considered myself to be speaking English when I use it. It's like joie de vivre or c'est la vie.
  - stavros 4mo ago
    What about "rendezvous", or "etiquette", or "RSVP", cliche, nuance, etc? Do you consider those French or English? As you say, the line is very very blurry.
    - walthamstow 4mo ago
      Rendezvous and cliche yes. Nuance, etiquette, RSVP no. It's instinctive so I can't explain but maybe because rendezvous and cliche require using French pronounciation. On this I think you could find more differing opinions than there are possible answers.
    - naishoya 4mo ago
      My favorite in the vicinity of etiquette and rendezvous is the "double entendre", very French sounding, but not French at all. That and something being not a person's "forte" which when correctly pronounced is just fort, but through confabulation with a musical term from Italian; forte: to play loudly, sounds more French to English speakers when mispronounced. C'est la vie. Japanese loanwords really tickle my humour; バイト "Baito" : a casual, part-time, non-serious job. From the German "Arbeit" which is serious, macro-level employment or exertion.
melasadra 4mo ago
Weirdly enough, these words would be known to some non-native speakers as they show up every now and then in video games.
Glyptodon 4mo ago
Those are both on the list of words I thought should have been in a category or two lower because I consider them both sufficiently widely used.
goodpoint 4mo ago
I did 78000 and I'm not a native English speaker.

76250, or 93/100. Native English speaker from London. Some of the last 10 words were seriously obscure. Are accoutrement and ziggurat really English words? Accoutrement is even pronounced as French!

stavros 4mo ago

Depending on what you consider an "English" word, anywhere from 0% to 100% of words are English words. I've definitely seen accoutrement and ziggurat in English, and quite often.

walthamstow 4mo ago
Of course, the line is very blurry. I've used accoutrement(s) in English many times, but I've never considered myself to be speaking English when I use it. It's like joie de vivre or c'est la vie.
- stavros 4mo ago
  What about "rendezvous", or "etiquette", or "RSVP", cliche, nuance, etc? Do you consider those French or English? As you say, the line is very very blurry.
  - walthamstow 4mo ago
    Rendezvous and cliche yes. Nuance, etiquette, RSVP no. It's instinctive so I can't explain but maybe because rendezvous and cliche require using French pronounciation. On this I think you could find more differing opinions than there are possible answers.
  - naishoya 4mo ago
    My favorite in the vicinity of etiquette and rendezvous is the "double entendre", very French sounding, but not French at all. That and something being not a person's "forte" which when correctly pronounced is just fort, but through confabulation with a musical term from Italian; forte: to play loudly, sounds more French to English speakers when mispronounced. C'est la vie. Japanese loanwords really tickle my humour; バイト "Baito" : a casual, part-time, non-serious job. From the German "Arbeit" which is serious, macro-level employment or exertion.

melasadra 4mo ago

Weirdly enough, these words would be known to some non-native speakers as they show up every now and then in video games.

Glyptodon 4mo ago

Those are both on the list of words I thought should have been in a category or two lower because I consider them both sufficiently widely used.

goodpoint 4mo ago

I did 78000 and I'm not a native English speaker.